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Capitol College taps Michigan man as next president

By Anonymous

March 31, 2004 -- The Board of Trustees announced March 29 the appointment of Dr. Michael T. Wood as the seventh president of Capitol College.

Wood comes to Capitol College from Walsh College of Accountancy and Business Administration in Troy, Mich., where he most recently has served as vice president, chief academic officer and dean. Wood succeeds Dr. G. William Troxler, Capitol’s president since 1977 who will retire June 30.

“Dr. Wood brings to Capitol a wealth of experience in higher education leadership, proven success in the deployment and implementation of academic degree programs and extensive practice in building strategic partnerships with business and industry,” said John Puente, chairman of the college Board of Trustees, who announced the appointment.

Puente also noted Wood’s extensive experience in consulting for manufacturing, engineering and technology firms.

Since 1994, Wood has served in various capacities at Walsh College. He began at the college as director of the graduate management program. In 1997 he was appointed to his current role as vice president, chief academic officer and dean. Wood served as interim president in 1997-98 and assisted the college in its search for a permanent president.

While at Walsh, Wood established an entrepreneur mentor program with business and industry for students and built joint programs through a consortium of eight universities to modernize engineering education.

Wood also helped Walsh gain recognition by the National Security Agency as a Center of Academic Excellence in Information Assurance Education. Walsh and Capitol are the only two non-research colleges or universities among the list of 50 institutions designated by NSA.

Wood’s appointment comes after an exhaustive nationwide search conducted by several members of the Board of Trustees and college community. The vacancy announcement drew more than 30 applicants from which Presidential Search Committee selected a panel of finalists. The committee made its recommendation March 15 to the board, which accepted the committee’s choice.

“The process implemented in choosing Dr. Wood was deliberate, extensive and had the benefit of input from all the major stakeholders of the college,” said Gabriel A. Battista, chair of the Presidential Search Committee. “There were many outstanding candidates but the committee members were unanimous in their choice of Dr. Wood.”

Wood holds a doctorate from the University of Illinois in industrial and organizational psychology. His dissertation on leadership and group decision-making received the national award as best in its field from the American Psychological Association.

He received his bachelor of arts from the University of Michigan and a master of arts in industrial psychology from the University of Toledo.

Before joining the faculty and administration of Walsh College, Wood worked for the Battelle Human Affairs Research Centers in Seattle, the Industrial Technology Institute in Ann Arbor, Mich. He has consulted companies in the automotive and consumer appliance industries, as well as government agencies such as the departments of labor, transportation and the postal service.

An experienced academic and industrial leader, Wood said he looks forward to leading Capitol into the future.

“I expect to help Capitol College expand and strengthen the legacy built by President Troxler and others by continuing to look past the boundaries of knowledge to future opportunities for engineering and technology education,” Wood said. “Together, we will define the future of the college and keep Capitol an organization in which it is wonderful to learn and to work.”

Wood plans to participate in the college’s May 15 commencement. Wood will relocate to Maryland with his wife, Wanda. They have two grown sons and two grandchildren who live in the Seattle area.

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