EAST LANSING, Mich. – Alumni and friends of Michigan State University will be recognized for their achievements and contributions to their local communities, state and nation at an awards ceremony Thursday, Oct. 20.
This ceremony, sponsored by the MSU Alumni Association (MSUAA), will be held in the Big Ten Rooms of the Kellogg Hotel and Conference Center. The reception begins at 5 p.m. and the awards dinner and program will start at 5:45 p.m.
A total of 30 awards, including 20 distinguished alumni awards, will be presented. The event is a part of MSU’s homecoming celebration Oct. 22-23.
DISTINGUISHED ALUMNI AWARDS
This is the highest award bestowed by the MSUAA and is presented to MSU graduates who have demonstrated outstanding volunteer service and have achieved the highest level of professional accomplishment, including special honors or recognition, and who demonstrate personal integrity and character.
James Banks of Shoreline, Wash., who received a master of arts degree in 1967 and doctorate in 1969, both in teacher education, is the Russell F. Stark professor and director of the Center for Multicultural Education at the University of Washington in Seattle
Banks has been a researcher and leader in efforts to increase educational equality for all students and is widely considered the founder of multicultural education. He has written or edited 20 books and more than 100 journal articles, including the “Handbook of Research on Multicultural Education,” a landmark publication that received the 1997 Book Award from the National Association of Multicultural Education.
Banks was elected president of the National Council for the Social Studies in 1982 and later received the organization’s Distinguished Career Research Award. In 1997 he was elected president of the American Educational Research Association (AERA). He has received numerous awards, including the AERA Research Review Award in 1993.
Jenny Taylor Bond of Mason, who received a doctorate in 1972 in food science and human nutrition, is professor emeritus and member of the graduate faculty in the Department of Food Science and Human Nutrition in the MSU College of Human Ecology.
Bond served with distinction for 26 years on the MSU faculty in the dietetics program. She was very active in MSU affairs, co-chairing MSU’s Council to Review Undergraduate Education and serving as acting director of the Women and International Development Program in 2000. She also has served as president of the Michigan Dietetic Association and of the Michigan Dietetic Association Institute, and was secretary for the Society for Nutrition Education.
In retirement, Bond has significantly expanded her passion for helping children, serving as a board member on the Christian Children’s Fund, participating in workshops to help children in Kenya and Honduras, and helping develop an organization of 11 countries to establish standards for child development programs.
Donald Bowersox of East Lansing, who received a bachelor of arts degree in political science in 1954, a master of arts degree in management and a doctorate in business, is the John H. McConnell University Professor of business administration in MSU’s The Eli Broad Graduate School of Management.
Bowersox is a national expert on supply chain management, having authored more than 250 articles and 17 books on the subject. He co-authored the pioneer logistics text in 1961, and, in 2005, received the Society of Logistical Engineers Armitage Medal. He is associate editor of the Journal of International Marketing and serves on the editorial review board of the International Journal of Logistics Management. A founding member and second president of the Council of Supply Chain Management Professionals, he has received numerous awards, including the council’s Distinguished Service Award.
In his 45 years of experience as a consultant to business and government, Bowersox has been a frequent presenter at professional and trade meetings. He has served as vice president and general manager of the E. F. MacDonald Co. and currently serves as chairperson of the Whirlpool Corp. Supply Chain Advisory Board and as a director of GSC Mobile Solutions and Lean Logistics.
Robert Burgess of Bloomfield Hills, who received a bachelor of arts degree in packaging in 1966, is a financial adviser for Long Point Capital and past president and chief executive officer of Pulte Homes Inc. in Bloomfield Hills.
In the 17 years that Burgess headed Pulte Homes, the company grew from $700 million to $7 billion in revenue and became the nation’s largest homebuilder with more than 30,000 units built. In his last year as Pulte Homes chairperson, the company was named “America’s Best Builder” and ranked No. 1 in quality by J.D. Power and Associates.
Burgess was active in MSU affairs, serving as vice chairperson of the MSU Foundation, as past president of the Broad School Alumni Board, and as a member of the President’s Cabinet for the Capital Campaign. He also served as a director of the Michigan Biotechnology Institute and has been active in many other organizations, including the William Beaumont Hospital Research Institute.
Michael Donoghue of Madison, Conn., who received a bachelor of science degree in botany and plant pathology in 1976, is the G. Evelyn Hutchinson Professor of Ecology and Evolutionary Biology at Yale University and director of the Peabody Museum of Natural History in New Haven, Conn.
