Chris Nern '62
The Class of 1962 Scholarship honoree for the 2020-21 school year is Chris Nern who passed away in January of 2011.
Nern was born Sept. 30, 1944 in New York City. His family moved to the Birmingham-Bloomfield Hills area of metro Detroit when he was young and he later graduated from the University of Detroit Jesuit High School in 1962. After earning his undergraduate degree at Michigan State University, Nern joined the United States Air Force. Afterward, he obtained his law degree from Wayne State University.
He began his law career by serving as Assistant Attorney General for the State of Michigan. From 1973 to 2000, he worked for DTE Energy/Detroit Edison. Initially, Nern was counsel for Detroit Edison in all rate cases and regulatory matters, as well as representing the company before state and federal courts, the Michigan Public Service Commission and other government regulatory agencies. Later on he served as Vice President & General Counsel until his retirement in 2000.
Following his retirement, Nern stayed active by serving as General Counsel for ICDL US, a global computer literacy certification provider. He was also an adjunct professor of business law at Lawrence Technological University and Madonna University/St. Mary’s College.