Tag: Rick Berkey

Cummins and Michigan Tech Sign Corporate Fellowship Agreement

Cummins’ Chief Technical Officer, Jonathan (Jon) Wood stands next to MTU’s Vice President for Global Campus and Corporate Partnerships, David Lawrence at the Cummins’ Corporate Fellowship signing ceremony. Surrounding them are various leaders and representatives of both Cummins and Michigan Tech.

On Friday, May 9, 2025, the MTU Global Campus team, and a cohort of esteemed professors, program directors, and other leaders from Michigan Technological University travelled to Columbus, Indiana. 

Their goal: spending a very full day at the Cummins Corporate Headquarters. While there, they toured the impressive facilities, attended a signing ceremony for the Corporate Education Fellowship Program, and took in an alumni event.

Cummins Inc., a global power solutions leader, comprises five business segments: Components, Engine, Distribution, Power Systems, and Accelera by Cummins. These segments are supported by its global manufacturing and extensive service and support network, skilled workforce, and vast technological expertise. Cummins is dedicated to its Destination Zero strategy. The company has a commitment to sustainability and to helping its customers successfully navigate the energy transition with its broad portfolio of products. Cummins, which has approximately 69,900 employees, earned $3.9 billion on sales of $34.1 billion in 2024. (See how Cummins is leading the world toward a future of smarter, cleaner power.)

For all these reasons, Cummins is an ideal partner for Michigan Tech’s Corporate Fellowship Program.

The Corporate Education Fellowship supports Cummins’ employees in their pursuit of graduate education through MTU’s Global Campus. In short, eligible employees of Cummins will receive fellowships to enroll in one of Tech’s online graduate certificates or master’s degree programs. Thus, the fellowship enables the company’s employees to acquire industry-needed skills, follow areas of professional interest, and meet the diverse needs of their stakeholders.

Experiencing Cummins’ Rich History

The eventful day began with a tour of the Cummins Technical Center. This tour provided a view into the company’s operations, their special projects, and recent technological developments.

Next, the group viewed Cummins’ Corporate Office Building. This building’s lobby, which includes the company’s museum, features several impressive display cases documenting the company’s rich history and technological achievements.

For instance, the group enjoyed one wall featuring a mounted 1989 Ram D250 truck with a Cummins’ engine. This display highlighted the company’s long partnership with Ram for producing high-powered, on-highway pickup trucks. In fact, this 1989 truck began as a 1988 Model Year D250, built at Chrysler’s Warren Truck Assembly Plant in Detroit, Mich.

They also witnessed other impressive company firsts. For instance, one standout was Cummins’ red and yellow #28 Diesel Special IndyCar. Built to take advantage of the new 1952 Indy 500 race rules permitting four-cycle diesel engines, this experimental car featured a 6.6 inline-six, 380-horsepower diesel engine. At the time, in fact, it was the first turbocharged Indy racer!

Also, many were fascinated by the exploded engine installation. Strikingly merging art and technology, this sculpture deconstructs Cummins’ NTC-400 Big Cam into more than 500 unique parts suspended in midair. Thus, it celebrates both the achievement–and wonder–of Cummins’ technology. In the 1980s, the NTC-400 Big Cam was the company’s largest diesel engine. Another fact. The sculpture was designed by Rudolphe de Harake and Associates, but it was Cummins’ employees who painstakingly put it together in 1985.

Signing the Fellowship Agreement

After this tour, the group attended lunch and then the formal signing ceremony. This second event solidified the Corporate Education Partnership agreement between Michigan Technological University and Cummins.

David Lawrence, Vice President for Global Campus and corporate partnerships; Rick Berkey, Director of Global Campus; and Will Cantrell, Associate Provost and Dean of the Graduate School represented for Michigan Tech. Also attending for MTU were Andrew Barnard, Jason Blough, Jin Choi, Jeff Naber, Brian Hannon, Nagesh Hatti, and Rob Waara.

Representing Cummins were Jonathan (Jon) Wood, Chief Technical Officer; Bob Sharpe, Executive Director, Enterprise Engineering Solutions; and Marc Greca, Technical Product Development Excellence Leader. Other members of the Global Campus team and several leaders from both organizations were also in attendance.

At the ceremony, Jonathan Wood, Bob Sharpe, David Lawrence, and Will Cantrell all spoke to the importance of continued learning and making advanced education attainable for employees.

On the fellowship program, Bob Sharpe, Executive Director, Enterprise Engineering Solutions, said, “We set up this program with Michigan Tech to leverage the numerous courses, certificate programs, and graduate programs focused on key skills and capabilities that we know Cummins needs for the future.”

In addition, Sharpe confirmed the preparedness of MTU graduates. “Michigan Tech delivers excellent research in our industry and, even more importantly, develops people with strong practical and hands-on engineering experience.  These engineers arrive ready to hit the ground running and deliver great technical work here at Cummins.” 

Further Touring and Then Networking with Alumni

After the formalities, the group visited Cummins’ impressive Fuel Systems Operations manufacturing facility. Armed with all the necessary safety equipment, they were privileged to witness the precise work that goes into creating new technologies.

