1. Tell us something about yourself and your background.

I am a fourth-generation UM graduate who, along with my husband Bob (a former UM football captain), has volunteered the last 35 years of my life to the University, including service on the President's Advisory Board and the Museum of Art and the Ford School of Public Policy boards. I have also had a role in every fundraising campaign since 1984.

I am a former trustee of Kalamazoo College, a member of the Kalamazoo Woman's Council, founder and president of the Kalamazoo Historic Conservancy for the Preservation of Art, and a leader for the early childhood education/joint economic development program "Growing the Promise" in the Kalamazoo area.

Most importantly, I am a mother of four children and a grandmother to six beautiful grandchildren.

2. Why do you want to be a U-M regent?

I've bled Maize and Blue for almost my entire life, but desire alone does not qualify one to be a regent.

The University is at an economical, social, and political crossroads in time. The decisions made by the Board of Regents over the next 10 years will both positively and negatively affect its students, the Michigan economy, and the world at large in ways we cannot even begin to calculate. As a business woman, volunteer, and lifelong resident of west Michigan, I would bring a unique perspective to the Board of Regents, a perspective which would have a positive influence on such decisions and is sorely needed in these difficult times.

As our state and our citizens struggle financially, it is vitally important that the University's leadership have fiscally-trained eyes in order to more proficiently determine where costs can be optimized and programs made more efficient while simultaneously improving the quality of education and the level of research and development performed within the University's walls. My years of experience in fundraising and in operating my own business have given me the confidence and optimism that is needed by the Board to help guide our beloved institution along the most beneficial path to fiscal stewardship, increased quality of education, and a lasting positive influence on the world around us.

Finally, I am a business woman and a mother of four children with six grandchildren, many who have attended the University and many who will. It is for them and for every other child who desires to attend the University that I am running for regent.

3. What do you see as major issues and/or challenges facing our University and how do you envision the Board of Regents dealing with them?

As with any complex institution, the issues facing the University are diverse and as such require an equally diverse Board to assess and address each issue with professionalism, impartiality and efficiency.

Our economy is struggling, which would lead many to believe that the budget is the most prevailing issue of the times. While the budget is of vital importance, it is the impact of unexpected changes in the budget and the Board's reaction to such changes that trickle down to each and every unit and department and impacts our quality of service on all levels. It is the Board's reaction to our ever-changing world that is the major issue facing the University.

Therefore, because the University relies heavily on state and federal funding, and such funding has been in flux over recent years, we must progressively leverage our public-to-private relationships with both local and global businesses and NGOs and increase the amount of technology transfer to the private sector to buffer us against such massive changes in funding while increasing the odds of retaining our students once they graduate.

Simultaneously, we must increase the amount of dialogue between the University and state government and develop intimate relationships with our representatives and senators to increase their level of awareness regarding the University's goals and objectives and what is required monetarily to meet and exceed both.

In addition, the Board must create an environment where the concept of a knowledge-based economy is widely accepted and promoted at all levels of government and within the University.

By expanding its public-to-private relationships, increasing its technology transfer, retaining more of its graduating students, and increasing the dialogue with state government, the Board could better react to the political and economical changes around it, which would help the University better control costs without compromising the quality of its education.