The Presidents Council, State Universities of Michigan has announced that Dr. Irvin D. Reid, president of Wayne State University, has been selected to be the chair of the Council for a two-year term, effective immediately. The Presidents Council, which includes the presidents and chancellors of Michigan's 15 public universities, represents the interests of the public university community on fiscal and higher education policy issues at the state level. Reid succeeds President Arend D. Lubbers of Grand Valley State University, who recently retired after serving as president of Grand Valley for 31 years.

This term, Reid enters his fifth year as president of Wayne State, a Carnegie I research university located in Detroit. One of the 21 largest universities in the nation, WSU has the largest graduate/professional enrollment in Michigan and the fifth largest in the country. It also has the largest single-campus medical school in the country.

Glenn Stevens, executive director of the Presidents Council, observed that President Reid brings to his new responsibility great breadth and depth of experience which will be invaluable in helping to establish better public understanding of the value of public higher education to the state economy and creating opportunities for personal and career advancement. With over 260,000 students, Michigan has one of the nation's largest public university systems.

Under Reid's leadership, Wayne State has undertaken major initiatives in global education, expansion of honors studies, integrating technology into the curriculum and development of a long-range facilities master plan. A four-story recreation and fitness center was opened two years ago and a major expansion of the Law School Building, including the impressive Spencer Partriach Auditorium, was completed last year. Currently under construction are a new building for the Eugene Applebaum School of Pharmacy and Allied Health Professions and the University Welcome Center complex that includes a bookstore, a 700-vehicle parking structure and a four-story building that will house numerous student services in one location. In addition, a 350-bed residence hall for undergraduates will soon be under development, with a planned opening of August 2002.

A strong advocate of regional economic development, Reid was instrumental in earning designation for the university as a SmartZone by the state of Michigan. The designation is key to WSU's development of a research and technology village that will include collaboration centers, incubators, high-tech companies, a science/technology theme school and residential facilities on an expanded campus. The university also is a major partner, along with the University of Michigan and Michigan State University, in the Michigan Life Sciences Corridor announced by Gov. John Engler.

Reid, who came to Wayne State in 1997 from Montclair State University in New Jersey, where he was president for more than eight years, earned master's and doctoral degrees in business and applied economics with a specialty in marketing from The Wharton School of the University of Pennsylvania. He also has bachelor's and master's degrees in general/experimental psychology from Howard University and a certificate in educational administration from Harvard University.

The WSU president was named by The Detroit News as one of 12 Outstanding Michiganians of the Year 2000, and he is a recipient of the Jewish National Fund's Tree of Life Award. In 1995, he became the first recipient of the Austrian-American Medal, an honor accorded by the Austrian-American Council of North America for "exceptional service in promoting international understanding, global education, the support and advancement of individual human potential and work promoting world peace." In 1999, Howard University honored him with a Distinguished Postgraduate Achievement Award in the fields of education and administration.

Reid serves on the boards of many international, national, business and community service organizations, including the Michigan Economic Development Corp., Detroit Economic Growth Corp., Detroit Regional Chamber of Commerce, Detroit Urban League, Michigan Opera Theatre and Detroit Symphony Orchestra, to name a few.