Executive Bios - MSU Board of Trustees
Board of Trustees Office: (517) 353-4647
Board members, elected for eight-year terms by the citizens of Michigan, provide general supervision of the institution, including control and direction of all its expenditures and final authority in its governance. Under the state constitution, members are charged with providing a liberal and practical education for all students and a commitment to excellence.
For additional information about the MSU Board of Trustees and board members, please visit the Web site at trustees.msu.edu.
Dianne Byrum
East Lansing, Michigan
((517) 333-1606 – Office
dbyrum@byrumfisk.com
Dianne Byrum began her first term as an MSU Board of Trustee member on Jan. 1, 2009. Byrum is a partner with Byrum & Fisk, an East Lansing-based public relations firm. Prior to that she served 24 years as a member of the Ingham County Board of Commissioners, the Michigan House of Representatives and the Michigan Senate. In 2002 she was the first woman elected as House Democratic Leader. Since 2007, Byrum has served as co-director of the Michigan Public Leadership Program and treasurer of the Michigan Democratic Party. Byrum has an associate’s degree from Lansing Community College and a Bachelor of Science degree from MSU. She lives in Onondaga Township in Ingham County, is married and has two children and two grandchildren.
Joel I. Ferguson
Lansing, Michigan
(517) 371-2515
lucyjif@aol.com
Joel I. Ferguson was first elected to the MSU Board of Trustees in 1986, served as chairperson in 1992, and was reelected in 1996. He was the founder of WLAJ-TV, Channel 53, Lansing, and cofounder, president, and owner of WFSL-TV, Channel 47, a Lansing independent affiliate. He is the cofounder of F & S Development Company. He was appointed to the Michigan Broadband Development Authority Board of Directors in 2002. A graduate of Lansing Sexton High School, Ferguson enlisted in the U.S. Marine Corps, where he served for two years. He graduated from MSU in 1965.
Melanie Reinhold Foster
East Lansing, Michigan
(517) 204-8052
mfoster@msu.edu
Elected to the MSU Board of Trustees in 2004, Melanie Reinhold Foster previously served on MSU’s board from 1991 to 1992. In 1997, she was appointed to the Board of Trustees of Central Michigan University, where she served until 2004. While at CMU, she chaired a national presidential search and a comprehensive presidential performance review. Foster served as president and CEO for 15 years of a commercial landscape company that she built into the nation’s largest female-owned and controlled landscape firm. Foster’s memberships include the World Presidents Organization, Detroit Chapter. She is also a board member for the Michigan Dyslexia Institute. Former directorships include Charter National Bank, Artrain; the State of Michigan Board of Landscape Architecture Registration; and the Associated Landscape Contractors of America. Foster received a bachelor’s degree in ornamental horticulture from MSU in 1977.
Colleen M. McNamara
Okemos, Michigan
(517) 482-2622
MCTACMM@aol.com
Colleen M. McNamara, a native of the Detroit area, is executive director of the Michigan Cable Telecommunications Association. She has served on the MSU Board of Trustees since 1995. She was previously CEO of the Michigan Waste Industries Association and director of the Housing Resource Center in Lansing. She is president of the McNamara Scholarship Fund, which provides college scholarships to students from Wayne Country. A resident of Okemos, she received her bachelor’s degree in social science from MSU in 1975.
Donald W. Nugent
Frankfort, Michigan
(231) 352-7181
donugent@gracelandfruit.com
Donald W. Nugent has served on the MSU Board of Trustees since 1995. A lifelong resident of Frankfort, he and his wife, Gail, own and operate Nugent Farms, producing cherries and apples in Benzie and Leelanau counties. He is president and CEO of Graceland Fruit Inc., president of North American Fruit Trading Alliance, Inc., and board chairperson of the West Michigan National Bank and Trust. Nugent graduated from MSU in 1965 with his bachelor’s degree in agriculture.
Faylene Owen
East Lansing, Michigan
(517) 339-1400
fayleneo@msn.com
Faylene Owen was elected to serve an eight-year term on the Michigan State University Board of Trustees beginning January 2007. For most of her adult life, Faylene Owen has been a vital force for community causes, while concurrently caring for her family and managing a small business. Faylene has been the chair of Child Abuse Prevention Services, a board member for MSU Safe Place, a board member of the American Heart Association’s fundraising campaign for heart research for women, a board member of the MSU Kaleidoscope program, chair of the Sparrow Hospital Foundation Board, and a board member for the MSU Hillel student center.
George J. Perles
East Lansing, Michigan
(517) 525-3794
perles@msu.edu
George J. Perles, who was elected to an eight-year term on the MSU Board of Trustees in November 2006, is a former Spartan football coach and athletics director. He was the founding CEO of the Motor City Bowl in 1997. Cited often for his entrepreneurial leadership in public service activities, Perles is especially known for his long-time association with the Special Olympics, for which he has created and hosted a highly successful golf-outing fundraiser since 1987. Perles has served on the board of Blue Cross and the selection committee of the Hula Bowl. He is a contributor to the Harris Interactive College Football Poll. In 2006, Perles was inducted into the Michigan Sports Hall of Fame. He received his bachelor’s degree from MSU in 1960 and his master’s in educational administration in 1961.
Diann Garner Woodard
Detroit, Michigan
(313) 972-4740 - Office
info@osasdetroit.org or diannwoodard@aol.com
Diann Woodard began her first term as an MSU Board of Trustee member on Jan. 1, 2009. Woodard is the president of the Organization of School Administrators and Supervisors. Woodard’s professional affiliations have included national executive vice president, as well as national treasurer, of the American Federation of School Administrators; trustee of the Michigan State AFL-CIO; and member of the board of directors of Schools for the 21st Century. Woodard received a Bachelor of Arts degree in English education from MSU in 1973, and a master’s in education from Wayne State University in 1979.