Investing in Ferris Yesterday, Today and Tomorrow

Over 50 years ago, Bob Creswell, retired president of Amerikam, Inc., a Grand Rapids-based manufacturing company, began a long friendship with Ferris State University. “Two instructors for the College of Technology at Ferris stopped by the factory, introduced themselves and asked me for any help I could provide.” Bob shared. Materials are always in need for students to use the machinery for hands-on learning and projects. “Of course, we agreed, and soon I was getting annual visits and supporting Ferris.”

Raised in West Michigan, Bob attended Western Michigan University and earned his Bachelor of Science in Education in 1962 before becoming an aviator for the United States Army. After serving three years active duty and three years in the reserves, Bob was faced with choices on what his next step would be. Whether it was continuing with a flight career with American Airlines or something else, he ultimately decided to stay in West Michigan. He worked at several companies before landing at a family-owned company, Kaminga Manufacturing. Working through the ranks at Kaminga, Bob also earned his Master of Business Administration from Western Michigan University in 1972.

It was several years later in 1984, when the opportunity to purchase Kaminga Manufacturing was presented to him and Bob grabbed the chance to make it his own. Wanting to represent his company as an American company while continuing the legacy of the Kaminga family, the company was rebranded as Amerikam.

Bob has been an incredible advocate for Ferris both on campus and off. He is a charter member of The Ferris Foundation (originally known as The Venture Fund) and served as a member of the CEO Council for the Applied Technology Center Executive Committee, the Applied Technology Center Fundraising Cabinet, the Manufacturing Engineering Technology Advisory Committee, the Manufacturing and Resource Productivity Center Advisory Board, and served as a member of the university’s board of trustees. Off campus, he was promoting Ferris through his service as a member of The Right Place Program’s Manufacturers Council Steering Committee, the Citizens League of Greater Grand Rapids Literacy in the Workplace Task Force and served as president of the Economic Development Corporation in Wyoming, Michigan.

“I believe in the Ferris mission and the practical education they deliver to students,” he says. And Bob would know. His company deepened their partnership with Ferris for a class project known as the Amerikam Project, impacting countless alumni of Ferris’ manufacturing programs. “The student project involves designing a process to produce parts from a drawing supplied by the company engineers,” says Bob. “Each year the project is different, and at the end of the semester students travel to Amerikam for the day and present their solutions.” This partnership continues to this day, impacting Ferris’ Manufacturing Engineering Technology students each and every year.

Bob is also a generous donor to Ferris, having provided financial support for the many initiatives he has been involved with over the years. He was one of the first donors to establish an endowed scholarship, the Creswell Family Endowed Scholarship, providing financial support to students in the College of Engineering Technology. Since then, Bob has created a planned gift from his estate plans and continues to contribute to his endowed scholarship each year. “I hope my scholarship gives students the support they need so they can work hard and have a successful future.”

Like Bob, you can make a difference in the lives of Ferris students with a gift to The Ferris Foundation in your estate plan. Contact The Ferris Foundation at (231) 591-2365 and FerrisFoundation@ferris.edu to learn more.