John X. Jamrich Cause Of Death

John X. Jamrich, president of Northern Michigan University (NMU) from 1968 to 1983, died on Feb. 20, at age 101 in Savannah, Georgia. His cause of death is still undisclosed.

Jamrich was the eighth president of NMU.

Jamrich’s wife, June, died in 2020. She was active in campus life, having participated in renovating the old Kaye House and in the design of the new Kaye House.

During his tenure as NMU president, Jamrich led the effort to build nursing, criminal justice, computer science, and the Reserve Officers’ Training Corps programs.

Jamrich supervised the construction of the Learning Resources Center, the original Jamrich Hall, the Jacobetti Skills Center, the Physical Educational Instructional Facility, Cohodas Hall, and Kaye House.

Jamrich also handled controversies such as faculty unionization and student protests. He negotiated solutions using a hands-on approach that involved open office hours, established lines of communication, visits to dormitories, and lunches with students.

Following his retirement as NMU president, he was a consultant for several entities involved in higher education, including MSU and the Michigan Legislature. After moving to Florida, he and his wife put in thousands of hours as volunteers.

In 2014, Jamrich was honored with the naming of a new instructional facility on the NMU campus, John X. Jamrich Hall, serving as a speaker at the opening ceremony.