- BS Civil Engineering 1952
A native of Chassell, Michigan, Mr. Cletus L. Courchaine received his baccalaureate in civil engineering with honor from Michigan Tech in 1952. After a brief period with the Houghton County Road Commission, Cletus served as a first lieutenant in the 354th Engineering Construction Battalion in Germany from 1952-54. He joined the Calhoun County Health Department as a Public Health Engineer in 1954 and was appointed as a District Engineer in the Michigan Department of Public Health in 1955. He transferred to the Escanaba office of the Michigan Department of Public Health in 1960 as District Engineer in charge of public water supply and wastewater systems and was promoted to Division Chief in 1964. Cletus earned a M.S. degree in civil engineering from the University of Michigan in 1967.
He has published several technical papers related to water supply and wastewater engineering. Among his several professional awards are: the 1973 Arthur Sydney Bedell Award from the Michigan Water Environment Federation; the 1976 Raymond J. Faust Award from the American Water Works Association; the 1985 George Warren Fuller Award from AWWA for exemplary service to the public water supply industry; and the 1988 Roy A. Manty Award from the Michigan Association of Public Health for outstanding service to local health departments in Michigan. He retired from the Michigan Department of Public Health in 1990 and was awarded life membership in the American Water Works Association in 1991. Cletus is a member of the Michigan Tech Founders Club. He and his wife, Mary Ellen, have seven children and spend their summers in Chassell and winters in Florida.
From 1995 Induction to the Civil and Environmental Engineering Academy