At its June 4 formal meeting, Oakland University’s Board of Trustees voted unanimously to appoint W. David Tull as chair and Tonya Allen as vice chair of the Board.
W. David Tull |
Tonya Allen |
Tull, who has served as the Board’s vice chair each of the past two years, succeeds Richard DeVore as chair. Both appointments take effect at the Board’s next formal meeting in August.
“It’s an honor to serve with my colleagues on the Board, and I’m looking forward to continuing our work in the role of chair,” Tull said. “Ric has done a tremendous job leading the Board for the past two years. We’re seeing a lot of progress on campus with the Oakland Center expansion, new housing and other developments. It’s certainly an exciting time to step into this new role.”
Tull was appointed to OU’s Board of Trustees in August 2014. He is chairman and founder of Crestmark Bank. His career in banking spans more than 40 years, with prior positions that have included executive vice president and treasurer of Michigan National Corporation. During his 23 years at Michigan National Corporation, he held a number of positions of increased responsibility, including head of commercial work-out, head of lending and treasurer.
In addition, Tull has served on a multitude of civic and corporate board of directors including the American Factoring Association, International Factoring Association, Michigan Bankers Association, The Crown Group, Michigan National Bank, Independence One Mutual Funds, Marquette Venture Capital Advisory Board, Detroit Historical Society, and the Music Hall Center for Performing Arts. He was the 2007 Regional winner of the Ernst and Young Entrepreneur of the Year award for Financial Services/Economic Development.
Allen was appointed to the Board in September 2016. She serves as president and chief executive officer of the Skillman Foundation, a Detroit-based organization dedicated to improving the lives of Detroit children by helping to create pathways to high school graduation, college, successful careers and fulfilling lives. She also serves on the boards of the Council of Foundations, Council of Michigan Foundations, United Way for Southeastern Michigan and Campaign for Black Male Achievement.
“I’m very grateful for the opportunity to serve as vice chair,” Allen said. “It’s a chance to carry on the important work being done to enrich the academic and social experiences of students, and to continue working in collaboration with community partners to ensure our state delivers exceptional educational opportunities. I’m confident that we’ll be able to work together to continue reaching our goals.”
Allen was named to Crain’s Detroit Business 40 under 40 list, received the national Brick Award given to activists under the age of 30 by Rolling Stone Magazine and was one of the first Detroiters to receive the prestigious Marshall Memorial Fellowship. She was named a Detroit News Michiganian of the Year in 2015, a Crain’s Detroit Business Newsmaker of the Year in 2015, and one of the Chronicle of Philanthropy’s “5 Nonprofit Innovators to Watch” in 2013.