SIU Automotive: Former chair Mike Behrmann epitomized “family” concept within the program
By Pete Rosenbery
CARBONDALE, Ill. — When then-student Mike Behrmann visited Southern Illinois University Carbondale’s automotive technology campus in Carterville in June 1984, he joined a special place that is “family.”
“I still remember the first day that I stepped foot on the Carterville campus and I learned about SIU Automotive as a prospective student. I saw the passion of the industry and of student learning and I wanted to be a part of that,” said Behrmann, who retired in May after more than 33 years as a faculty member, including since 2010 as department chair, in what is now the School of Automotive.
While Behrmann’s role with the program is changing, continuing to grow the program and strengthening its role within the industry remains pivotal, he said.
“I still see a lot of great potential for the school. I still see a lot of great potential for this program to do some very innovative work when it comes toward the automotive and mobility industry. We are positioned to really help lead this industry forward.”
Will still be involved
While he steps back from teaching and administrative work, Behrmann will still be actively involved with the SIU Automotive family working behind the scenes to support the program, students, alumni and program friends. Behrmann wants to help raise scholarships and development funds for the program, further industry partnerships and connect with the nearly 3,000 alumni.
“We have a vast alumni network out there and I wished I could always do more. Now I have the time to where I can do more. I want to go out and keep the alumni and friends connection with SIU and see how can I help support that,” he said.
Behrmann, along with his wife, Christine, and daughter, Jill, also created a Behrmann Family Endowment to assist students. The endowment can be used however best to support students whether through scholarships or student activities.
“We would not have been in the position we are today if it wasn’t for SIU and this department,” Behrmann said, also crediting his wife and daughter for their support. “It’s given me everything that I have and so my goal is to be giving back however I possibly can.”
Solid footing
SIU Automotive began in 1952 with founding program director L.D. Willey as a part of the university’s then-Vocational Technical Institute and spent nearly six decades in buildings in Carterville, originally built as temporary military buildings in the late 1930s. The program moved to the state-of-the-industry Transportation Education Center in 2012. Behrmann was just the fourth director in the program’s history.
In addition to the solid alumni base and industry support, the program is known for its consistency. Interim director and associate professor Eugene Talley is among 10 faculty who are Behrmann’s former students, while two of Behrmann’s former classmates are also on the faculty.
Blaine Heisner, an associate professor, graduated from the program in May 1999 and worked for Ford Motor Co. for seven years at their national technical hotline before returning to the region and beginning with the faculty in 2007. Heisner was a student in Behrmann’s automotive service operations course during his senior year and recalls Behrmann’s “upbeat attitude for the subject” and making sure students understood the material.
‘Like a proud father’
Behrmann notes he has spent enough time to see sons and daughters of program graduates also graduate from SIU Automotive and do well.
“What I’ve always enjoyed, whether as an instructor or sitting here as chair, was seeing the passion in the students, in their learning and wanting to learn more and be able to do more. Then, even after they graduate and they are out in the industry, seeing how successful they are in their chosen field. That’s what makes me proud,” he said.
Always involved
Alicia Johnston, an assistant instructor, transferred to SIU Carbondale and completed her automotive technology degree in December 2017. As a transfer student, Behrmann and the faculty were “so welcoming and helped me learn and grow not only in automotive, but as a person,” she said.
While she never had Behrmann as a teacher, Johnston notes he has a way of being involved and getting to know all the students in the program. She was a member and president of the Women in Automotive Technology student-registered organization and recalls he was always there to help come up with ideas to grow and be involved.
“He helped make sure the program was thriving not just surviving and he was always a step ahead of everyone,” she said. “He spends weekends and evenings up at the TEC working in the labs, helping other instructors plan for class activities, and just making sure the program has everything it needs to succeed.”
Johnston added that it was after she was hired as an instructor that it became more apparent “just how much of his time and soul he puts into the program.”
Tireless worker
Behrmann is “one of the most ambitious and valuable employees” the program has had, Heisner said.
“He is a tireless worker and is consistently active in his efforts to grow and serve the department. His work ethic is second to none. If James Brown was the hardest working man in show business, we know Mike Behrmann didn’t want his job,” Heisner said. “Mike has been instrumental in bringing in high quality students through his recruiting efforts. Without these students, our program wouldn’t have seen the success that we have enjoyed for so long.”
Johnston discussed with Behrmann her dream of becoming an automotive technologies’ teacher. When she was hired, Behrmann was encouraging and guiding “without taking away my creative freedoms,” she said.
“He didn’t want me to be a copy of other instructors, he wanted me to bloom into my own,” she said. “Whenever I was having a ‘I have no idea what I’m doing here!’ crisis, he was right there helping me come up with ideas or just listening if I needed to vent about the stressors of being a first-year teacher.”
Ready for rapid changes
With the program transforming from a department to a school, SIU Automotive is positioned for rapid changes within the industry, Behrmann said. It will provide students with updated curriculum and different course and allow SIU to shift and adjust to meet industry and consumer demands. That can also possibly mean developing and adding additional specializations to the program, he said.
Yet even with the shift in technologies including electrical propulsion systems, autonomous transportation and varied mobility systems, the program’s success goes back to family, Behrmann said.
“We have a great SIU automotive family. We have great alumni, a great supportive industry helping us out, and that’s what it takes to keep the program successful and those pieces are in place,” he said.