An expert in the diversity and evolution of flowering plants, Donoghue has focused his research in China and Latin America and contributed to the conceptual development of phylogenetic systematics and historical biogeography. A co-founder of TreeBASE, a database of phylogenetic knowledge, he haspublished more than 150 papers, co-authored a popular textbook on plant diversity and co-edited “Assembling The Tree Of Life.”
Donoghue served as a Senior Mellon Fellow at the Smithsonian Institution from 1992-94, was elected a Fellow of the American Association for the Advancement of Science in 1997, and was the Glaser Distinguished Visiting Professor at Florida International University in 1998. He currently serves on the U.S. National Academy’s Committee for the International Union of Biological Sciences and is vice chairperson of DIVERSITAS, an international program of biodiversity science. A former president of the Society of Systematic Biologists, he has been elected a member of the U.S. National Academy of Sciences.
Gerald Elson of Rochester, who received bachelor of science and master’s degrees, both in mechanical engineering, in 1964 and 1965 respectively, is a retired vice president of General Motors Corp. and general manager of General Motors Vehicle Operations.
Elson served in many positions during his 39-year career with General Motors, including superintendent of manufacturing for the Saginaw Division, as plant manager for GM Limited in London, England, as executive director of Advanced Manufacturing Engineering, as general manager of Harrison Division, as general manager of the Cadillac/Luxury Car Division, and as general manager of operations for the North American Car Group.
Elson was General Motors Key Executive to MSU and served as co-chairperson of PACE (Partnership for the Advancement of CAD/CAM/CAE Education). He also served as a member of the board of visitors for the Business School at Oakland University and served as chairperson of the GM Warren Community Relations Committee.
Kenneth Eskelund of Winslow, Maine, who received a doctorate in veterinary medicine in 1951, is a veterinarian in Winslow.
In 1957 Eskelund founded Maine Biological Lab (MBL), one of only four labs in the nation that produced poultry vaccines. Two years later he founded Maine Poultry Services, which sent employees to poultry farms to apply the vaccines. In 1961 he co-founded Maine Poultry Consultants, a poultry disease diagnostic lab, with fellow MSU classmate William Gerencer. In 1971 he founded Northeast Laboratory Services to provide chemistry and microbiology services to the poultry industry, and in 1979, MBL licensed the first inactivated virus vaccine and became known worldwide.
Eskelund received numerous awards during his career. He was very active in MSU and charitable affairs. He is a member of MSU’s Jonathan L. Snyder Society. In 1989 he funded the MSU Summer Internship for an MSU student to gain experience in avian medicine. In 1993 and 1998 he established charitable trusts to benefit MSU, and in 2001 he won a major philanthropy award from the state of Maine.
Mary Anne Gale of Cheboygan, who received a bachelor of arts degree in retailing in 1971, is the vice president of Product Supply Asia and Global Supply Chain Operations, Procter & Gamble (P&G) at the company headquarters in Cincinnati.
After joining P&G in 1973, she rose through the ranks in Cheboygan, Albany, Ga., and Mehoopany, Pa., and became vice president in 1999.
She has been active in numerous associations, including director of the Ohio Manufacturers’ Association and as a founding member of the Operations Management Roundtable for Supply Chair Executives; and in civic affairs, serving as past president of Cheboygan Area Chamber of Commerce and as co-founder of the Albany Drug & Alcohol Steering Team for Community Action.
Gale has won numerous awards, including the 2004 Alumni of the Year award from MSU’s College of Human Ecology; the Woman of the Year award from the Tunkhannock Business and Professional Women’s Organization, and she received the Pathfinder Award from the Wilkes-Barre, Pa., Women’s Conference.
Brian Hawkins of Niwot, Colo., who received a bachelor of arts degree in political science in 1970, and a master’s degree in communications in 1972, is the president and chief executive officer of EDUCAUSE in Washington, D.C.
After serving at Drexel and Brown universities, Hawkins assumed his present post at EDUCAUSE, a professional association of more than 2,000 colleges, universities and organizations dedicated to transforming higher education through information technologies.
As a professor and researcher, he has published extensively and served as keynote speaker in four continents. He serves as a board member on the American Council on Education, the Forum on the Future of Higher Education and the MSU College of Education National Advisory Council. In 1991, he received the CAUSE ELITE Award.
