Irvin D. Reid - President, Wayne State University

Irvin D. Reid was sworn in as Wayne State University’s ninth president on Nov. 24, 1997. Shortly after assuming office, President Reid announced several initiatives that he believed would lead Wayne State University into “a new era of greatness.” These initiatives, which stress the university’s commitment to student success, research, the urban environment, diversity and innovative technology, have since formed the core principles of Wayne State’s strategic planning.

Under President Reid’s leadership, Wayne State has completed hundreds of millions of dollars in new construction, including a major expansion of the Law School complex, three residence halls, the Eugene Applebaum College of Pharmacy and Health Sciences, the Mort Harris Recreation and Fitness Center and a Welcome Center Complex comprising the Welcome Center, the University Bookstore and a Retail/Parking Center Building.

One of President Reid’s most far-reaching achievements has been the creation of TechTown, a 43-acre technology park adjacent to the Wayne State campus. With more than 40 tenants, TechTown’s business incubator is a growing force in the revitalization of the economies of Detroit and Michigan.

Since President Reid’s arrival, the university’s fundraising has grown from $27 million per year in 1997 to nearly $80 million per year. During his tenure the university has raised more than $520 million from private sources and has received the largest gifts in its history in law, engineering and medicine. In 2001 he launched Wayne First, the university’s first capital campaign, with an announced goal of $500 million.

Before coming to Wayne State University as its president, he served from 1989 to 1997 as the seventh president of Montclair State which he took to university status from a college.  He also initiated the first doctoral program at the university. Montclair was the second largest university in the state of New Jersey with 13,000 undergraduate and graduate students, 430 full-time faculty members, and a total workforce of over 1,200 employees.  Dr. Reid began the most significant years of his academic career at the University of Tennessee at Chattanooga, where his positions included dean of the School of Business Administration, John Stagmaier Professor of Economics and Business Administration, head of the Department of Marketing and Business Law, and Alan Lorberbaum Professor of Marketing. He also has held positions at Howard University, the National Aeronautics and Space Administration, the U.S. Consumer Product Safety Commission, Drexel University, the Philadelphia College of Art and St. Joseph’s University.

Dr. Reid has received many honors and awards including The Jewish National Fund Tree of Life Award, (1994), the Austrian-American Council of North America’s Austrian-American Medal (1995) and Howard University’s Distinguished Postgraduate Achievement Award in Education and Administration (1999). In 2000 The Detroit News placed him among its 12 Michiganians of the Year. In 2002 he received the Michael P. Malone International Leadership Award from the National Association of State Universities and Land Grant Colleges, and was named a Newsmaker of the Year by Crain’s Detroit Business. In 2003 he received an honorary degree from Montclair State University; in 2006 Dr. Reid was chosen Ernst & Young’s Entrepreneur of the Year in the Central Great Lakes Region for his leadership in supporting spin-off businesses from university research while nurturing existing businesses in Detroit’s Midtown area.

Irvin D. Reid sits on the boards of the Federal Reserve Bank of Chicago (Detroit Branch); Handleman Company (HDL) and its audit committee; and the Mack-Cali Real Estate Trust (CLI) and its audit committee where he is past chair; and Detroit Renaissance. He previously served on the boards of First Tennessee Bank of Chattanooga, NatWest Bank New Jersey, NatWest Bank USA (chair of trust committee) and Fleet Bank (New York; chair of trust committee).

President Reid earned masters and PhD degrees in business and applied economics from The Wharton School of the University of Pennsylvania, and bachelor’s and master’s degrees in psychology from Howard University. He also holds a certificate in educational administration from Harvard University. He is married to Pamela Trotman Reid, provost and executive vice president of Roosevelt University in Chicago.