Meet Our Faculty

Robert James knows entrepreneurship as well as he does hockey; scoring goals in both arenas and loading up on experiences that he shares with students in the classes he teaches at Macomb.

“In my prior career, I created numerous training programs covering power equipment, distribution, supply chain, inventory and purchasing,” relates James, Entrepreneurship and Small Business Management professor. “These served me well as an adjunct (part-time faculty) at Macomb as I began to realize my passion for teaching.”

“Students are the best part of the job”

After more than 20 years in management for companies that included Warrior Sports and Grainger, the dream of being his own boss began tugging at his shirtsleeves. He ultimately joined with his brother to launch MJ Installations in 2011, enjoying a successful run equipping warehouses and other industrial facilities with decking, conveyors and mezzanines. By then, however, teaching had begun tugging him in yet another direction.

“Our students are the best part of the job,” says James, who has taught the last seven of his 19 years at Macomb as a full-time professor. “I am also fortunate to work with outstanding peers from numerous business disciplines and the administration, helping students find their passions and their paths.”

In addition to providing classroom instruction, James also serves as faculty-in-residence for Macomb’s Center for Innovation and Entrepreneurship (CIE). The CIE provides free resources and mentoring to students and community residents interested in starting up their own businesses. He is thrilled when students from either his classes or the CIE call him after they’ve left Macomb to ask for advice or share a success story.

“We’ve had students open numerous businesses, from T-shirts to security services,” says James. “I have several right now that own retail companies, some that make homemade candles and lotions, and even one in distilling.”

The business of hockey

James grew up in northern Oakland County and, similar to his students, started college at Oakland Community College. He then transferred to Eastern Michigan University, where he earned a bachelor’s degree in Industrial Distribution, followed by a master’s degree in Human Resource Management from Central Michigan University.

But one cannot live on their entrepreneurial wits alone. For James, the finer things in life include playing his guitar, cooking for his wife and visiting their grown children in Savannah and Seattle. And then, there’s hockey, of which James is both a player and a fan. This likely explains his second business venture: taking ownership of the Shelby Surge in 2016. His team competed in the National Roller Hockey League until 2018 when the league went on a self-described “hiatus,” from which it has yet to return.

“While MJ Installations was much more lucrative and successful,” says James, “the Surge was a lot more fun.”

Tom Savage, both a Macomb alum and instructor, began drawing up plans for a career in art and design in the fifth grade. He envisioned cartoon characters, a comic strip and book illustrations. It ended up being all that and more.

“I came to Macomb to study fine art initially,” says Savage. “After exploring the programs, I learned about Media and Communication Arts (MACA) and found myself expanding my horizons.”

A graduate of Romeo High School, Savage earned an Associate of Applied Science degree in MACA, with specializations in Creative Imaging and Illustration, and Design and Layout, in 2010.

“My experience at Macomb was very inspirational,” relates Savage. “Many of the professors had different backgrounds, and I learned that the design world was a giant ecosystem of creativity.”

Savage returned in 2014 as a substitute teacher for some of his former MACA professors. He was hired as an adjunct instructor a few years later. “Humbling” is how he characterizes finding himself teaching in the same program in which he was once a student.

“I owe a lot to the program, and I have an enormous amount of respect for it and its amazing legacy of successful students. Choosing a career in the arts can be one of the most difficult but extremely rewarding choices for a young, developing student,” offers Savage. “I make it my personal mission to keep those who may be doubting their ability or skills on target and show them this can be learned with practice and discipline.”

Practice and discipline certainly paid off for Savage, whose comic strip: Ash and Raimi has a loyal following. It’s based on Savage’s two cats and the fictious space alien who adopted them, Martin, “loosely” based on Savage himself. He has also written and illustrated two children’s books available on Amazon: The Adventures of Ash and Raimi: Tomb of the Golden Mouse and Ash and Raimi in The Christmas Cookie Caper.

“It’s a Christmas story about Ash and Raimi visiting the North Pole on a mission to reclaim a stolen cookie for an accused elf,” explains Savage. “I was in mid-development of my second board game (One of Us), when it was placed on hold because of the quarantine, so I decided to begin working on a follow-up book.”

Savage is the graphic arts director at a local news magazine and CEO of the LLC MartianINK, which plans to begin publishing the work of other artists and authors next year. He also plays guitar, kayaks and brews craft beer at home with his wife Elizabeth and is working on his next children’s book and accompanying board game. Complementing all of his creative pursuits, and vice versa, are the classes he teaches at Macomb.

“I like the creative environment that I find in teaching. The industry is always evolving, and I love having a community of creatives – younger and older – that I can network with,” says Savage. “I often learn from the student, too, about what’s new, what is coming and what is trending in the creative community.”

