Four new alums were elected to serve on the Alumni Association’s Board of Directors during the board’s fall meeting. The four new directors are Rabbi Elliot Cosgrove, ’93, Alison Miller, ’00, Kent Syverud, JD’81, MA’83, and Jordan Wertlieb, ’86. They join 19 others to make up the Board of Directors, the Alumni Association’s governing body.
Also at the meeting, Kurtis Wilder, ’81, JD’84, was elected board chair. He takes over for Mary Kay Haben, MBA’79, who will continue to serve as past chair. Wilder is a shareholder in the law firm of Butzel Long, based in Butzel’s Lansing, Michigan, office. He rejoined Butzel after nearly 27 years as a trial judge, judge of the Michigan Court of Appeals, and Michigan Supreme Court Justice — one of only five jurists in Michigan history to have served on all three levels of Michigan’s court system.
In addition to the Alumni Association, Wilder plays an active role in a number of nonprofit organizations, including serving as the former chair of the board of trustees of Interlochen Center for the Arts. Wilder also serves on the board of directors of Hastings Insurance Co.
Michigan Alum caught up with Wilder to discuss his time on campus and why he finds it important to give back to U-M.
MICHIGAN ALUM: What drew you to U-M?
KURTIS WILDER: My high school counselor recommended I apply to U-M after learning that I wanted to pursue a career in law. After being accepted, I visited the campus and immediately fell in love with the atmosphere. I just knew that I was supposed to be a Michigan Wolverine.
Tell us about a lesson or experience that you had while a student at U-M that you carried with you in your career as a judge.
I took a constitutional law class during my senior year. What I learned in that class is that difficult legal concepts sometimes require extra concentration and study, not just to solve the problem right in front of you, but also to understand how the law stitches together, how the development of one legal concept impacted the development of other concepts. That course prepared me for the rigors of U-M Law School, which further prepared me for the practice of law. As a judge at all three levels of the Michigan court system, I used my training from U-M in distinct ways. I saw that by fully understanding every angle of every case, I could not only recognize what the outcome of a particular case would mean to each of the parties in that case, but also understand what that outcome would mean to the development of the law and the next 100 cases. The ability to see the fabric of the law in each case was the gift my U-M education gave to me.
What’s your favorite Michigan memory?
Of course, my favorite memory is meeting my wife at an Alumni Association tailgate.
How have you benefited, professionally or personally, from the alumni network?
I stay in very close contact with a number of my Sigma Chi Fraternity brothers, including regular tailgates at U-M football games (home and away). I’ve received business referrals through our extensive alumni network. And I have worked with great leaders and made amazing friendships through my involvement with the Alumni Association.
Why did you decide to get involved with the Alumni Association?
Steve Grafton, the Alumni Association’s tremendous leader for 28 years, asked me to consider joining the board. He believed that my years of nonprofit leadership experience would allow me to offer valuable insights to the world of alumni leadership. As I looked more deeply into the work the Alumni Association had accomplished over the years, I became intrigued by the opportunity to contribute to its legacy of service. It was humbling to be asked to serve, especially since there are so many other talented alumni who can make a difference.
You volunteer your time and also donate to the University. Why is it important to you to give back?
My parents taught me to have a gen-erosity of spirit, to give back to those who helped me, and to give so that others might benefit from help in the same way I benefited. Giving back is a way of offering love and kindness to others. As my mother always said, when you give, you get. I have benefited greatly from having two degrees from the University of Michigan. U-M opened a pathway for me to have a very successful career and rewarding life, and I feel compelled to give back in recognition of all that has been given to me. I certainly have received tremendous satisfaction in knowing that in a small way, I have benefited someone else through whatever time or treasure I have been able to give.
Newly Elected Alumni Association Board Members
RABBI ELLIOT COSGROVE, ’93, is the senior rabbi of Park Avenue Synagogue in New York City and a leading voice of American Jewry. Rabbi Cosgrove sits on the Chancellor’s Cabinet of the Jewish Theological Seminary, is an officer of the New York Board of Rabbis, and serves on the boards of UJA-Federation of New York, the American Jewish Joint Distribution Committee, and Hillel at U-M. He is a member of the Council on Foreign Relations. A frequent contributor to Jewish journals and periodicals, he is the author of 17 volumes of sermons, the editor of “Jewish Theology in Our Time,” and the author of “For Such a Time as This: On Being Jewish Today.” Cosgrove is the host of “Conversations with Cosgrove,” a podcast featuring sermons, conversations, and selected programs.
ALISON MILLER, ’00, is a partner and chief strategy officer at Arbor Investments, a specialized private equity firm focused on the food and beverage industry. Prior to Arbor, Miller led all branding, marketing, fan research, broadcasting, and game entertainment for the Chicago Cubs and Wrigley Field. She began her career in brand management at General Mills and holds an MBA from Harvard Business School. At U-M, Miller was a student-athlete and starter on the women’s basketball team. She is currently an active board member on several Arbor portfolio company boards and serves on the Keystone Board of the Shirley Ryan AbilityLab Hospital in Chicago.
KENT SYVERUD, JD’81, MA’83, is the president-elect of the University of Michigan and will be the University’s 16th president. He plans to resign from the Alumni Association’s Board of Directors before he assumes the presidency on July 1. Syverud is currently chancellor and president of Syracuse University. During his 12 years as chancellor, he has led Syracuse through a period of transformational change and significant growth. A noted legal scholar, Syverud served as law dean at both Vanderbilt University and Washington University. Syverud serves on the boards of Crouse Health System, SUNY College of Environmental Science and Forestry, Le Moyne College, and the Dormitory Authority of the State of New York.
JORDAN WERTLIEB, ’86, serves as the executive vice president and chief operating officer of Hearst and is a member of the Hearst board of directors. Wertlieb previously was a senior vice president of Hearst and president of Hearst Television. He is a past chairman of the National Association of Broadcasters’ (NAB) joint board of directors and of its television board and is a past president-chairman of the NBC affiliates board. He is currently a member of the A+E Networks board of directors and serves as a vice chair of the Broadcasters Foundation of America board. Wertlieb also serves on the board of the NAB Leadership Foundation and as an advisor to the Pediatric Brain Tumor Foundation.
