The board of trustees for the McGregor Fund in Detroit has elected Richard L. Rogers, former president of Detroit’s College for Creative Studies, as its new chairperson following the retirement of Reuben A. Munday.
The fund is a private foundation that was established in 1925 to help those in need. To date, it has provided $260 million in grants to nonprofit organizations in Detroit and the tri-county area focused on providing basic needs and housing, recovery and restoration, and skill building and employment.
“We could not be more pleased that Rick is assuming this leadership role,” says Kate Levin Markel, president of the fund. “He brings the qualities of both a visionary institution builder and a highly skilled administrator, as well as being broadly admired among leaders throughout our region. We look forward to his wisdom and guidance as the McGregor Fund enters a new chapter and embraces person-centered, evidence-driven approaches to eliminating poverty in Detroit.”
Rogers was elected to the board in 2013 and recently retired from CCS where, over 25 years, he oversaw doubling enrollment, the addition of undergraduate degree programs and the college’s first graduate programs, and an increased physical footprint with an expansion of the main campus and the acquisition and repurposing of the 760,000-square-foot historic Argonaut Building less than a mile away.
The new Taubman Campus allowed CCS to co-found and house the Henry Ford Academy: School for Creative Studies, a charter school focused on art and design for students in grades six through 12. The school is now University Prep Art and Design. It also allowed the college to co-found Design Core Detroit, an economic development office supporting designers and design-driven businesses as well as help recruit Shinola’s headquarters to Detroit.
During Rogers’ time at CCS, he also made community engagement a core part of its mission, bringing art education to more than 3,000 students annually as well as permanent public art projects and public programming to Detroit neighborhoods.
“I’m honored to chair the McGregor Fund board and grateful to my fellow trustees for their confidence,” says Rogers. “Like them, I’m deeply committed to the fund’s purpose of addressing the needs of the most vulnerable members of our community. We’re proud of the fund’s important work, and I look forward to working with Kate and her team to make that work even more effective.”
Munday was elected trustee emeritus and served as chairperson since 2015. He is retiring from the board following eight years of service.
