Ruge Named NMU Commencement Speaker

Mark Ruge, a 1980 Northern Michigan University political science alumnus who grew up in Menominee, will serve as the keynote speaker for NMU's May 2 commencement. As a partner at K&L Gates, one of the largest global law firms, his practice includes a focus on the American maritime industry and the Great Lakes. He is the only lawyer ever inducted into the Great Lakes Marine Hall of Fame. Ruge previously worked for former U.P. and northern Michigan Congressman Bob Davis.

"The rocket fuel of my life came from my time at Northern, where I met amazing people who opened me up to new ideas and many possibilities," he said. "I am honored and excited to speak at commencement because Northern means so much to me. When your whole life's in front of you, I don't think you fully appreciate how much you got out of Northern and being able to live in a place like the Upper Peninsula. But for me, with the benefit of hindsight, I can see how it basically shaped and changed everything."

When he enrolled at Northern, Ruge served as a student assistant in the Sports Information Office, which was then part of the former News Bureau. He treated it as a full-time job, working 40 hours per week with those he considered his "community," but still managed to play varsity tennis and write occasionally for the North Wind student newspaper.

Ruge also met his wife, the former Mary Bishop of Marquette, at Northern. They held their wedding reception in the former University Center. Mary's immediate family represents an impressive Northern legacy, with seven NMU graduates and a total of 11 NMU degrees.

"Almost everything good that happened in my personal and professional life can be directly traced to Northern," Ruge said. "The university didn't offer a journalism major at that time, but I combined some of those courses taught by [the late] Gerald Waite with the requirements for a political science degree. A defining moment was when Dr. Bob Kulisheck took me to Washington, D.C. for a conference. I was a classic small-town boy who never envisioned moving very far from where I grew up, but that experience opened the world to me. I never could have imagined that I would spend most of my professional life living in Washinton, D.C."

Kulisheck also helped his student secure an internship in the nation's capital. Ruge spent the summer before his senior year as an intern with Congressman Davis. After graduation, he joined Davis' full-time staff for a decade, both as a district representative based in Marquette and in a number of positions, including twice as his chief of staff, in Washington, D.C.

Davis' district was surrounded by three of the Great Lakes: Superior, Huron and Michigan. He became the top Republican on the Merchant Marine and Fisheries Committee, so that became Ruge's area of focus and specialization.

"It was a perfect fit, based on the fact I grew up near Lake Michigan and went to college on the shore of Lake Superior," he said. "I've always loved the lakes, like everybody up there does. When you walk or drive along Lake Superior, or look out over it, it's so awe-inspiring. And water is so important; it's like air in many ways. For me, Lake Superior is like a water highway. Most people have no idea how much our national economy, even our North American economy, is dependent on shipping on the Great Lakes."

After his career on Capitol Hill, Ruge later earned his law degree from Georgetown University and joined K&L Gates, which allowed him to continue his maritime focus. He headed the firm's public policy practice, one of the oldest and largest in the United States, for more than a decade. He currently chairs the firm's Pro Bono Committee. Ruge has represented a wide range of companies, higher education institutions and other organizations, including the National Baseball Hall of Fame and the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame. He has also served as Washington, D.C. counsel for NMU for three decades under the last 10 university presidents.

"Northern was always one of the most important entities in Bob Davis' district because it was the biggest, and located in the biggest U.P. city," he said. "We dealt with a constant stream of issues impacting the university. When you combine that background with what I've done since then through K&L Gates, next year will mark my 50th year working almost continuously for Northern in one capacity or another."

In his commencement speech, Ruge will encourage graduating students to resolve to make kindness a guiding principle of their lives as they move forward.

"I have been extremely blessed in my life to meet some truly amazing people-at NMU, on Capitol Hill and at this big law firm," he wrote. "Blazingly smart people, high performers, the best of the best. The one common characteristic of the people who have made the biggest impression on me over the years is their kindness. They are nearly universally kind. In fact, in many cases, I believe their kindness is their super-power, and it can be your super-power, too."

A self-described "committed Yooperphile," Ruge has written and presented about Upper Peninsula history. He is also a part-owner of the Green Bay Packers, which he joked gets far more attention than any other reference in his bio. He and Mary have two sons and daughters-in-law, a daughter and three grandchildren.

NMU's ceremony begins at 10:30 a.m. Saturday, May 2, in the Superior Dome. It will be broadcast live on WNMU-TV and streamed online at nmu.edu/commencement.