Janice Olson

Jan Olson transferred to Michigan Tech from Wayne State in 1970 and enrolled in Tech's new major, Technical Writing, after being introduced to Michigan Tech by her husband, Stan Olson, who was attending Tech's School of Business. Graduated cum laude in 1972, Jan and her husband were both hired by General Motors. Jan began her career at Buick Motor Division, as a Technical Writer for the engineering group. She was the first female college graduate to work for that division. Her career successfully progressed to include numerous promotions and a wide variety of responsibilities, including Interior Component Engineer Contact, Product Planner, District Sales Manager at Rockford, Illinois, Zone Organizational Manager at Houston, Texas, Sales & Engineering Manager at Flint, Michigan, and Assistant Zone Manager at Los Angeles, California.

After 13 years with Buick, Jan was recruited by Toyota Motor Sales, USA, in Los Angeles as National Market Planning & Administration Manager and National Advertising Strategy & Media Manager. In 1988, Jan joined Michelin Tire Corporation. She was promoted from Director of Advertising & Promotion to Vice President, Michelin Retail Tires, in 1990.

In 1992, Leo Burnett, an international advertising agency, recruited Jan as Vice President/Account Director for the Oldsmobile account. She also had exposure to all of the various marketing for many other products. In 1994, Jan became the international Vice President/ Account Director for The Rockport Company account where she traveled extensively throughout Europe, Asia and Latin America. During that time, she also completed successfully Northwestern's Kellogg Management Institute Executive Management Program.

In 1997, Jan joined AutoNation USA, as Director at New Vehicle Marketing in Ft. Lauderdale, Florida. The original concept was to create a new, more pleasant retail experience for the automotive shopper. When it appeared that concept was not going to be realized, Jan resigned and decided to retire. Currently, Jan dedicates her time as volunteer to Hospice, to Reach One Teach One, and to Take Stock in Children. Just recently, she was appointed by the Florida Attorney General to be a technical arbitrator for the Lemon Law.

From 2002 Induction to the College of Sciences and Arts Academy