Bruce Annett was named Lawrence Technological University’s university historian August 1, 2021. Annett has served closely with six of Lawrence Tech’s eight presidents, five of them for their entire tenure. That role has made him uniquely qualified to chronicle LTU’s remarkable contributions to higher education, and he is doing just that— authoring the first book about Lawrence Tech’s history. He is also building awareness of LTU’s heritage as a competitive distinction and working to develop a formal Lawrence Tech archive.

Annett held a number of communication and leadership roles at LTU over nearly 50 years and for 23 years was concurrently the director of alumni services and managed major events. As vice president of marketing and public affairs 2016-21, Annett oversaw the annual production of nearly 600 print and digital publications, university graphics and trademarks, the news bureau/media relations, social media, marketing photography and videography, and the LTU website.

His earlier positions included director of public relations, university relations, and associate vice president. Beginning in 1976, for 23 years he was concurrently LTU’s director of alumni relations, where he established and led programs not only for Lawrence Tech alumni but added alumni of the former Detroit Institute of Technology when it closed in 1981. He planned many of LTU’s major events such as commencements, groundbreakings, and building dedications, as well as LTU’s name change from Lawrence Institute of Technology in 1989.

Annett repatriated two of Lawrence Tech’s earliest student projects, a hand built 1940s airplane and automobile, and then recruited student, staff, alumni, and community teams to restore and display them on campus. He founded the Lawrence Tech Magazine in 1977 and edited it until his latest appointment. From 2014-21 he served as secretary to the LTU Board of Trustees.

He holds degrees from Albion College and Michigan State University and also graduated from Leadership Oakland. He and LTU’s marketing staff received dozens of regional and national awards for communication excellence during his tenure.