I wonder what new crappy predictive models they shall diffuse in Detroit for 2020, for revenue maximization purposes of those Public Private Partnerships for their fake ass Social Impact Bonds.
We should my Psychobabies up there at University of Michigan.
GO BLUE!
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| Scott Leemaster |
The Technion Board of Governors Welcomes a New Chairman
Scott Leemaster of Franklin, Michigan, is the new chairman of the Technion Board of Governors, the governing body of the Technion–Israel Institute of Technology. He assumed the post in June 2019 during the Board’s annual meeting, succeeding long-time chairman, Larry Jackier. Both Mr. Leemaster and Mr. Jackier hail from the Detroit area.
“For many years now, I have been fortunate to follow in Larry’s footsteps, and honored to work together with him on behalf of the Technion,” Mr. Leemaster said. “This amazing institution is arguably the fundamental driver not only of Israel’s economic success, but also of its growing international relationships in Africa, India, China, and other parts of Asia. I am deeply honored to be asked to take on this new role and grateful for the opportunity to continue my life-long love affair with the Technion and its people.”
Mr. Leemaster is vice president and principal of Warren, Michigan-based Madison Electric Company, a wholesale distributor of electrical supplies, industrial controls, and automation equipment. He is credited with expanding the company’s product offerings, managing the Madison Electronics division, and improving inventory efficiency.
He became involved with the ATS in the late 1990s, driven by the Jewish value of tikkun olam, Hebrew for repairing the world. “The Technion improves the lives of people around the world through its innovative solutions in science and technology. Technologies related to agriculture, energy, water, and solar all have deep roots at the Technion,” said Mr. Leemaster.
He participated in an ATS leadership development program, and by 2004 was elected to a two-year term as president of the organization’s Detroit community. In 2008, he assumed the local presidency again. Under his stewardship, Detroit supporters helped fund key Technion projects including laboratories at the Stephen and Nancy Grand Water Research Institute, the Max Gill Emergency Fund for Technion Students, The D. Dan and Betty Kahn Mechanical Engineering Building and the Michigan–Israel Partnership, a research collaboration between the University of Michigan, the Technion and the Weizmann Institute of Science.
On the national level, Mr. Leemaster became active on the ATS National Board of Directors in 2005, chaired numerous committees including the Audit Committee, and in 2012 became ATS president. During his tenure, he presided over the launch of the organization’s half-billion-dollar fundraising campaign, “Innovation for a Better World.” Most recently, he has served as the national chairman of the board.
He and his wife Susie have participated in and co-chaired many ATS trips to Israel and other destinations. Together with Mr. Jackier, he helped organize a Solidarity Delegation to Israel during Operation Protective Edge in 2014.
The Leemasters are Technion Guardians, a designation for those who support the university at the highest level. They have generously funded a number of projects including the Departmental Library in the D. Dan & Betty Kahn Mechanical Engineering Building, and the Shared Core Facility in the Sohnis and Forman Families Center of Excellence for Stem Cell and Tissue Regeneration Research. In 2009, Mr. Leemaster was awarded a Technion Honorary Fellowship for his generosity and his hands-on involvement.
Outside of the Technion, Mr. Leemaster’s main philanthropic involvements are with the Hebrew Free Loan, where he served on the board and executive committee. Previously, he was active with the Jewish Federation of Metropolitan Detroit. He was recognized for his community service with the Alex J. Etkin Award for Young Leadership in 2001-2002, and with a Distinguished Community Service Award from the Association of Fundraising Professionals in 2008.
He and Susie have one son, Jacob, who participated in the Technion’s SciTech summer science program for high school students. Jacob is now an electrical engineer with MIT, in Boston, Mass.
Earlier in this issue (on page 12), you may have read about the service of Detroit Jewish community leader Larry Jackier to the Technion-Israel Institute of Technology. His colleagues at the Jackier Gould law office in Bloomfield Hills and at the American Technion Society are celebrating his 12 years as chair of the Technion Board of Governors.
As chair, he led those who oversee the university’s programs and finances as well as its president and officers. As someone who spent 30 years working at Wayne State University and the University of Michigan, I know this is a big, big job, one that takes a tremendous amount of time, work and dedication (along with accumulating massive frequent flier miles!) So, to say the least, Jackier can claim a major contribution to Technion’s great success over the past decade-plus.
The Technion began as an idea that Jews needed their own technical institute and it should be in Palestine. In March 29, 1908, the notion of Technion — or a Technikum in German, the original language of Technion — was formed.
The cornerstone to the physical university was laid on April 11, 1912, in Haifa, where the university still stands. Albert Einstein was an early supporter and planted the first palm tree on campus, which is still there. From humble but determined beginnings, Technion has grown to rank among the leading research universities in the world. It is a leader in many fields, including biotechnology, its students build satellites, and two of its professors were the first to bring Nobel Prizes for science to Israel. A third soon followed.
I went into the William Davidson Digital Archive of Jewish Detroit History to see what I could find on the history of Technion and, more importantly, the critical connections between it and Jewish Detroit. I was not disappointed by the JN’s reporting on Technion: It was cited 3,677 times.
In short, one can easily find plenty of evidence that Jewish Detroiters were keen supporters of Technion. When the American Technion Society (ATS) was formed in 1940, the Detroit chapter followed that same year. The list of local contributors to Technion at the time is a who’s who of Jewish leaders including Albert Kahn, Fred Butzel, Rabbi Morris Adler and JN editor/publisher Philip Slomovitz.
There were many other supporters. A report in the Dec. 11, 1953, issue of the JN, for example, cited the $75,000 donation from Mr. and Mrs. Samuel Brody, considered at the time to be the largest sum ever donated by Detroit Jews for educational purposes to that date. In today’s dollars, that is about $700,000. The Detroit ATS Chapter sent $160,000 to Technion that year or more than $1.5 million in today’s dollars. Other early supporters of Technion included Joseph H. and Edythe Jackier. It seems Larry is carrying on his family’s legacy and then some.
The story of Technion is an impressive one. It is still a young university when compared to Oxford, Harvard or even the University of Michigan. Since its first students entered the doors of Technion, however, they and their professors have had a wonderful record of accomplishments.
