Brian Breslin of Alto has been elected to a two-year term as chairperson of the Michigan State University Board of Trustees.
At a special meeting today, the board also elected Joel Ferguson of Lansing to a two-year term as vice chairperson.
Breslin was first elected to the MSU board for an eight-year term that began in 2011. Until his retirement in 2006, Breslin worked as the senior vice president of human resources and government relations at Meijer Inc. in Grand Rapids, Michigan. He had been with Meijer since 1977, also serving as the vice president for public and consumer affairs and as a company spokesperson.
Breslin has served on the Board of Directors of the Michigan Chamber of Commerce and the Ohio Council of Retail Merchants, working to enhance business and employment opportunities in both states. He earned his bachelor’s degree in food systems economics and management in 1977 from MSU, where he played on the Spartan men’s basketball team.
Ferguson was first elected to the MSU board in 1986. He was elected again in 1996, 2004 and 2012. He was elected board chairman in 1992, 2007, 2010 and 2013.
Ferguson is the co-founder of the F&S Development Co.; founded and served as president and owner of WLAJ-TV, an ABC affiliate in Lansing; and has organized several banks, including Capitol National Bank, the only locally owned bank in Lansing. He also was appointed by former President Bill Clinton to serve on the board of Freddie Mac.
Ferguson is a Golden Heritage member of the NAACP, and sat on the boards of the Boy’s Club, the Arthritis Foundation and Junior Achievement. He is a U.S. Marine Corps veteran, and graduated from MSU in 1965 with a degree in elementary education.
The MSU board also welcomed new trustee Dan Kelly of Clarkston, who began an eight-year term on Jan. 1.
Kelly served six years on the Oakland Community College Board of Trustees as both a trustee and the board chair. He was elected to two, four-year terms on the Independence Township Board of Trustees, where he also served as a member of the township’s planning commission. He is a practicing attorney and member of the Board of Directors of the Troy-based law firm of Giarmarco, Mullins and Horton, PC, where he serves as chair of the firm’s municipal department.
Kelly earned a bachelor’s degree from Western Michigan University, a Juris Doctor degree from the University of Detroit Mercy School of Law and has completed Michigan State University’s fellowship in Political Leadership.
For additional information on the board, visit http://trustees.msu.edu/