Oregon State University and its Board of Trustees have made news in the past weeks, but who are the Trustees?
Well, any Trustee at a public University in Oregon needs to be appointed by the state Governor, and then confirmed by the Oregon Senate. One trustee must be a student attending the university, one must be a faculty member, and one needs to be a non-faculty member. Currently, OSU has 15 Trustees, the maximum amount the Governor can appoint.
Many of these members have extensive job histories and lists of organizations they have worked with. To save your eyes and our “bytes,” their professional histories have been summarized.
Mike Bailey
Dr. Mike Bailey, a Corvallis resident, is filling the faculty position on the Board. He is a Professor of Computer Science at OSU and got his Ph.D in Computer Graphics and Computer Aided Design from Purdue University.
Bailey has been very active in university service, which even included being the Faculty Senate President in 2015. He has also worked with organizations outside the university including Girl Scouts, Advocates for Women in Science, and San Diego Supercomputer Center Minority Science Scholars.
Patricia M. Bedient
Ms. Patricia M. Bedient fills one of the At-Large Positions on the Board. Aside from working many years in leadership roles, especially ones regarding finance at Weyerhaeuser Company, she has worked or served in other positions relating to finance or forestry.
Bedient has been recognized by the Wall Street Journal in 2012, being named as one of the Top 25 CFOs in the S&P 500. Bedient graduated from OSU in 1975 with a bachelor’s degree in Business Administration and a concentration in Accounting and Finance.
She currently resides in Sammamish, Washington.
Rani Borkar
Portland resident Rani Borkar serves as the Chair of the Board.
Borkar is the Microsoft Corporate Vice President for Azure Hardware Systems and Infrastructure, as well as being a member of Azure’s Senior Leadership Team. Previously, Borkar worked at IBM and Intel, and was a keynote speaker at events for women in technical spaces.
Borkar earned both her bachelor’s and master’s degree, both in physics, at University of Mumbai, India.
She is a member of two other boards — the board for the Global Semiconductor Alliance (GSA) and the board of directors for Applied Materials.
Julia Brim‐Edwards
Julia Brim‐Edwards fills another At-Large Position on the Board. She is currently working at NIKE as a Senior Director in Global Policy and Strategic Engagement.
Aside from over a decade working for NIKE, Brim‐Edwards has also spent a lot of time being active in the education sector and spent some time as a staff member for U.S. Senate Finance Committee and U.S. Senator Bob Packwood.
Brim‐Edwards graduated from OSU in 1984 with a B.A. in German and currently resides in Portland, Oregon.
Darald W. Callahan
Darald W. Callahan has been a long-time supporter of OSU and fills an At-Large Position on the Board, as well as positions on two other Boards within the University and a committee.
Callahan previously was the executive vice president for Chevron Corp., and much of his career includes various other president or vice president positions. He was also president of Warren Petroleum Co, and a director of Oklahoma Nature Conservancy.
In 1964, Callahan graduated OSU with a B.S. in chemical engineering. He currently lives in San Rafael, California.
Michele Longo Eder
Michele Longo Eder was a long-time lawyer practicing on the Oregon coast with a focus on representing families and an emphasis on marine and fisheries law.
Now, she fills an At-Large Position on the Board.
Some of her most notable accomplishments include serving as commissioner of the U.S. Arctic Research Commission, and organizing a local Volunteer Lawyers Project with the American Bar Association that led to Lincoln County Legal Aid,
Eder earned her bachelor’s degree in 1976 from Johns Hopkins University, and her law degree in 1979 from Lewis & Clark Law School.
She resides in Newport, Oregon.
Lamar Hurd
If you follow the Portland Trailblazers, you will probably know Lamar Hurd, who works as a Television Analyst for the team. Hurd is also a Trustee, filling an At-Large Position.
Hurd worked as a sports analyst before his current job and was a basketball player himself, even playing at OSU where he graduated in 2006 with a B.S. in Communication.
After a year playing professional basketball, Hurd founded The Other Side of Basketball, a non-profit youth organization, and recently launched a show to highlight kindness and positivity in Portland — where he resides.
