EDITORS: Mr. Martin is traveling out of town this weekend and is unavailable for interviews. We will work on arranging some type of media availability with him early next week.

ANN ARBOR—University of Michigan President Lee C. Bollinger announced today (March 3) that he has asked William C. Martin, president of First Martin Corp., an Ann Arbor real estate development firm, to serve as interim director of athletics. The appointment will be effective March 6 pending approval by the U-M Board of Regents at their meeting March 20.

Martin, a U-M alumnus, also is the founder and chairman of the board of Bank of Ann Arbor. He was one of four members of a committee appointed by Bollinger in
“I am grateful to Bill for agreeing to help guide our Athletic Department over the next several months,” Bollinger said. “His extensive experience with and devotion to amateur sports and his broad business experience make him an ideal leader for this time of transition for the department.”

The details of Martin’s compensation are not yet finalized, Bollinger said, but Martin has indicated his wish to contribute his services to the University without compensation.

An avid sailor, Martin is president of the United States Sailing Foundation and also served as president of the U.S. Sailing Association, the national governing body of the sport of sailing in 1988-91. He has been on the board of directors of the U.S. Olympic Committee since 1995 and has served on its budget committee.

Martin earned a bachelor of arts degree from Wittenberg University, Springfield, Ohio, in 1962, and a graduate degree in economics from the University of Stockholm, Sweden, in 1963. He received his M.B.A. degree from the U-M in 1965. He has been a member of the board of directors of Wittenberg since 1994, and is a member of the Fales Committee of the U.S. Naval Academy.

In 1968, Martin founded First Martin Corp., a diversified real estate construction, development and management firm that has developed 35 major office, commercial, industrial and residential projects in Ann Arbor. He has served as president of the Washtenaw Land Conservancy since 1981 and also has been a board member of the Ann Arbor Public Schools Foundation and Washtenaw Technical Middle College, a charter school. He has taught courses at Muskingum College, Eastern Michigan University and the U-M School of Business Administration.

In his role as U-M interim director of athletics, Martin will be assisted and advised by a transition committee, appointed by Bollinger last week. Members of the committee are: Lisa Tedesco, committee chair, vice president and secretary of the University, and professor of dentistry; Chacona Johnson, chief of staff, Office of the President, and associate vice president for development; Marvin Krislov, vice president and general counsel; Warde Manuel, assistant director of athletics; and Michael Stevenson, senior associate director of athletics and director of the Department of Recreational Sports.

A 17-member search committee will conduct a national search over the coming months for a permanent director of the Athletic Department. Chair of the search committee is James S. Jackson, the Daniel Katz Distinguished University Professor of Psychology and professor of health behavior and health education in the School of Public Health. Jackson also is director of the Center for Afroamerican and African Studies, director and senior research scientist of the Research Center for Group Dynamics, and a faculty associate with the Institute of Gerontology.

The search committee, which also will employ a national executive search firm, has been asked to present the president with an unranked slate of three finalists for the position.

orBruce Madej

Lee C. Bollingercommittee appointed by BollingerUnited States Sailing FoundationWittenberg UniversityWashtenaw Technical Middle Collegetransition committee17-member search committee