Hawkins has served as a consultant to more than 350 organizations, combining his academic and business experience. In 1983, at the request of the governor of Pennsylvania, he initiated a corporate/industrial/ public/educational partnership in southeastern Pennsylvania, which focused on start-up companies and job development.
David Hollister of Lansing, who received a bachelor of arts degree and a master’s degree, both in history, in 1964 and 1969, respectively, is the director of the Michigan Department of Labor and Economic Growth (DLEG) and former mayor of Lansing.
Hollister has dedicated his life to public service. In his current job he oversees some 4,000 employees and a budget of $1.1 billion. Under his leadership, DLEG launched the “Cool Cities” initiative, established three new venture capital funds, created 13 Regional Skills Alliances and the new Council of Labor and Economic Growth to help reshape Michigan’s work force.
After serving as a teacher in Lansing public schools, Hollister began his career in politics serving as an Ingham County commissioner, and as a state representative in the 69th district for 16 years, during which time he authored 20 public acts and gained recognition as a top 10 legislator. Beginning in 1993, Hollister was elected to three terms as mayor of Lansing, during which time he attracted more than $2.9 billion in investments and gained General Motors Corp.’s commitment to build two new assembly plants in Lansing.
Turner Isoun of Port Harcourt, Nigeria, who received a bachelor of arts degree in 1963, a doctoral degree in veterinary medicine (DMV) in 1965 and a doctorate in veterinary medicine in 1970, is the minister of science and technology of the Federal Republic of Nigeria.
With Isoun’s leadership, Nigeria has launched some major initiatives, including the establishment of the Nigerian Information Technology Development Agency, the introduction of Mobile Internet Units and the launching of Nigeria’s first land observation satellite. Isoun also has promoted the rapidly evolving phyto-pharmaceutical industry, investigated potential renewable energy technologies, launched the construction of a gamma radiation facility for food and industrial sterilization, and facilitated partnerships between his ministry and leading universities around the world.
Prior to his current position as minister, Isoun pursued careers in academia, including service as vice chancellor of two Nigerian universities.
Benjamin Maibach III of Farmington Hills, who received a bachelor of science degree in civil engineering in 1968, is the chairperson of the board, president and chief executive officer of the Barton Malow Co. in Southfield.
Maibach became Barton Malow president in 1981 and increased its annual sales from $125 million to more than $1 billion. The company is the world’s 21st largest general contractor and the largest in Michigan. In 1990 he was inducted into the College of Fellows by the Engineering Society of Detroit. The company has received numerous awards, including the 2003 and 2004 Build America Awards, the 2003 Construction and Design Award, and the 2002 Excellence Award by the Design-Build Institute of America.
Maibach has been a community leader serving in leadership positions with numerous groups, such as the American Red Cross, Beaumont Hospital, Detroit Regional Chamber of Commerce, United Way and YMCA of Metropolitan Detroit.He has won numerous individual honors, including the 2002 Humanitarian of the Year Award by WJR News Talk Radio and the 1998 Good Scout Award by the Boy Scouts of America.
J. Bruce McCristal of Bloomfield Hills, who received a bachelor of science degree in economics in 1954, is the former director of public affairs at GM Hughes Electronics in Bloomfield Hills.
After graduation, McCristal was a pilot in the U.S. Air Force before joining General Motors Corp. and working up the ranks over 30 years, rising to director of public relations for Cadillac, GM Hughes Electronics and Delco Electronics-Milwaukee. He also served at GM’s world headquarters as director of GM worldwide employee communications and helped to coordinate the public relations activities of 35 divisions.
McCristal has served as chairperson and vice chairperson of MSU’s Development Fund and as a member of the MSUAA’s National Alumni Board.He currently serves as a member of the MSU Detroit Area Development Council.In 2004, he published “The Spirit of Michigan State,” a comprehensive history of MSU that took 12 years to research and write.
Patrick McPharlin of Okemos, who received a bachelor of science degree in social science in 1969, is president and chief executive officer of the MSU Federal Credit Union in Okemos.
McPharlin heads the largest university-based credit union in the world, boasting more than $1.2 billion in assets and 125,000 members. In the credit union movement, he has been an alternate director for the Michigan Credit Union League, and Lansing Area Chapter chairperson and vice chairperson of the Michigan Credit Union League Legislative Action Fund. He also serves on the board of directors of Card Services for Credit Unions.