In fact, this branch of the company, which has a very broad presence in the market, offers fuel system technologies for various engine applications. For instance, they produce and remanufacture both unit injectors and common rail systems. Thus, they support engines ranging from 6 to 78 liters. As well, they offer fuel system control modules that work with Electronic Control Modules (ECMs) to optimize fuel delivery, reduce emissions, and improve fuel economy across different fuel types. Learn more about Cummins’ fuel systems.

Finally, the group ended their day with a well-attended Michigan Tech Alumni Gathering. Close to 40 MTU Alumni joined the Michigan Tech and Cummins group. The gathering was an opportunity for MTU and Cummins leaders to network as well as engage with fellow Huskies. And, even better, there was cake!

Collaborating and Growing with a Global, Respected Leader

This fellowship program is crucial to Global Campus’s mission of building relationships between academia and industry. It is also central to the objectives of making quality online education more accessible to adult learners and of helping professionals advance and grow with their workplaces.

Overall, the signing and the tour marked yet another milestone in Michigan Tech’s long history of collaborating with future-forward companies that are tackling pressing technological challenges in electricity, power generation, and mobility.

Michigan Technological University looks forward to continuing to collaborate with Cummins and to helping grow its success.

(Shelly Galliah would like to thank Lauren Odem, Executive Assistant to VP David Lawrence, for her superb notes and research.)

Rick Berkey Joins Global Campus

Rick Berkey stands in front of the Michigan Technological University arch.
Rick takes a selfie in front of Michigan Tech’s arch.

Camping. Sounds like a cliché, but it was through this humble activity that Rick Berkey first discovered Michigan’s Upper Peninsula.

These trips inspired a love for the area that caused him to eventually wend his way to Michigan Tech.

That is, Berkey and his soon-to-be wife, Tiffany, had been regularly visiting the UP for three years.

But it was their trip to Copper Harbor in 2002 on their one-year anniversary that sealed the deal.

The natural beauty, outdoor activities, down-to-earth people, and peaceful, small-town life were all reasons they fell in love with the Keweenaw. Here, in their eyes, was the ideal place to raise a family. And even better: Rick was ready for a career change.

So, together, they started hatching a plan to relocate to the beautiful UP.

That plan finally came to fruition in 2006 when Rick accepted a position in the College of Engineering working with the Enterprise and Senior Design programs. With a two-year old daughter, two month-old son, dog, and cat all in tow, they made the 550-mile journey from Kalamazoo to Houghton, closed on their new house, and slept on the floor that night.

Sitting Down With Rick Berkey

A few career moves later, Rick is bringing his enthusiasm, expertise, and love of Michigan Tech to a new leadership role at Global Campus. Even though he is a busy man, he graciously took time out of his day to answer my questions.

Hello, thank you for agreeing to this interview. First, please state your title and your position at Global Campus. I know you’re a new team member, but so far, what duties comprise your role? 

My title is “Director of Global Campus and Continuing Education.”

In this role, I am responsible for the overall operations of Global Campus as it continues to grow and expand. These operations include staff and financial management, as well as collaboration with colleges and departments to oversee our portfolio of online degrees, certificates, and non-credit programs.

You previously served as Professor of Practice and Director of the Enterprise Program. Please tell us a little more about these roles and how they will help you in your new position at Global Campus.

In my previous appointment as a Professor of Practice, I thoroughly enjoyed teaching undergraduate students in the Enterprise Program. In this role, I developed and taught two courses in Six Sigma/continuous improvement methodologies. These courses were inspired by my corporate experience as a Six Sigma Black Belt. I also advised the Supermileage Systems Enterprise, a competition team that developed highly-efficient vehicles from the ground up.

These roles taught me to embrace experiential, hands-on, discovery-based learning, which can be time-intensive, messy, and sometimes uncomfortable. To me, though, these are all signs that the learning is working! Similarly, my teaching philosophy is based on learning as a partnership and creating an environment where everyone contributes to learning. One quote that really resonates with me is this one from Robert A. Heinlein: “When one teaches, two learn.”

My teaching experience definitely provides a valuable perspective when working with the faculty who are developing and delivering our online and non-credit programs. That is, I both understand and appreciate the challenges associated with course development, delivery, and assessment. Additionally, I have the opportunity to continue teaching in Global Campus. When I do so, I will be refreshing and adapting my Six Sigma courses for online/non-credit audiences.

As Director of the Enterprise Program (2015-2022), for example, I managed the operations of Michigan Tech’s signature experiential learning program: Enterprise. This program included industry partnerships, project development, financial and staff management, course scheduling, and event planning. It also entailed collaborating with 25+ faculty from across campus and assessing student learning outcomes for ABET accreditation. Again, this experience translates well into managing the operations of Global Campus.

You hold a Six Sigma Black Belt. Wow! Tell us a little more about this certifications, how/when you earned it.

