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STATE BOARD OF EDUCATION

Carolyn L. Curtin, Secretary

R-Evart, Term Expires 1/1/2011

Mrs. Curtin was elected in 2002. She is a homemaker and volunteer. She is a former member of the Evart School Board, and the Mecosta-Osceola Intermediate School Board. She attended Ferris State University. [email protected]

Eileen Lappin Weiser, R-Ann Arbor, Term Expires 1/1/2007

Elected in 1998, Mrs. Weiser is former Executive Director of the McKinley Foundation of Ann Arbor. She graduated from the University of Michigan and Michigan State University with a Bachelor of Music and Master of Music degrees in piano performance. She has been on the Executive Committee of the Michigan Council for the Arts and Cultural Affairs for eight years.

[email protected]

Nancy Danhof, NASBE Delegate R-East Lansing, Term Expires 1/1/13

Mrs. Danhof is currently the Executive Director of the Todd Martin Development Fund. Previous experience includes Director of the Michigan Foundation for Education Leadership, developing and coordinating the Governor's Education Summit, member of the East Lansing Board of Education, and volunteer in East Lansing Schools' K-5 Reading Program. Mrs. Danhof holds a Bachelor's degree and teaching certificate from Michigan


U OF M BOARD OF REGENTS

Andrea Fischer Newman
Senior Vice President-Government Affairs
Northwest Airlines
Detroit Metropolitan Airport
2601 WorldGateway Place
Detroit, MI 48242
email: [email protected]

Regent Newman, a Republican from Ann Arbor, received an A.B. degree from the University of Michigan in 1979 and a J.D. degree from the George Washington University National Law Center in 1983. She is currently senior vice president-government affairs at Northwest Airlines, with responsibility for the company's international, federal, state and local government affairs.

Ms. Newman serves as a vice president of the Detroit Economic Club and is on the board of directors of the American Council of Young Political Leaders, the Michigan Thanksgiving Day Parade Foundation, and the Congressional Economic Leadership Institute. She has been active in the Republican Party on the state and national levels, and served as vice chair of the George W. Bush for President campaign and co-chair of the Bush for President Finance Committee in Michigan in the 2000 presidential election.

She was elected to the Board of Regents in 1994 and re-elected in 2002.

Andrew C. Richner
Clark Hill PLC
500 Woodward Ave., Suite 3500
Detroit, MI 48226-3435
Phone: (313) 965-8531
email: [email protected]

Regent Richner, a Republican from Grosse Pointe Park, graduated from the University of Michigan School of Business Administration (B.B.A., 1982) and the University of Michigan Law School (J.D., 1986), where he was a contributing editor of the Michigan Law Review.

Regent Richner is a partner in the law firm Clark Hill PLC. He served three terms in the Michigan House of Representatives, two terms as a Wayne County Commissioner, and one term on the Grosse Pointe Park City Council. He was an intern in the Office of Counsel to the President in the White House under President Reagan.

Regent Richner and his wife, Susan, have a 12-year-old son and an 8-year-old daughter.

He was elected to the Board of Regents in 2002.



MSU BOARD OF TRUSTEES
Trustee David L. Porteous, Chairperson
* P.O. Box 206
* Reed City MI 49677
* (231) 832-3231 - Office
* [email protected]

David L. Porteous is an attorney and president of Porteous Law Office PC in Reed City, Michigan. He has been in private practice since 1978, specializing in corporate and municipal law, and government relations.

In 1998, he was elected for an eight-year term to the Board of Trustees of Michigan State University. He is also a member of the Board of Trustees of the Michigan State University - Detroit College of Law (MSU-DCL) and serves as assistant secretary of the MSU-DCL Board.

He is a member of the Board of Directors of the Michigan Economic Development Corporation, the Michigan Chamber of Commerce, the Jackson National Life Insurance Company of New York, Huntington National Bank, Chemical Bank, 4-H Foundation, and the Supreme Court Historical Society.

Porteous previously served as chairman of the Michigan Strategic Fund; as vice-chairman of the Michigan Economic Growth Authority, as a member of the State Corrections Commission, and as a member of Governor Engler's Transition Team.

He is an active member of the Chamber of Commerce, Rotary International, Boy Scouts of America, the Osceola County Community Foundation, and the United Methodist Church.