McPharlin has been very active in community affairs, currently serving as a member of the board of directors of the Lansing Area United Way, the MSU Museum Development Council and the University Club. He serves on the MSUAA National Alumni Board and the MSU College of Social Science Board. He previously served as a director of the Capital Area March of Dimes.
Linda Nelson of Lansing, who received a doctorate in home management in 1963 from MSU, is professor emeritus of family and child ecology in the MSU Department of Family and Child Ecology.
Nelson served 16 years as a home economist for the Inter-American Institute of Agricultural Sciences in Costa Rica and as regional home economist for the Food and Agricultural Organization of the United Nations in Santiago, Chile.
Nelson returned to MSU as chairperson of the Department of Family and Child Ecology where she established the graduate course in qualitative research. She published many articles in English and Spanish and was the first woman invited to give the main lecture at the World Food Institute at Iowa State University. She was a charter member of the Joint Committee on Agricultural Development under AID Foreign Assistance Legislation. She has consulted and taught in many nations, including Japan, Spain and Malaysia.
Charlotta Klein Ross of Pittsburgh, Pa., who received a bachelor of music degree in1962, is a cellist with the Pittsburgh Symphony and symphonette conductor of the Three Rivers Young Peoples Orchestra in Pittsburgh.
Ross boasts a long and distinguished career as professional cellist with some of the nation’s most respected symphony orchestras including North Carolina, Dallas and Pittsburgh, where she became principal cellist with the Pittsburgh Symphony Orchestra. She is also an active chamber musician and has been a member of the Music-in-Maine Quartet.
Very active with the Pittsburgh Symphony’s Education and Outreach Programs, in recent years Ross has devoted much time and energy to help develop young musicians, including serving as symphonette conductor of the Three Rivers Young Peoples Orchestra, providing musically talented youth with an opportunity to grow artistically and socially.
I.C. Shah of Rochester, N.Y., who received a master’s of business administration in 1964, is the founder, president and chief executive officer of ICS Telecom Inc. in Rochester, N.Y.
Shah founded a leading provider of voice and data network services in western New York. In addition to business success, Shah has been a prominent community leader, with service on the boards of Rochester Broadway Theatre League, Boys and Girls Clubs of Rochester and Kirkhaven Nursing Home.He has served on the boards of the Rochester Area Community Foundation, the Rochester Area Chamber of Commerce, the Kidney Foundation of Upstate New York and the YMCA. Shah has raised millions of dollars for various nonprofit organizations in Rochester.
Shah has been honored as Small Business Person of the Year by the Rochester Chamber of Commerce, the Urban League of Rochester and the Small Business Administration.He was honored as an Outstanding Asian American of New York by former Gov. Mario Cuomo and has received the Philanthropy Award from the Rochester Area Community Foundation.
Willard Sparks (posthumous), who received a doctorate in agricultural economics in 1961, was an agricultural economist in St. Thomas, Virgin Islands. He died Jan. 30, 2005, in St. Thomas.
Sparks, who was widely regarded as one of the nation’s leading agricultural economists, pioneered commodity market analyses and consulting, and the development of audits of inventory risk and risk management. He developed practical, quantitative models and systems that are now used extensively by the U.S. Department of Agriculture (USDA). In 1997 he was named to a two-year term on the USDA’s Advisory Committee on Emerging Markets.
In 1977 Sparks founded Sparks Commodities, later renamed Sparks Companies Inc., which served the world’s leading agribusinesses. He co-owned Cattlco Inc., one of the nation’s largest cattle-feeding operations, co-founded Storage USA Inc., and was affiliated with Refco, LLC, one of the world’s largest futures commission merchants. He was a respected community leader who served the Memphis Arts Council and the Tennessee Arts Commission.
Rear Adm. William Craig Vanderwagen of Columbia, Md., who received a medical degree from the College of Human Medicine in 1978, is a U.S. assistant surgeon general and acting chief medical officer with the U.S. Indian Health Service in Rockville, Md.
Vanderwagen has performed in a wide variety of roles with the Indian Health Service since 1981, including serving as agency lead negotiator for the Self-Governance Demonstration Program, when he oversaw the transfer of more than $400 million in programs to tribal nations. He previously served as deputy chief medical officer of the U.S. Public Health Service and consulted for the Pan American Health Organization on indigenous health issues.
