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Miller and Martin elected to lead trusteesFeb. 18, 2008 KALAMAZOO--Kenneth V. Miller of Kalamazoo and William J. Martin of Battle Creek, Mich., have been elected to serve for 2008 as chair and vice chair, respectively, of the Western Michigan University Board of Trustees. The election took place at the annual meeting of the trustees, which this year was held Feb. 15. All officers serve one-year terms. Miller replaces Dan Pero of Dimondale, Mich., who will remain on the board. Martin replaces Miller as vice chair. Miller was appointed to the WMU board in 2002 and last year headed the search process that led to the selection of Dr. John M. Dunn as the University's eighth president. He is vice president and chief operating officer of Havirco, a Kalamazoo investment management firm, which he has co-owned since 1983. He is also owner of the Millennium Restaurant Group, which owns and operates restaurants in southwest Michigan, including The Union Cabaret and Grille, a WMU-theme restaurant on the Kalamazoo downtown mall. Miller earned both a bachelor's and a master's degree in business administration from WMU and a juris doctorate from Thomas M. Cooley Law School. Previously, Miller was director of the WMU Foundation, a position he stepped down from when he was appointed to the Board of Trustees. Martin, a 1993 alumnus who earned a bachelor's degree in liberal arts, currently is chief executive officer of the Michigan Association of Realtors. The Army veteran served as a Michigan State Police trooper for eight years before being elected as a state representative, representing the Battle Creek area from 1986 to 1994. In 1995, he was tapped by then-Gov. John Engler to be the state lottery commissioner. Then in 1999, Engler appointed him director of the Michigan Corrections Department, a position he held until January 2002, when accepted his current position. In addition to his role as WMU trustee, Martin also serves on the state board for Habitat for Humanity, and he was named to the Board of Directors of the Michigan Chamber of Commerce in 2006. Other WMU board officers elected to one-year terms at the Feb. 15 meeting were Betty A. Kocher, secretary to the board; Lowell P. Rinker, treasurer and assistant secretary; and Janice VanDerKley, assistant treasurer. Rinker is WMU's vice president for business and chief financial officer. VanDerKley is associate vice president for finance. Media contact: Cheryl Roland, (269) 387-8400, cheryl.roland@wmich.edu WMU News |
