August 4, 2020
At its formal meeting on August 3, the Oakland University Board of Trustees voted unanimously to appoint Tonya Allen as chair and Robert (Bobby) Schostak as vice chair of the Board.
Allen, who has served as the Board’s vice chair each of the past two years, succeeds W. David Tull as chair.
“Dave Tull has provided excellent, steady leadership, and is the consummate professional,” said Oakland University President Ora Hirsch Pescovitz, M.D. “His passion for Oakland University, profound understanding of the financial landscape along with his entrepreneurial approach have been instrumental in our growth and success during his tenure on the board, including his extremely positive impact as chair.”
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.
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.
“Oakland University is a jewel of our region and state,” Allen said. “I look forward to ensuring its brilliance and growing its impact for our students, faculty, staff, community, and economy during these unprecedented times.”
Schostak was appointed to OU’s Board of Trustees in December 2015. He is the president and CEO of the Templar Baker Group, a multi-disciplined consulting firm, and serves as the co-chief executive officer of Schostak Brothers & Company, a leading commercial real estate business in Michigan, where they operate properties in 24 states.
Schostak is also a partner with Compuware founder Pete Karmanos’ Birmingham, Mich.-based MadDog Technologies, a developer and funder of cloud-based solutions that are groundbreaking and disruptive to the industries they serve.
In addition to participating on the College of Arts and Sciences advisory board and the President’s Campaign Council, Schostak is a past member of the OU Foundation Board and received the Distinguished Alumni Spirit Award in 2007 for his exemplary volunteer service to the university.
“It was always my hope that I would be in a position to contribute in a deeper way and help guide the university to its next stage of growth,” Schostak said. “It is truly an honor to be in that position today and to work with the great leadership team led by President Pescovitz and my fellow trustees.”