A legacy of steady leadership: Celebrating Bob Irvine’s remarkable journey with AQD

When Bob Irvine walked into the Air Quality Division (AQD) in 1980, he wasn’t entirely sure where his career would take him. What he did know was that he wanted meaningful work — and that he preferred something other than traditional chemical engineering. More than four decades later, Bob has become a quiet part of Michigan’s clean-air efforts, helping to shape policies, nurturing staff, and guiding the State Implementation Plan (SIP) Development Unit through some of its most technically challenging and politically sensitive milestones.

But his story begins long before SIPs and rulebooks.

From Delta College to MSU and beyond

Bob earned his degree in chemical engineering from Michigan State University in 1974, following two years at Delta College. Even then, he wasn’t entirely sure engineering was his calling. After graduation, he spent time cooking, doing maintenance work, and taking on assorted odd jobs before moving into consulting work that included drafting.

It was a Christian group — not a classroom or job posting — that eventually steered him toward air quality. There, he met long-term air permit engineer Paul Schleusener, who talked about the job in a way that stuck with Bob. It wasn’t heavy on engineering, and it sounded like something he could enjoy.

That group also brought something even more important into his life: Marilyn. The two married on April 4, 1981—a date that later became extra special as the birthday of their youngest granddaughter. Today, Bob and Marilyn share three sons and three grandchildren.

Where it all began

When Bob joined the AQD in 1980, the SIP Group was tiny. The Clean Air Act had been updated only a few years earlier, and Michigan was just beginning its work on ozone controls and volatile organic compound (VOC) regulations. With handwritten documents, indoor smoking, typewriters, and microfiche readers, the work environment bore little resemblance to the digital, fast-paced AQD of today