Passions and Pastimes: Ross Faculty and Staff Share Their Hobbies
Many Michigan Ross faculty and staff pursue a wide range of hobbies that extend beyond their professional roles. Their varied interests offer a chance to deepen curiosity, explore personal passions, and build meaningful connections. The following three members of the Ross community shared what they love to do when they’re not at work, offering a glimpse at the depth and personality faculty and staff bring to our campus.
Katherine Burson,
Associate Professor, Marketing
I’ve always loved handcrafting, animals, and agriculture, but these things are more than hobbies to me. I tend to view my life outside of work as more like an ongoing project in applied ecology and community building. I took 60 abandoned acres and have painstakingly stewarded them into a functioning animal sanctuary, farm, and equestrian facility over the past 11 years. At this point, I’ve moved beyond just forest and pasture management and my kitchen garden to growing specialized fiber crops like flax and cotton. My goal is to bring out the best in the land so it can serve as a refuge for all its wild and domestic animals, people included.
I’ve built a community of like-minded others, and we gather regularly to forage, process fiber, spin, and share life. So the “hobby” is really more about creating a haven where those who need a safe place to land can come, and those who simply need a change can flourish (they are usually horses and cats, but sometimes people).
It’s not all sunshine and roses, of course. There are bad days. There are actually some nearly unbearably bad days. It is a demanding, weather-dependent lifestyle that requires constant problem-solving and is, at its core, the management of both life and death, but it provides me with a happy, purposeful life outside of work.
Allison Correll
Senior Event Manager
While I have always enjoyed learning about birds when traveling, it was not until a trip to Point Pelee, Canada, a few years ago that I learned how amazing our local birds are and dove into birding as a hobby. I now have a tradition of going to Point Pelee right after Ross Commencement as a great way to relax and reconnect with nature.
Birding is a great hobby because even if you don’t find the bird you’re looking for, you are still getting outside. Even on some of the coldest winter days, you can find a wide variety of migratory ducks. It is easier than ever to get into birding. The app Merlin can recognize bird songs and photos and identify them for you. Tracking your sightings through eBird is also a great way to participate in citizen science, as the data can be used by scientists studying bird populations.
Jeffery Fleckenstein
Continuous Improvement and Data Analytics Specialist ,
Business Administration Adjunct Lecturer
I have had a lifelong connection to the water, beginning with childhood days on Lake Michigan with my grandfather. Sailing quickly became more than a pastime; it became part of our family story. As a teenager, I spent three summers at the Culver Summer Naval School, where I learned navigation, fleet racing, and disciplined seamanship, including the memorable experience of crewing on the 65-foot square-rigger, the R.H. Ledbetter. My mother also completed the Great Loop twice, so I come by my love of boats honestly.
These days, I sail a 30-foot Catalina 30 named Gingerly, which I keep in Whitehall, Michigan. Over the years, that early love of the water has grown into a passion for competitive racing, including the Bayview Mackinac Race and the Helly Hansen Sailing World Regatta Series in Detroit. What I love most about racing is that it demands your full attention. You are reading the wind, watching the current, calculating your position in the fleet, and communicating constantly with your crew. There is no room to think about deadlines, email, or the next project. For me, sailing offers the perfect combination of strategy, teamwork, and escape. It allows me to be fully present on the water and return to shore a little more grounded.
