December 20, 2016
Tuesday, Dec. 20, 2016
LANSING, Mich. – Gov. Rick Snyder today announced the appointments of Ronald (Ron) Kitchens of Portage and Shani Penn of Farmington Hills to the Western Michigan University Board of Trustees.
The eight-member board is the governing body of the university.
“I am confident Ron and Shani will bring positive inputs to this board and I thank them for their commitment to serving the WMU community,” Snyder said.
Kitchens is the chief executive officer of Southwest Michigan First. He serves on the board of directors for Impact Athletic, Southwest Michigan First and the Kalamazoo Institute of the Arts. He also serves on the collaborative development council for the Michigan Economic Development Corporation. Kitchens holds a bachelor’s degree in public administration from Missouri State University, attended the University of Oklahoma’s economic development institute, completed corporate director training and certification at UCLA Anderson School of Management and attended a negotiation and decision-making program through Harvard Business School. He will replace James Hettinger.
Penn is chief of staff to Chancellor Veronica Conforme for the Education Achievement Authority of Michigan. She previously served in various positions for Daimler Chrysler Financial Services and Chrysler Financial. Penn holds a bachelor’s degree from Western Michigan University and a master’s degree in human resources from Central Michigan University. She will replace Mary Asmonga-Knapp.
Members serve eight-year terms expiring Dec. 31, 2024. Their appointments are subject to the advice and consent of the Senate.
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