Northern Michigan University alumnus John Berry Jr. has continued the philanthropic legacy passed down by his grandfather and father, whose entrepreneurial success heading the largest Yellow Pages advertising agency in the United States inspired them to give back to future generations in ways that reflected their core values, including education. John and Shirley Berry have become the leaders in lifetime giving to NMU, surpassing $10 million. Their most recent gifts of $3.5 million include $2 million to endow in perpetuity the College of Business Deanship in their names, and $1 million as an expendable fund to support the Northern Enterprise Center, the future home of the College of Business.
The couple also contributed $500,000 for upgrades to the NMU hockey locker room and other athletics facilities. They previously provided the lead gift for the Berry Events Center and endowed the John and Shirley Berry Scholarship, which awards $20,000 over four years to incoming freshmen who have demonstrated academic achievement and enroll in the NMU Honors Program.
“It is very meaningful to meet the Honors Program students or read their thank-you letters for the scholarships,” said John, who serves as chair of both the Berry Family Foundation and Berry Investments. “They are so genuine in their appreciation for the funding support and the quality education they're receiving at Northern.”
“I may not have attended Northern, but I really enjoy reading the letters as well,” said Shirley, a former parochial school business education teacher. “The students express themselves so eloquently and with such conviction in sharing their goals and what they plan to do during and after college. It's also nice that the scholarship recipients typically represent a variety of academic majors.”
"John and Shirley Berry embody what it means to be Wildcat champions,” said NMU President Brock Tessman. “Their commitment to the NMU College of Business, our students and Wildcat Athletics has been transformative for our university. As I contemplate their lifetime giving, it is abundantly clear that the Berrys have been instrumental in building Northern Michigan University into the wonderful place it is today."
First preference for the John and Shirley Berry scholarship is given to students in the College of Business, where John earned his accounting degree in 1971.
“I loved accounting because it's black and white; the right hand has to equal the left hand,” he added. “My Northern education helped me understand fundamentally budgeting and capital development, that an expense is something that generates revenue, and how to make good, sound business decisions.
“When I'd talk to guys I knew going to bigger schools, we realized accounting is uniform. We were using the same textbooks, learning the same principles and we all took the same test. But the real difference was Northern, where the camaraderie, people, level of support and environment are unique and special. I got even more out of my experience engaging in extracurricular activities.”
While attending NMU, Berry was a member and officer of the Tau Kappa Epsilon Fraternity, active on both the interfraternity council and senior class cabinet. He also played intramural sports. He has remained connected to his alma mater through his involvement in the College of Business Executive-in-Residence program and the NMU Alumni Association.
Berry is a past recipient of NMU's Distinguished Alumni Award. More recently, he received an honorary Doctor of Business degree at the university's 2022 commencement in recognition of his roles as a highly regarded business leader and philanthropist.
“I'm impressed by John's approach to leadership,” said Shirley. “He is very good at evaluating people, identifying their positive attributes and finding the best ways to apply those. He has created a great staff, surrounding himself with good people. I also deeply admire his family and the values that have been passed down that have perpetuated into gifts to all kinds of institutions that mainly focus on education and youth, community, health care and free enterprise.”
“My grandfather thought education was the pathway to success,” John added. “I was a young kid, still wet behind the ears, when I arrived on campus. But Northern provided a great foundation that helped me grow and mature, along with valuable preparation for life's many challenges. It also gave me the tools I needed to be successful. I've made some money along the way, and feel fortunate to be in a position to share that. As you get older, you want to support those things that had the most meaning in your life. Northern is one of those places for me. I am always happy to give back so that others can enjoy the many positive benefits of a Northern education.”
John and Shirley will serve as co-chairs of NMU's comprehensive fundraising campaign. They were high school classmates, but connected as life partners years later. They now split their time between their hometown of Dayton, Ohio, and Naples, Fla.