Contact: Mario L. Morrow
DLEG Communications
Telephone: 517/373-9280

Contact: Mary Lou Keenon
MSHDA Communications
Telephone: 517/373-0011

FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE

March 26, 2008

KEITH MOLIN NAMED INTERIM DIRECTOR OF
MICHIGAN STATE HOUSING DEVELOPMENT AUTHORITY
Board of Directors to launch national search for permanent director

LANSING – Keith Molin, former director of the Michigan Departments of Labor and Commerce under Governor William G. Milliken, has been tapped by the Michigan State Housing Development Authority (MSHDA) board of directors to serve as the agency’s interim director.  Molin will begin his tenure on April 7 and serve while the agency conducts a national search for a new permanent director.  

“Keith Molin is a proven leader and strong manager who will work with all of MSHDA’s external partners to ensure that our policy imperatives are achieved,” said MSHDA Board Chair Bernard S. Gleiberman.  “We are honored that he has seized this opportunity to move MSHDA forward at this very important time.”

Molin, of St. Clair, Michigan, began his career in state government in 1971 as an executive assistant for legislative affairs for former Governor Milliken.  In addition to serving as director of the Departments of Labor and Commerce in the mid-70s, he also retired as senior associate director of athletics at the University of Michigan in Ann Arbor.  He most recently served as interim in a similar position at the University of Pittsburgh.          

Molin has been involved in public policy issues, including economic development, housing, and urban redevelopment and will continue MSHDA’s philosophy and provide expert direction for Michigan’s housing authority.           

“I am looking forward to this challenge,” Molin said. “I believe in the authority’s mission and am pleased to have the opportunity to help the agency meet its goals and objectives.”

In other action, the board accepted a strategic recommendations report from independent consultants, Recap Advisors, on the MSHDA Qualified Allocation Plan (QAP).  The complete report may be accessed on the MSHDA Web site at www.michigan.gov/mshda.   

Molin replaces the former executive director who has resigned.

MSHDA is a quasi-state agency that provides financial and technical assistance through public and private partnerships to create and preserve safe and decent affordable housing, engage in community economic development activities, and address homeless issues.  MSHDA’s loans and operating expenses are financed through the sale of tax-exempt and taxable bonds and notes to private investors, not from state tax revenues.

# # #