When Tanya Balcom began teaching business management courses at Macomb in 2003, she had as much difficulty curbing her enthusiasm as a kid in a candy store or, more aptly, an ice cream shop.

“As a student at Macomb, I had teachers that truly inspired me,” relates Balcom. “Cheryl Sypniewski and Paul Thacker were incredible, and I wanted to be just like them. I never dreamed I would be their colleagues.”

After graduating from Chippewa Valley High School, Balcom intended to go to “a big fancy university.” But she listened intently to an advisor from Walsh (where courses begin at the junior level) and knew two years at Macomb followed by transfer to Walsh was a savvier strategy.

“I loved to be able to work while I went to school, and stay close to my family,” says Balcom. “And ever since I was a student here, I’ve always felt like it was my home.”

After earning an Associate of Applied Science degree in Marketing from Macomb, Balcom earned Bachelor of Business Administration (Marketing) and Master of Science (Management) degrees from Walsh. She worked in hospitality management for a few years, where she met her husband Richard Balcom.

“He’s my biggest supporter and my rock,” says Balcom. “He is an entrepreneur and followed his dream of owning a landscape business.”

Entrepreneurship is a ribbon that runs throughout Balcom’s life. She started selling lollipops out of her desk in elementary school and progressed to marketing her babysitting services with homemade flyers. She is the “Faculty in Residence” at Macomb’s Center for Innovation and Entrepreneurship and in recent years followed through on a dream hatched in childhood with her father of opening her own business – Scoop and Twist of Macomb.

“Sometimes I think I was absolutely crazy, I have a full-time job already,” relates Balcom, mom to Alyssa, 15, and Richie, 13,” who collectively play softball, baseball, football and volleyball, with mom and dad always cheering from the stands. “The ice cream shop was actually my kids’ idea. They think I can do anything.”

Balcom remembers her mom, a graduate of Macomb’s nursing program, and dad, her “biggest fan,” saying: “Hey, let’s go get some ice cream.” The sweet spot of opening Scoop and Twist, in fact, is providing a canvas on which other families can create those same types of lasting memories. Beyond that, and an occasional scoop of chocolate peanut butter cup, the greatest rewards of owning a business are her father’s pride and the real-world lessons she can share with students.

“This ownership experience has brought so much more value to the classroom than I ever dreamt it would,” says Balcom, who, like her mentors, has inspired some of her students to pursue teaching careers. “Teaching is what I love to do, it’s the best of both worlds. Now, I can show students my passion, and then get to see their passion and excitement in return.”

To relieve stress, Kurtis LaHaie likes to jump on one of his vintage tractors and tool around the 10 acres of land where he and wife Angela raised children Darby and Devon, and two Labrador retrievers now roam.

“I am amazed with the capabilities that tractors and bulldozers have,” says LaHaie, a third- generation automobile technician who “grew up” in his father’s repair shop. “I would like a sports car, but I know that I have a lead foot, and it would just get me into trouble.”

In addition to growing up in the trade, LaHaie earned an associate degree in Automotive Technology from Ferris State University and worked for a few years at another repair shop. From there, he joined the “tech line” at Federal-Mogul, an automotive supplier, while earning a bachelor’s degree from Ferris in Business and Industry Training.

“After completing my bachelor’s, I was promoted to product manager for the engine valve train,” relates LaHaie. “I was responsible for doing the research, working with purchasing to acquire the parts and cataloging them. This was fun. I got to see how the product was made.”

LaHaie joined Macomb’s automotive technology faculty 20 years ago and is always looking at ways to connect students with industry. For the past 15 years, he has worked with the Detroit Auto Dealers Association to coordinate events for high school and college students at the North American International Auto Show.

“The automotive field is very large and yet small at the same time,” says LaHaie. “I tell my students: ‘You never know who your next boss will be or who may be interviewing you for the next job you want. Make sure to create a good reputation for yourself.’”

Maintaining connections with automotive faculty at high schools and other colleges has also been an ongoing priority for LaHaie. Up until the pandemic, Macomb’s Automotive Technology department hosted more than 120 high school and college instructors at an event each year.

“I have been to many automotive facilities throughout Michigan,” says LaHaie, “and we have one of the better equipped and larger facilities in the state. Automotive instructors from around Michigan compliment us on our facilities.”

One of the recent additions to the Automotive Technology curriculum is a Vehicle Engineering Technician program, one of few like it in Michigan. It prepares students to assist in the development of electric and automated/connected vehicles and LaHaie teaches courses in it that include Automotive Electrical, Automotive Systems, and Hybrid and Alternative Fuel vehicles.

“It’s a great feeling watching a student grow throughout the semester,” says LaHaie. “It is also great having students come back a couple years after they graduate and share how well they are doing.”

