Delta’s new President has vision of bringing students back to campus

She sees Delta College as an opportunity for growth and has a heart for students. Dr. Michelle Allmendinger says she will be listening and learning for a time, but she has a vision of seeing the school’s halls and classrooms filled with students. We sat down with her for a Q & A about her journey to the Great Lakes Bay Region, and what she hopes to accomplish. 

What leads you to Delta College? 

I thought I would be an English Teacher my whole career. That’s really what I thought I was going to be doing. I went to a small liberal arts college, Knox College in Galesburg, Illinois. I was a double major and two sport athlete, in English and education, and a tennis and softball player. 

When coaching opportunities came up, I decided I wanted to pursue that, so I stepped away from teaching high school and got my Master’s Degree in Sports Psychology from the University of Wisconsin. Then I coached for six years. 

Then an athletic director opportunity came up near my hometown, (Davenport, Iowa), at Scott Community College. As an athletic director and assistant dean, that was my first step into higher administration. I was reporting directly to the president for part of that time and I started to see what she was doing, and how she was sort of bringing together all the pieces of the college. 

How did you get to Michigan from there? 

I was speaking for the college and telling our story, and decided that was something I wanted to do. But, I knew I had to get my Ph.D. I looked at different programs all over the country and landed on Michigan State. 

Then after four years at Michigan State, I strategically took positions that would lead me here. I became a dean of student development for five years through COVID, then eventually became vice president of student affairs. 

That’s when I decided it was time to start trying to be a president. I came to Delta and interviewed, and even before I came on campus, I was feeling a connection here. 

What attracted you to the college? 

I’ve lived in seven different states and I’ve moved for jobs in school, but I’m definitely a midwesterner, and that’s where all my family still is. I fell in love with Michigan, and I’m thrilled to get to come back. 

When I got here people were so welcoming. It just seemed like such a positive, inclusive environment, and the college was doing really good things. I was thrilled to be chosen by the board to be the next president. 

Do you have any particular vision that you’d like to see happen? 

I think for the first better part of this year, my goal is to listen and learn, to meet all of the people that we serve, our students, our faculty and staff, our legislators, our local business owners, K-12 educators. My plan is to get a chance to meet folks where they are, get out in the community and make sure Delta is meeting the needs of our students, our community and our employees. I firmly believe we’re doing that, but I want to figure out what’s next. 

We do know that there are 40 million Americans who have college credit and no credential. Some of them live here in Michigan, so helping students complete those degrees, attain what they want to attain in life, that’s the goal. That’s always the goal for me of higher education. 

Do you have ideas about how to bring people back onto campus? 

I think because enrollments have changed, because we’ve seen growth with concurrent enrollment and returning adults who have very different schedules, the physical space gets used differently. We’re seeing people return to campus, but they have to return to a schedule that works for them. 

We’re also bringing back the big diesel program to this campus, so there are different opportunities like that, too. It’s a hands on program, and folks are going to need to be here for that. So, we’ll just keep exploring what programs and the different modalities that we offer to make sure that we’re meeting needs and making the best use of space. 

We may see fewer people in the hallway than we did before, but we’re still a bustling, busy place, teaching students, whether it’s nursing or dental hygiene, or HVAC. Students are going to put their hands on things and I think it’ll be good. 

What is next on your path? 

I’ve had these different roles in education that maybe aren’t the traditional path, but have allowed me to see so many different things. I’ve taught college classes, I’ve coached, I’ve been an administrator. All the pieces just seemed like they were coming together. 

I’ve always tried to get back to the classroom too. I think I’ve taught almost everywhere I’ve been. I’ve taught classes on athletic administration, on sport and social issues. So I think that teaching still allowed me to connect with the students. It allowed me to know what the faculty were facing, so I’ve tried to stay connected in that way. 

Probably after the first year, I would like to think that maybe I’ll be able to teach something or be involved with student leadership opportunities. 

When she’s not in her office in the B-Wing of Delta College, Dr. Allmendinger will spend time out in the community, exploring opportunities like the Midland Tennis Center and the local communities. 

She shares the Delta Farmhouse with her partner Michelle, who took a job as a nurse in Bad Axe. She also has a pet rabbit that she calls her stress reliever. She hasn’t had much time to start exploring yet, but after the boxes are unpacked she looks forward to all that the Region has to offer.