With the appointments of Capital University alumni to the top two positions on its Board of Trustees, this will be the most diverse board leadership in Capital University’s history, including the first African-American board chair.
Elected to serve three-year terms were Andre Porter ’02, who will serve as Board chair, and Martha “Marti” Croll Taylor ’86, who will serve as vice chair.
Porter, vice president, general counsel and corporate secretary for the Midcontinent Independent System Operator (MISO), is concluding his third term as a trustee. He will take on the leadership role previously held by Bernie Ostrowski, who will remain on the board as immediate past chair for a one-year term.
“Having graduated from this great university, it is humbling to be selected to lead its governing board,” says Porter. “We have a duty and responsibility to ensure the long-term sustainability of Capital. I’m looking forward to working with interim president Dave Kaufman, the board, faculty, staff, and students as we navigate Capital University to a sustainable future.”
Previously serving as vice chair of Capital University’s Board of Trustees, Porter earned a bachelor’s degree in political science from Capital and a juris doctor degree from The Ohio State University Moritz College of Law.
Taylor, senior leader for Verily, Inc., the health sciences arm of Google, and CEO of OneFifteen, has served on Capital’s Board of Trustees since 2018. She earned a Bachelor of Science in Nursing from Capital and a Master of Science in Nursing from Duke University. She has held various positions in healthcare administration, including serving as the chief executive officer of University Hospital at The Ohio State University Wexner Medical Center from 2015 to 2018.
The Board welcomed three new trustees at its June 2020 meeting: ELCA I-K Synod Bishop William Gafkjen, Brian Prince ‘95, and Pamela Bauser ’76. Three trustees were reelected to new terms: Rev. June Fryman ’88, S’93, third term; Steve Lyons L’07, second term; and Rev. William Wiecher ’85, second term.
The June meeting marked the final meeting for several Board members with long-term service to the University: Ann Wolf Leak ’78 (12 years), Ted Long ’65 (16 years); Neil Mortine (4 years), John Phillips ’80, M’86 (16 years); and John Walker ’74, S’78 (12 years).