ADRIAN — Michael Bell, a national authority on credit union and bank transactions, was the keynote speaker at Adrian College’s Opening Convocation in the Dr. James Borland Convocation Series on Wednesday, Sept. 4, in Herrick Chapel, where three faculty members were honored with teaching awards.
Leader of the Financial Institutions practice at Honigman, Bell is known for his pioneering work in credit union acquisitions, including the first-ever purchase of a whole bank by a credit union in 2011. Over the past decade, he has successfully completed more than 50 mergers and acquisitions transactions, solidifying his reputation as the go-to legal adviser for financial institutions across the country.
Bell’s achievements have been recognized with numerous awards. He has been named a Leading Lawyer in Banking and Financial Institutions Law, Mergers and Acquisition Law, and Real Estate Law by Law Bulletin Media from 2014 to 2024. He was also honored as a “Rising Star” by Michigan Super Lawyers and recognized as a “Leader in the Law” by Michigan Lawyers Weekly in 2017. His expertise in Financial Services Regulation Law also earned him recognition in The Best Lawyers in America for 2023.
In addition to his professional accolades, Bell is a respected media contributor, sharing his insights with top publications including The Wall Street Journal, MarketWatch, and Bloomberg.
Bell has been a member of Adrian College’s Board of Trustees for the past four years.
“Mike Bell, students, is one of you,” Adrian College President Jeffrey Docking said to the audience when introducing the guest speaker. “He’s an alumnus of Adrian College and comes
from humble beginnings. You’ll learn that he earned great success the old-fashioned way — he worked really hard. He went to college and grinded it out, saying there are no excuses for not getting ahead in life.”
Bell told the audience that he absolutely loves Adrian College, but it doesn’t matter what college or university they attend, where they grew up or what religion they adhere to.
“Certain things just don’t matter in my opinion,” Bell said. “It doesn’t matter where you’re from. I’m going to suggest that ultimately your GPA or grades aren’t going to matter either. It’s important here and now, but in your career path I don’t think it’s going to matter. I love this place, but in the end, it doesn’t really matter where you went to school… Let me tell you what I think does matter — your progress in life is controlled by looking upward and moving forward.”
He then asked the audience a question. “Look back on your life right now,” Bell said. “Think about something you did that at one point you thought was impossible. But you ultimately did it anyway, didn’t you? This is something you can do over and over again. Here’s the truth, everything is impossible until it isn’t… Things become normal when someone refuses to accept that something is impossible… I’m suggesting that you do the same with your life.
“Looking upward and aiming forward requires something that is very important, and that is movement,” Bell added. “I believe in movement. I’m going to suggest to you that you should believe in movement. I think the difference between people who live their dreams and then the people who watch people who live their dreams isn’t talent, it’s not resources, it’s not advantages, it’s movement. The best thing you can do today, the best thing you can do tomorrow, the best thing you can do next week, is give yourself the gift of movement.”
He clarified by saying it doesn’t take massive movement, “It begins by taking consistent small steps,” he said.
During the convocation, new faculty and newly promoted and tenured faculty took another step forward in their careers.
New faculty members introduced included Danielle Gilbert (teacher education), Krista Schindel (teacher education), Dr. Alex Martin (chemistry and biochemistry), Dr. Ian Steinke (chemistry and biochemistry), Dr. Christopher Rodgers (accountancy, business and economics), Jenna Cleary (accountancy, business and economics), Patty Higdon-Dudley (art and design), and Dr. Malak Bazzi (biology).
Brittney Cole (chemistry and biochemistry) was promoted to assistant professor while Jody DiMarco (social work) was promoted to associate professor.
Dr. Jennifer Towns (social work) and Dr. Cheryl Nutter (accountancy, business and economics) were promoted to associate professors with tenure.
Dr. Yasser Alginahi (computer science) was promoted to the rank of full professor.
Faculty promoted to the rank of full professor with tenure were Dr. Christie Boxer (sociology and criminal justice), Dr. Dorin Dumitrascu (mathematics), and Dr. Cedrick Heraux (sociology and criminal justice).
Docking presented the teaching awards. The first was the Ross Newsom Award for Outstanding Teaching, which was presented to Dr. Kristin Clark, associate professor of music.
Clark earned her Doctorate in Voice Performance from the University of Michigan, where she also completed Master’s Degrees in Choral Conducting and Voice Performance, and a Bachelor’s Degree in Music Education. She has appeared as a soloist throughout the United States, as well as in Canada, Italy, Ukraine, Russia, and Estonia.
The Exemplary Teaching Excellence Award went to Dr. Thomas Muntean, professor of geology.
During his time at Adrian College, Muntean helped redevelop and modernize the geology and environmental science curriculum, has developed several new in-demand courses not previously offered at the College, and has served in numerous leadership roles, including serving in his fourth year as the Ribbons of Excellence Program Director.
Adrian College’s Creative Activity, Research and Scholarship Award was created to honor and recognize significant contributions to a faculty member’s field of study. This year’s recipient is Nathan Goetting, professor of sociology and criminal justice.
Goetting is the Director of Adrian College’s George W. Romney Institute for Law and Public Policy and a full professor in Sociology and Criminal Justice. His teaching and writing focus on constitutional law and civil liberties. He has taught at three law schools, served as faculty advisor to The University of Toledo Law Review and has published several writings, with some being sited in law reviews. He is also a contributing writer for Discourse Magazine. Goetting was an integral part in bringing a debate series to Adrian College. To watch Adrian College’s opening convocation, visit Adrian College TV (ACTV) on YouTube.