Emeriti
Dr. Russ Bruce, professor emeritus, retired in 1987. After graduation from Sault High in 1948, Dr. Bruce went on to Cornell College for his BA degree in physical education and mathematics. After serving with the U.S. Army in Germany he resumed his studies receiving his MA degree from the University of Michigan and his PhD from the University of Wisconsin. Prior to coming to Lake Superior State College (LSSC), now LSSU, he held professorships at Eastern Michigan University and Northern Michigan University, where he joined the faculty in 1967. Dr. Bruce arrived on our campus in 1976, retiring in 1987 as head of the Department of Health, Physical Education and Recreation, where he also founded the Northwoods Orienteering Club.
Dr. Bruce had a strong relationship with the outdoors. As both an avid runner and outdoors enthusiast, he coached the then LSSC orienteering club, which won the U.S. Intercollegiate championship in 1977. He also spent nine years on the U.S. Orienteering Federation Board of Directors, receiving that group’s prestigious Silva Award in 1987. He later served on the organizing committee for the 1993 World Orienteering Championships in New York and has been an active participant in the sport, placing in the top five on five occasions in his age group.
Dr. Bruce, with his wife Marquetta, have insured that the legacy of this pioneer goes on at LSSU, having endowed a scholarship in their name. Marquetta, his wife of 59 years, was a teacher/consultant in learning disabilities with the Marquette and Sault Area Public Schools and an accomplished organist. Information about this scholarship given annually to a top returning senior in Kinesiology (formerly Recreation Studies and Exercise Science) can be found at the Russell and Marquetta Bruce Scholarship page.
Ms. Deb McPherson-Doyle, professor emeritus, retired in 2015. McPherson-Doyle taught at LSSU for 39 years. McPherson graduated from Northern Michigan University (1974) with a BS in Health, Physical Education, Recreation, and Dance, following up with an MA in Education Administration (1983) from the same institution. She joined the faculty in 1976 serving in the capacity of athletic coach and instructor. She promoted to assistant professor in 1983, then associate professor in 2010. McPherson-Doyle retired as chair of the School of Recreation Studies and Exercise Science, a position she held for 12 years. She developed the Sport and Recreation Management major that has evolved into the Sport and Fitness Management concentration in the Bachelor of Science in Kinesiology program. Professor McPherson-Doyle was a past president of the LSSU Faculty Association. She is also remembered for her work with senior citizens, including establishment of Elderhostel at LSSU and its successor, Lake State Elders, which continues today.
An early pioneer in women’s athletics, McPherson-Doyle served as both softball and volleyball coach for Lake Superior State College (LSSC), now LSSU. She was directly responsible for launching the first volleyball program in the university. She joined the coaching staff in 1976, retiring from coaching in 1992. McPherson-Doyle’s coaching accomplishments led to her election into the LSSU Athletics Hall of Fame in 1998. She also had the honor of inducting the entire 1978 squad into the Hall of Fame. She and longtime coach Mark Engle underwrote the volleyball team photo display in 2005 that adorns the Norris Center’s main hallway. There is an award in her name that annually recognizes a female athlete of the year, in recognition of McPherson’s 17-year coaching career and the crucial role she played in establishing women’s sports at LSSU.