Earning my Six Sigma Black Belt certification through Honeywell International was a career-changing experience. The training was intense and involved use of structured, data-driven problem-solving methods and statistical tools. It also included training in change management, which is often more important than what the data and statistics are telling you. My favorite part of the experience was applying my learning to the development and launch of the FRAM X2 Extended Guard oil filter product line. That is, I really enjoyed using statistics to develop our competitive performance claims. This task was important because these claims were advertised on the product packaging. Thus, these claims could be challenged legally by our competitors. So no pressure if I didn’t get it right!

I also used design of experiments (DOE) to optimize a new supplier’s manufacturing process, which was critical to both product performance and cost. At this moment, I am now reminded of the DOE I had to re-run because I missed an important factor in the process. After a 16-hour day, we discovered our test samples were defective and had to do it all over again. Our Director of Engineering was, shall I say, not happy.

Talk about learning from failure! I draw on this experience even now, and especially when teaching. Another favorite experience was teaching and mentoring our Six Sigma Green Belt candidates. In fact, this is ultimately what motivated me to transition from the corporate world to higher education.

I really believe that FAIL should be viewed as “First Attempt In Learning.”

Rick Berkey

And you are certified in Lean, as well, correct?

Yes! Fast forward 11 years later…not too long after I came to Michigan Tech, I “found my people” in the Office of Continuous Improvement. Those in the office were applying Lean to improve university processes. I quickly got involved with Lean Culture though several campus improvement projects and jumped at the chance to become a Lean Facilitator. Adding a certification in Lean has provided me with a complementary tool set to the more analytical, data-driven methods used in Six Sigma.

A favorite Lean experience of mine was working with Accounting Services on the “P-Card Kaizen.” We were able to streamline accounting processes by shifting purchases from purchase orders to p-cards. I especially enjoyed using control charts in Minitab to reveal before vs. after results. We also showed how the staff time saved could be redirected to higher-value work and tasks.

Overall, my exposure to the Lean and Six Sigma methodologies has really shaped how I approach work and life: systematic, data-driven, analytical, and improvement-minded.

Why get involved with online graduate education and online professional development programs? That is, why do YOU think online education matters?

Looking back on my own experience, I was a non-traditional student twice. The first time, I was taking night classes for my MBA. Then, I was working full-time for Honeywell and establishing my professional career. The second time, I was here at MTU earning my MSME while doing all the things I mentioned earlier. In both cases, I felt the college experience was designed for full-time students, not me. 

Although I was fortunate to have work flexibility to attend classes, it was still challenging to balance school and life. At the same time, I had a much stronger sense of why I wanted to learn something new. I also had more life experience to draw upon and to contribute in the classroom. And I know there are many more people out there in similar situations and who are motivated to continue learning and growing. 

When I look at the flexibility that Global Campus offers, coupled with the quality and reputation of Michigan Tech’s programs, I knew this was where I wanted to make an impact. 

So far, what has been the most rewarding and/or exciting part of your job? In other words, what gets you out of bed in the morning?

Tough question! There are so many exciting and rewarding elements for me in these first few months on the job! Global Campus is still relatively new and very dynamic. In many ways, it feels like a start-up that requires us to wear many hats and adopt an entrepreneurial mindset. 

That said, two things in particular help get me out of bed every morning. First, I find all the work we do with our education fellowships extremely rewarding. Whether it’s holding informational sessions, meeting with partners to explore their educational needs and interests, or assisting corporate employees enrolled in our programs, I am committed to serving our partners and helping them achieve their higher education goals. Secondly, I get excited about improving our processes and operations as we grow.

Recently, I’ve been doing a lot of listening and learning to establish a solid baseline of what we do and how we do it. I am now starting to identify some areas where we can streamline and scale how we operate, while maintaining or improving our quality and service. This improvement will ultimately allow us to serve more students and increase the impact and reach of Global Campus.

When you’re not working for Campus, what do you like to do in your free time? Where might we find Rick Berkey after work or on the weekend?

Outside of work, my family and I, like another Global Campus team member, really enjoy the outdoors. In particular, we love camping, boating, hiking, and nordic skiing. The great thing is that we can do all of these things after work or on the weekend. Copper Harbor is a favorite local destination. We also like to travel, and when we need to get our “second wind” during the long winters, we tend to go south to a sandy beach! With our families living 500+ miles away downstate and in Ohio, we also make time, of course, to visit them during holidays and summer vacations.

In addition to family activities, I personally enjoy classic vehicles: cars, motorcycles, boats, campers…you name it. I must be an “old soul”. In particular, I really enjoy researching the history of vehicles, doing restoration and maintenance, socializing with fellow collectors and enthusiasts, and especially searching for a new “investment,” as I tell my wife! 

Currently, I own three classic motorcycles as well as our family’s pride and joy: an all-original 1969 Plymouth GTX that was purchased new by my father. It’s an heirloom that will remain in the Berkey family for future generations.

Keeping Up With the New Director of Global Campus

Thanks for chatting! Readers, be sure to follow Rick Berkey and his exploits on Global Campus social media.