Khawater Hussein
Khawater Hussein, a mechanical engineering student minoring in Exercise Physiology She fills the Student Position on the Board.
Hussein has worked in a soft robotics lab since 2016 and is involved in a number of organizations and groups. She is the president of OSU’s Biomedical Engineering Society (BMES) student chapter, and a participant in the Muslim Student Organization.
In the past, Hussein has worked in Diversity and Cultural Engagement (DCE) at the Ettihad Cultural Center and at the Student Fee Committee (SFC) as the Diversity and Cultural Engagement Liaison.
Hussein lives in Corvallis, Oregon.
Paul J. Kelly, Jr.
Paul J. Kelly, Jr. is another long-time lawyer, spending more than 40 years in different sectors; private practice, nonprofit, and the corporate sector. Now, he fills an At-Large Position on the Board. From 1987 to 2005, he worked at NIKE in various positions, including general counsel and global director of public affairs.
Kelly has also been an advocate in education and community organizations. Now, Kelly is on The Campaign for Equal Justice Advisory Committee.
Kelly graduated with an A.B. in English from the University of Notre Dame and J.D. from Georgetown University. He lives in Portland, Oregon.
Julie Manning
Julie Manning has served as the Vice President of Communications, Marketing, and Community Health Promotion for Samaritan Health Services since 1985. She fills an At-Large Position on the Board of Trustees.
Manning was the Mayor of Corvallis from 2011 to 2014, and received a leadership award during her tenure. She was appointed as a co-convener for establishing the Regional Accelerator and Innovation Network and served on its board of directors.
Currently, she is co-chair of the Early Learning Hub of Linn, Benton, and Lincoln Counties.
Manning graduated from Lewis & Clark College with a bachelor’s degree in Communications and received her master’s degree in Print Journalism at Boston University. She currently resides in Corvallis.
Preston Pulliams
Preston Pulliams is the president of the community college executive search firm Gold Hill Associates, and before that he was president at four different colleges and served in university administration in various capacities.
Pulliams has also been a teacher, and researched topics such as minority student success, and counseling at the community college level.
“Pulliams has four degrees; A.S. in Science from Muskegon Community College; a B.S in Social Science from Michigan State University; M.A. in Counseling and Personnel from Western Michigan University; and an Ed.D. in Educational Administration from the University of Michigan.”
He currently lives in Jackson, Mississippi,
Kirk E. Schueler
Kirk E. Schueler serves as the Vice Chair for the Board, as well as working at real-estate development firm, Brooks Resources Corporation.
Previously, he was chief administrative officer and executive vice president for the St. Charles Health System, president of Brooks Resources Corporation, and held several other positions in finance with different businesses. He was on the State Board of Higher Education. Schueler serves on three other boards currently.
In 1982, Schueler graduated University of Nevada-Reno with his B.S. in renewable natural resources-forestry, then graduated from the University of Oregon with a B.A. in accounting in 1987. Schueler resides in Bend, Oregon.
Stephanie Smith
Stephanie Smith has worked at OSU as Fiscal Coordinator 2 since 2008. She fills the Staff Position on the Board.
Smith has worked at non-profit agency Community Outreach, and EMA Marketing Inc.
She spends her time volunteering at the local food bank, boy/girl scouting events, and more. in 2002, she was awarded the Philomath Samaritan Award and recognized again in 2016 with the OSU Team Work Award.
Smith graduated from Linn Benton Community College with an Associate of Science Degree as an Administrative Secretary/Word Processing.
She currently resides in Philomath, Oregon.
Michael G. Thornev
Michael G. Thorne is a wheat farmer who owns and manages the Thorne family farm in Pendleton, Oregon.
Thorne is a former state senator, and former executive director of the Port of Portland, as well as being the former CEO of the Washington State Ferry System in Seattle. He has served on other boards, including the Board of Directors for the StanCorp Financial Group and Oregon Health and Science University.
Thorne graduated from Washington State University in 1962 with a B.S. in Agricultural Mechanization.
For any additional information about the Trustees, click here.
By: Hannah Ramsey
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