Porteous graduated cum laude from Michigan State University in 1974, receiving a Bachelor of Science degree in criminal justice. He graduated with distinction from Thomas M. Cooley Law School in 1977 and served as judicial clerk with the Michigan Court of Appeals. He also studied International Law at Oxford University in England, and completed the Russian Language Program at Yale University.

Porteous and his wife, Joan, a 1975 MSU graduate, have been married 25 years and have three children. Their oldest son currently attends MSU, and their daughter is a student at MSU-DCL.

Trustee Dolores M. Cook
* 504 W. Judd
* Greenville MI 48838
* (616) 754-8227 - Residence
* [email protected]

Dolores Cook was re-elected to the Board in 1998 for a second eight-year term beginning January 1, 1999. She served as Vice Chairperson of the Board in 1996 and as Chairperson in 1997.

Cook has been active in education and civic affairs since graduating from MSU with a degree in television and communication. A strong supporter of MSU activities, she currently serves as a co-chair of the Campaign for MSU. Cook is a former member of the board of directors of the MSU Development Fund and served as national chairperson of special gifts for MSU's $210 million capital campaign, "MSU 2000: Access to Opportunity." She also was one of the original members of the Wharton Center Advisory Council.

Her numerous educational activities have included twelve years as president of the Greenville Board of Education. She was among the founders of Montcalm Community College and was appointed by then-Governor George Romney to the citizens' feasibility committee that established the college. In 1995 she was appointed to the Michigan State University-Detroit College of Law Board of Trustees where she served as co-chairperson of the Development Committee for Capital Campaign and Endowment.

A motivational speaker, Cook also has served on the Montcalm County Mental Health Board and was area chairperson for Youth for Understanding International Student Exchange.

In the MSU community, Cook serves as a member of the MSU Benefactor's Club and on the Board of Directors for the MSU Foundation. She is also a charter member of the Hannah Society, a member of the MSU President's Club, and she served on the MSU Presidential Search Committee. In addition, Cook is a member of the MSU Coaches Club, the Platinum Circle at MSU's Wharton Center, and is an MSU Band Fan.

Trustee Cook is married to Byron Cook, who received a Bachelor of Science degree from MSU in 1954, and a Doctor of Laws degree from the University of Michigan in 1958. Both of their children are graduates of MSU.

Trustee Melanie Foster
* 2561 Meadow Woods Drive
* East Lansing, MI 48823
* (517) 204-8052
* [email protected]

Elected to the Board in 2004, Melanie Foster previously served on the MSU Board of Trustees from 1991 to 1992. In 1997 she was appointed to the Board of Trustees of Central Michigan University and served until 2004. While at CMU she chaired a national presidential search and a comprehensive presidential performance review.

Foster was raised in the landscape and nursery business in Flat Rock, Michigan. For 15 years she served as President and CEO of a commercial landscape company that she built into the nation's largest female-owned and controlled landscape firm. Based in the Detroit area, the firm also had offices in four states.

Foster was also President and CEO of a commercial landscape firm in Orlando, Florida, that specialized in theme park and entertainment related landscaping. She currently manages a personal real estate portfolio.

Foster's memberships include World Presidents Organization Detroit Chapter and Trinity Church Lansing. She is a former member of the MSU Wharton Advisory Council, serving there for six years. Former directorships include Charter National Bank, Artrain, the State of Michigan Board of Landscape Architecture Registration and the Associated Landscape Contractors of America.

She has been an active parent for the past decade at the MSU Child Development Laboratory. Foster is also a Board Member for the Michigan Dyslexia Institute in Lansing, Michigan.

Foster received a B.S. degree from MSU in 1977 in Ornamental Horticulture. She resides in East Lansing with her husband John and three children.

Trustee Donald W. Nugent
* 1225 Forrester Road
* Frankfort MI 49635
* (231) 352-7181 - Office
* [email protected]

Donald Nugent was elected to serve on the Michigan State University Board of Trustees beginning January 1, 1995. In November 2002, he was reelected for a second eight-year term beginning January 1, 2003.

A life-long resident of Frankfort, Michigan, he and his wife Gail own and operate Nugent Farms, producing cherries and apples in Benzie and Leelanau counties.

He is also Chief Executive Officer of Graceland Fruit Cooperative, Inc., president of North American Fruit Trading Alliance, Inc., and chairman of the board of West Michigan National Bank and Trust.