He has published widely about health issues of American Indians and Alaska Natives. He has overseen the development of many internationally recognized health programs and received many awards, including the Meritorious Service Medal with V (for Valor); in 2005 he was named Alumni of the Year by the MSU College of Human Medicine.
Patrick Wilson of Traverse City, who received a bachelor of arts degree in social science and pre-law in 1957, is an of counsel attorney in the Traverse City office of Smith Haughey Rice & Roegge, and a former member of the MSU Board of Trustees.
At MSU, Wilson was president of his senior class and a member of the varsity football and basketball teams, including the Rose Bowl team of 1956 and the Final Four basketball team of 1957. He served as an Air Force pilot in Korea, and, after law school, settled in Traverse City, where he has spent more than 40 years in the legal business. Most recently he was a partner with his daughter Shelley in the firm of Wilson and Kester.
Wilson was a trustee from 1983-88, on the State Board of Ethics, and the State Officers Compensation Commission. He has served as president of the Grand Traverse/Leelanau/Antrim Bar Association and president of the Traverse City Area Chamber of Commerce. Wilson was honored as Traverse City’s Distinguished Citizen of the Year in 1998.He currently is a corporate member of Munson Healthcare, director of the Art and Mary Schmuckal Family Foundation and director of the Traverse City Golf and Country Club.
HONORARY ALUMNI AWARDS
This award is granted to friends of MSU who have demonstrated continuing outstanding volunteer service to the university on a local, state, national or international level. Recipients possess the highest standards of integrity and character positively reflecting, impacting and enhancing society and the prestige of MSU.
Raleigh Barlowe of East Lansing is an MSU professor emeritus of economics.
After serving as an economist for the Rockefeller Foundation, the USDA and the United Nations Food and Agriculture Organization, Barlowe joined MSU’s Department of Economics in 1948, became an associate professor of agricultural economics in 1950 and a full professor in 1952. He became chairperson of the Department of Resource Development in 1959.
For 37 years he was a teacher, researcher and extension specialist in public policy, during which time he wrote 250 articles in professional journals, including 20 book chapters, and his landmark “Land Resource Economics,” which is still used after 47 years and four editions. The author of five historical novels, Barlowe received a Distinguished Faculty award in 1981.
Margaret Bubolz of Lansing is a professor emeritus of family and child ecology in the Department of Family and Child Ecology at MSU.
A native of Minnesota, Bubolz joined MSU in 1963 as a district program leader in the extension office in Marquette. In 1965 she moved to the East Lansing campus and served five years as chairperson of the Department of Family and Child Sciences in the College of Human Ecology. She developed an ecological model for families that was widely applied.Her research focused on family stress and quality of life issues. Bubolz also directed 30 doctoral dissertations and served on many student advisory committees. She is a 1983 recipient of an MSU Distinguished Faculty award.
After retirement in 1991, she co-authored “Families on Small Farms” in 1996, and wrote “Home Economics to Human Ecology: 100 Years at Michigan State University” in 1996, and “Beatrice Paolucci: Shaping Destiny Through Everyday Life” in 2002. She did extensive volunteer work and helped organize the International Paolucci Symposiums.
Jeanette Wrona Klemczak of East Lansing is the chief nurse executive with the Michigan Department of Community Health in Lansing.
Klemczak has been a lifelong advocate for improving healthcare delivery and a problem solver. As the state’s first chief nurse executive, she has tackled the nursing workforce issue and affected the development of policies related to nursing. As chairperson of the Michigan Nurses Association Political Action Committee, she has exerted strong influence at the local, state and national levels. In 2002 she received the Carol E. Franck Nursing Leadership Award jointly from MSU’s College of Nursing and the Michigan Nurses Association.
Klemczak also serves on the MSU College of Nursing’s Board of Visitors, representing the state’s perspective. Under her leadership, MSU became host for the Michigan Health Policy Forum. She shares her expertise with the MSU community and uses her knowledge of MSU to involve university faculty in innovative projects. Klemczak helped establish the Jeanette Wrona Klemczak Scholarship in Nursing and Health Policy Endowed Fund.
ALUMNI SERVICE AWARDS
This award is granted to alumni who have demonstrated continuing outstanding volunteer service to MSU and/or meritorious public service on a local, state, national or international level. Recipients possess the highest standards of integrity and character, positively reflecting, impacting and enhancing society and the prestige of the university.
Molly Brennan of Farmington Hills, who received a bachelor of science degree in computer science in 1982, is an engineering group manager for the Truck and Bus Division of General Motors Corp. in Farmington Hills.
