Stephen Buckbee

Alumni

Stephen Buckbee
Major: Associate in Arts
Hometown: Escanaba, MI

Stephen Buckbee has been involved with Bay College for much of his life—and a significant portion of the institution’s history. Not only did he graduate from the college during its early years, he eventually took a teaching position there and stayed in that role for well over two decades.

Stephen graduated from high school at Holy Name Catholic School in 1969. The following fall, he started taking classes at Bay along with his twin brother Robert Buckbee.

“It was local, it was inexpensive, and it offered transfer programs. I was running a coffeehouse, so it fit perfectly—I could still run the coffeehouse while attending Bay,” he said.

When Stephen was a student at Bay, the college was not as thoroughly established as it is today; in fact, it had just opened a few years before he enrolled. He said his instructors were “on their first tour,” but they cared deeply about their students’ success.

“They were all pretty new to the occupation of teaching. It was a brand-new college with brand-new buildings, and they were excited,” he said.

Though Stephen pursued an associate in arts degree at Bay, his real focus was on studying human services.

“I think people are amazing. I really wanted to make the world a better place, and I still do,” he said.

Along with his studies, he briefly played tennis as a member of Bay’s original athletics program—predating the Bay College Norse by decades.

“I had the opportunity to play on the tennis team. That was a short-lived experience, but a fun one,” he said.

Stephen graduated from Bay in 1971 and studied sociology and social work at Western Michigan University. He graduated from that college in 1973 and returned to the Escanaba area to find a job.

In the years that followed, Stephen worked for many local organizations, including Catholic Social Services of the Upper Peninsula and Pathways Community Mental Health. (In the latter role, he was involved with the creation of one of the first rural court-focused mental health systems in the state, which included an office at the local jail.) He also earned his master’s degree in counseling from Northern Michigan University in 1978.

Later, Stephen found employment somewhere near and dear to his heart—Bay College. He was hired as a sociology teacher and the coordinator of the college’s human services program in the early ‘80s.

According to Stephen, working at the school that helped him start his higher education journey was an honor, especially since he was one of the first Bay graduates to get a full-time teaching job there.

“I love this institution, and I think Bay’s heart has always been in the right place in terms of working to help students succeed,” he said.

During his time at Bay, Stephen established a side-gig in the form of BDD Training Associates. This small business, which he formed with Michael Dupont and Dan Doyle, allowed him to put his passion for sociology to use in another way.

At this point, the State of Michigan was searching for alternatives to incarceration for children. That came in the form of regional detention support services, but the adults involved with these programs needed to be trained.

“We started to train the people who were working with the kids, and that led to a lot of opportunities,” Stephen said. He noted that BDD has been active in China, the Czech Republic, England, Canada, and many other countries.

Much of BDD’s work focuses on family systems—an approach to therapy that emphasizes the treatment of multiple family members. Stephen had an opportunity to work with Virginia Satir (AKA “the mother of family therapy,”) and Bay paid for him to attend her seminars. (This knowledge also assisted Stephen in his role as a sociology teacher.)

After teaching at Bay for 25 years, Stephen left his position in 2007. Today, he is “quasi-retired”—while BDD is still technically active, the company provides approximately three or four training sessions annually.

“I decided that what I could do is continue teaching online and developing courses related to the work of Virginia Satir,” he said of his current work.

No matter what comes next for Stephen, he said teaching has been his greatest passion in life.

“I think the biggest thing about teaching is listening to students and connecting with them,” he said.

He also voiced his appreciation for everything Bay does for its students and the community as a whole.

“It’s a jewel and an incredible resource for people—both as a school and a community fixture,” Stephen said.

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