In addition, he serves on the board of directors of the Traverse Bay Economic Development Corporation, and on the executive committee of MBI International.

His other membership activities include the Frankfort Rotary Club, Frankfort Congregational Church, Michigan Food Processors Association, Michigan Horticultural Society, Farm Bureau, and the Benzie County Republican Committee.

Some of Nugent's past services include 14 years on the Michigan Farm Bureau and affiliate company boards of directors, the Michigan Commission of Agriculture for four years (1991-94), and the Northwest Michigan College University Center Capital Campaign.

Don Nugent graduated from MSU in 1965 with a Bachelor of Science in agriculture. His wife Gail graduated from MSU in 1972 with a Bachelor of Arts in education and taught at Frankfort/Elberta Elementary School. They have two children.

Trustee G. Scott Romney
* Honigman Miller Schwartz & Cohn LLP
* 2290 First National Building
* 660 Woodward Avenue
* Detroit MI 48226
* (313) 465-7522 - Office
* [email protected]

Scott Romney of Birmingham was appointed to the Michigan State University Board of Trustees by Governor John Engler on August 15, 2000. In November 2000, he was elected to serve an eight-year term on the Board.

Romney joined Honigman Miller Schwartz and Cohn in 1976 and is a partner and member of its board of directors. He previously practiced law in New York, and served as president of the Lakeway Corporation in Austin, Texas. He serves as a member of the board of directors of the Compuware Corporation.

He is active in Hospice of Michigan, Convergence Transportation Electronics Association, The Children's Center of Wayne County, the National Conference for Community and Justice, Detroit Area Council of Boy Scouts of America, and New Detroit.

He received his bachelor of arts degree in economics from MSU in 1966 and his law degree from Harvard Law School in 1969. He also attended Stanford University.

Romney is married to Ellen Rogers and has seven children. Romney is the son of former Michigan Governor George Romney.


WAYNE STATE BOARD OF GOVERNORS

Diane Dunaskiss, wife of former State Senator Mat Dunaskiss, is serving her second term on Wayne State Board of Governors. Diane, who earned her Bachelor of Science Degree, Elementary Education at Wayne State, has three goals in mind as a Wayne State Governor. First, to maintain excellence in education at Wayne State. Second, to restore one of the nation's best urban campuses. Third, to create a values-based education system that will ensure that every student learns the skills that they will need to be successful in today's job market. Diane feels that as an educator, a woman, and a conservative, she provides a valuable and unique perspective as the Board attempts to find solutions to the complex problems facing higher education.

Diane is the principal of Pine Tree Elementary School in Lake Orion. At the school Diane helps children that have special needs that cannot be met in the traditional classroom. Diane serves as the instructional leader to assist staff in curriculum design and implementation. She constantly seeks ways to interact with the 500 children in her school in positive ways so students do not view the principal position as disciplinary only. Diane spends her days with these children helping them to adapt to the school environment, developing their unique and individual skills, and helping to develop their confidence and self-esteem.

She serves as a member and trustee of the Alpha Delta Kappa Education Sorority, trustee for the Lake Orion Foundation for the Enhancement of Public Education, and is active on several committees within the school district.

Elizabeth Hardy

Named one of Michigan's leading litigators by Chambers USA in 2004, Elizabeth Hardy, a founding partner at Kienbaum Opperwall Hardy & Pelton, specializes in employment litigation, representing management interests and perspectives in all aspects of employment law. As a co-chair of the Judicial Selection Committee of the State Bar of Michigan, Hardy reviews the qualifications of candidates for judicial office and makes recommendations on judicial appointments. Hardy also has served on the screening committees appointed by President George W. Bush for judicial appointments to the Sixth Circuit Court of Appeals and federal district courts in Michigan. In addition to her work in judicial selections, Hardy served as a legislative assistant to U.S. Senators Robert P. Griffin of Michigan and Rudy Boschwitz of Minnesota. She also has been a member of the Wayne State Board of Governors since 1991, served as the Board's chair from 1995 to 1996, and headed its Presidential Selection Committee in 1997. Hardy frequently speaks at seminars around the country and appears on television as an expert on employment and civil rights issues. She received her J.D. from Wayne State University Law School where she was editor-in-chief of the Law Review.

 

 

 

 

 

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Secchia-Weiser Michigan Republican Center
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Lansing, MI 48933

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