Jennifer Manatine knew from an early age that she wanted to go into law, and she mapped out a strategy with the same careful research and attention to detail as an attorney preparing a legal brief.

“While I was attending Oakland University for my bachelor’s degree in Political Science/Spanish Language and Literature degree,” relates Manatine, Paralegal professor. “I earned my Legal Assistant certificate from its Continuing Education department.”

Oakland University’s Legal Assistant program was one of the first like it in the state. As the field broadened in scope and educational requirements, “paralegal” became the preferred title for an individual who assists attorneys in the preparation of legal documents and court cases. Subsequently, both Oakland and Macomb changed the names of their programs to reflect the field’s increasing emphasis on research and analysis, which were already two hallmarks of Manatine’s career.

“My professional experience inspired my teaching because I enjoyed learning about and researching various issues and then having to analyze the situation by applying the law to those issues to determine the most likely outcome,” says Manatine, who earned her doctor of law degree from the Detroit College of Law at Michigan State University. “I started teaching because I wanted to share what I knew about the law with others and to open their minds.”

In addition to being able to relate to her students as a former legal assistant/paralegal, Manatine is also the mother of four, ages 15-21, who keep her in tune with changing times.  One constant throughout her 20-year teaching career, however, is the satisfaction of watching students grasp the rule of law.

“I like working with students and seeing them grow as they progress through the program,” says Manatine. “I can see them gain confidence as they start applying what they have learned.”

Manatine is licensed to practice law before the State of Michigan, the United States Eastern District Court of Michigan and the United States Supreme Court. She has been a research attorney specializing in labor law, a practicing attorney in family law, a case law editor for Lexis Publishing, a law school textbooks’ publisher, and a pro bono-mediator with The Resolution Center in Macomb County, which she continues to do.

“I still like to be involved in the legal field and work on staying active by handling small projects and volunteering,” says Manatine, who is the program advisor for Macomb’s Paralegal program. “I look at law as a puzzle and you need to gather your facts to solve that puzzle.”

Students in the program can expect to learn how to find their way around a law library, as well as through the state and federal court systems.

“I want to prepare them to not be afraid of researching and analyzing the law and facts,” says Manatine. “I want them to remember that they have the confidence and the skills to do the job we have trained them for.”

Andrea (Ande) Knesek is a world traveler. She’s been throughout Europe, as well as China and Portugal. But it was a 2017 trip to Guatemala that was the most “eye opening.”

“I went with seven other nurse educators from various states. We had never met in person until we met in Miami to fly to Guatemala City,” related Knesek of the mission she volunteered for, sponsored by the Organization of Associate Degree Nursing. “Then we took a 12-hour bus ride to a remote village where we set up a ‘clinic’ and were there a week. We treated people who had issues related to the lack of clean drinking water and sanitation problems.”

Students in the Nursing program became involved with the humanitarian effort as well. They gathered up over-the-counter pain medicine, non-prescription eye glasses and similar items, and sent them with their professor to one of Latin America’s most impoverished countries. Knesek characterized the accommodations in Guatemala as “rough,” but nothing less than she expected when she placed such a trip on her “bucket list.”

A native of Indiana, Knesek has taught in Macomb’s Nursing program for more than 26 years.  She earned her bachelor’s and master’s degrees in nursing from Indiana University and a Doctor of Nursing Practice from Oakland University. Her nursing background includes critical care, medical/surgical, hospice management, and hospital education and staff development. But after she began teaching, she found a passion that literally gets her out of bed in the morning.

“My favorite part of my teaching role is the clinical component where I can facilitate students’ transition of ‘theory’ knowledge into the actual practice of caring for patients; this is the beauty of teaching nursing. It is a gift to be able to share with students what I am passionate about, what I feel is most important in the nursing role,” said Knesek. “I have never regretted my career choice, even on the days I get up at 4:10 am to be able to get to the hospital early to make meaningful clinical assignments for my students.”

One recent morning, Knesek was greeted by six familiar faces. All of the nurses on duty in the clinical unit that day were former students of hers.

Knesek has been married to her husband Gerry, also an Indiana native, for 44 years. Retired from both GM and Macomb, where he served as an administrator, Gerry is currently teaching in the school of management at the University of Michigan-Flint. The couple have two sons, David and Michael, both married and both orthopedic surgeons in Michigan and Indiana, respectively.

In their leisure time, the couple keep active: walking, biking, kayaking, fishing and traveling, as well as spending time with their five grandchildren, aged two to nine. Knesek’s other “family” consists of her students and colleagues at Macomb.

“I have worked with so many talented people through the years that have supported me to learn and grow in my role as faculty,” said Knesek. “This is truly the best job I have ever had.”