The Enterprise Program awards the Enterprise Distinguished Service Awards to recognize the dedication and exceptional contributions of advisors and champions who have played pivotal roles in shaping the program’s success. Each of the award winners has more than 15 years of service within Enterprise, dedicating their time and expertise to guiding teams, ensuring student success, and advancing the program’s discovery-based learning mission.
The recipients of the Enterprise Distinguished Service Award are Jim DeClerck, Scott Kuhl, Erin Smith, Mary Raber, and Ruth Archer. This five-part series highlights the contributions of each award recipient.
Jim DeClerck, a Professor of Practice in the Department of Mechanical and Aerospace Engineering, has shaped Michigan Tech’s Formula SAE Enterprise for more than a decade. After earning his PhD from Michigan Tech in 1991, he spent 18 years at General Motors working in vehicle development. When he returned to campus in 2009, he brought with him a deep understanding of applying engineering fundamentals.
DeClerck began advising Formula SAE in 2010. “When I took over Formula, my goal was to help the students organize themselves like a real car company,” he says. “Documenting decisions, understanding tradeoffs, and thinking about process. That’s what makes better cars, and competition judges ask about their development process.”
Growth Opportunity
For DeClerck, the students’ energy is the best part of the work. “My favorite part is seeing their passion,” he says. “Every year, there are three or four members who are just so excited to develop and build a car. They get to build a race car with other people’s money. It’s a rare opportunity, as well as an obligation and a privilege. They use that money to learn.”
Formula SAE, he notes, gives students the chance to apply classroom knowledge, run a project like a small company would, and experience the full engineering lifecycle, from concept to competition.
Care and Feeding
Each year, the team competes at Michigan International Speedway. DeClerck has seen the full range of outcomes: the years when everything clicks, and the car performs beautifully, and the years when unexpected problems force the team to regroup.
Even when it doesn’t work out, it’s great to see them come together and solve problems. I’m most proud of the way they rally around each other.
One early memory remains vivid. “When I first took over, there was a lot of stress and a culture where the chief engineer called all the shots,” he recalls. “I remember being at the competition in the middle of May. It was warm, and the students had been outside all day. They hadn’t planned for food or water. They were hungry, thirsty, and grumpy.”
With nothing else to do in that moment, DeClerck stepped into an unexpected role: making sure the team was fed and hydrated. “It was a matter of ‘first things first.’ It’s amazing how much better things go when people have food and water, and the coffee drinkers had plenty of coffee,” he says with a laugh. “It changed the whole attitude.”
Space and Support
DeClerck believes the environment provided at Michigan Tech is what sets the University’s Formula SAE team apart. “Hundreds of schools have SAE teams,” he says. “But what’s unique here is the structure and support of the Enterprise program.”
He credits the University’s facilities and resources for enabling the team to design and build competitive cars year after year. “We’re extremely fortunate,” he says. “We have more space than most teams and a lot of support to create parts and build a car.” He adds with a laugh, “But like every team, we could always use more money. The running joke in the racing world is, if you want to generate a small fortune in racing, you have to start with a big one.”
When he learned he would receive the Enterprise Distinguished Service Award, DeClerck felt grateful. “It made me think about all the students I’ve worked with, all the competitions, all the late nights,” he says. “I’m proud of what the team has accomplished and grateful to be part of their journey.”
About the Enterprise Program
Michigan Tech’s Enterprise Program offers students a unique, hands-on learning experience that goes beyond the classroom. With more than 25+ Enterprise teams spanning disciplines such as engineering, business, computing, and science, students collaborate on real-world projects sponsored by industry and government partners. Enterprise students develop technical expertise, leadership skills, and teamwork experience—preparing them for success in their careers. Many teams work on cutting-edge innovations, from automotive and aerospace to sustainability and emerging technologies.
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