After a brilliant career at MSU, during which she was a two-time All-American in track and MSU Sportswoman of the Year in 1982, as well as one of the top two students academically, Brennan won a Rhodes Scholarship to Oxford University, England. She joined General Motors and won the first World Solar Challenge, setting four solar and electric land speed records in the Guinness Book of World Records. She became Tau Beta Pi’s first National Laureate recipient and has served in a wide range of community positions.
Brennan has been involved in both MSU athletic and academic activities.She is president of the College of Engineering Alumni Association Board of Directors and has been a member of the MSUAA’s National Alumni Board. She served on MSU’s Capital Campaign 2000, The Campaign for MSU committees and was a keynote speaker at MSU’s 1990 fall commencement ceremonies.
She and her husband, William Derlin, have made many donations to MSU and endowed a joint Honors College/College of Engineering student scholarship. She served as a national committee chairperson for the MSU Student-Athlete Academic Center campaign and many other endeavors. She has won numerous awards, including the 1996 Nell Jackson Outstanding Alumna Award and induction into MSU’s Athletics Hall of Fame.
Eugene Farnum (posthumous), who received a bachelor of arts degree in political science in 1961, was the former chairperson of the MSUAA’s National Alumni Board and executive director of the Michigan Association of Health Plans (MAHP) in Okemos. He died in 2003.
Farnum had 38 years of experience in working with the Michigan government, including 22 years as head of MAHP before becoming a consultant and lobbyist. He served a dozen years as director of the Michigan Senate Fiscal Agency.
Farnum served MSU in many capacities, including chairperson of the MSUAA’s National Alumni Board and as chairperson of the College of Social Science Strategic Planning Committee. He was a member of MSU’s Beaumont Tower Society, the Cowles House Society, an Honorary Coach and a volunteer for University Development. At the time of his death, he chaired the National Alumni Board’s Alumni Center Committee.
Philip Hickey Jr. of Marietta, Ga., who received a bachelor of arts degree in hospitality business in 1977, is the chief executive officer and chairperson of Rare Hospitality International Inc. in Marietta, Ga.
Hickey heads a company that operates 300 restaurants, employs 17,000 people and will serve more than 40 million guests this year. He founded Cooker Bar and Grille and expanded it to 50 national units. He now runs such well-known restaurant chains as the Capital Grille, LongHorn Steakhouse and Bugaboo Creek Steak House.
Hickey has served his alma mater in many ways, including hosting MSU faculty and staff, mentoring MSU students, hiring MSU graduates and serving as a lecturer at MSU’s The School of Hospitality Business. He co-founded the Middle Tennessee regional alumni club, serving as officer for many years.He currently supports the MSUAA’s Atlanta regional club. An inductee of MSU’s “Wall of Fame,” Hickey and his wife, Reedy, recently endowed a scholarship at MSU for hospitality students.
Michael McDonald of Midland, who received his bachelor of science degree in chemical engineering in 1987, is the supply chain leader for New Business Development with The Dow Chemical Co. in Midland.
McDonald led the recruiting and university relations’ team for MSU at Dow for several years and is currently the chairperson of the Dow/MSU alumni in-house campaign, with more than 400 participating alumni at Dow. He has served on MSU’s Chemical Engineering and Materials Science advisory board and is a current member and past chairperson of the College of Engineering Alumni Board of Visitors.He is a consultant to MSU’s engineering dean for The Campaign for MSU and a member of the MSU President’s Club.
McDonald has also been very active in community affairs, serving as fundraiser in the MS150 Bicycle Tours.He participates on the Dow/Tri-City Cyclists Team and for two straight years has been the top fundraiser.
Gary Mescher of Grand Rapids, who received a bachelor of arts degree in television and radio in 1975, is the Michigan business development manager for BDO Seidman Accounting Firm in Grand Rapids and former president of MSU’s West Michigan Alumni Association.
Mescher boasts a long involvement with his alma mater, beginning in 1979 when he served as vice president of the Eastern Wayne County regional alumni club.After moving to Grand Rapids, he became active with the Western Michigan regional club, serving as secretary, vice president and president. In 1995 he co-founded the “MSU Means Business” event, a popular networking opportunity for Spartans. He organized the Steve Smith Charity Challenge Golf Outing, which has raised more than $200,000 with MSU as a beneficiary. He is the cha