Mr. Sharf was an Oakland University Trustee from 1987 to 1994; he served as its vice chairman from 1992 to 1994. Sharf was a member of the OU Foundation from 1985 to 2006, serving on the executive, gift development, budget and appropriations and capital campaign committees. Since 1996, he has been a member of OU’s School of Engineering and Computer Science Advisory Board. Sharf’s long-time philanthropic support of OU is recognized through his membership in the university’s Golden Oaks Society. He also is a life member of the University’s President’s Club. Currently, Mr. Sharf is a member of the President’s Campaign Council. In this important capacity, he and other Council members are helping to build an even stronger university that will prepare graduates for success in work and in life now and in the years to come.

Born in Berlin, Germany, Mr. Sharf earned a degree in mechanical engineering from the University of Berlin in 1947; he immigrated to the United States in the same year. Sharf joined the Ford Motor Company in 1950, leaving in 1958 to work as a master mechanic at a Chrysler plant in Ohio. From 1958 until his retirement in 1986, Sharf’s career blended the worlds of engineering and business. He served as a plant manager for ten years and was a vice president with Chrysler from 1978 to 1986 in the power train division, engine and casting, manufacturing and international business development and component business operations. Upon his retirement from Chrysler as executive vice president of the international business development group, Mr. Sharf took his retirement gifts and matched them with his own funds to create a scholarship for Chrysler employees and their children. This scholarship, named the Stephan Sharf Endowed Scholarship for Engineering Students, along with the Stephan and Rita Sharf Scholarship in the School of Business have provided opportunities for countless students to follow OU’s guiding principal -- “seek virtue and knowledge.”

Mr. Sharf married Rita Schantzer in 1951. In 1998, they received Oakland University’s Spirit Award. She was a member of the Meadow Brook Theatre Advisory Board and the Music Festival Women’s Committee. Mrs. Sharf passed away in 2001. Steve Sharf is probably best known for his very generous gift in 2000 to establish the R & S Sharf Golf Course. The 12th hole was designed as the course’s signature hole; it bears the name of the founding donors, Rita and Steve Sharf. Mindful of the need for ongoing efforts to prepare the University for continued growth, Mr. Sharf established a significant charitable gift annuity to support scholarships and other university needs that he will designate during his life time.

Since 1986 Mr. Sharf has been the president of SICA, Sharf International Consulting Associates, an automotive consulting firm. He also has been a columnist for Wards AutoWorld Magazine. In 2001, Sharf received the Gold Leadership Award from Junior Achievement of Southeastern Michigan where he is currently a board member. Sharf is a former member of the Board of Directors for the Detroit Council of Boy Scouts.

In the year of our 50th Anniversary, Oakland University is very pleased to recognize Steve Sharf, whose generosity and passion to help students achieve their dreams have contributed significantly to the advancement of our institution and have impacted countless people. We are very grateful for Mr. Sharf’s commitment to give back to a community he loves.