Eugene Applebaum Chair, Community Engagement, and Director, Forum on Contemporary Issues in Society
Irvin D. Reid is President Emeritus of Wayne State University and Inaugural holder of the Eugene Applebaum Chair, Community Engagement, and Director, Forum on Contemporary Issues in Society (FOCIS).
Reid was appointed to the Michigan Economic Development Corporation Executive Committee in 1999, and serves on the Finance Subcommittee.
Reid served as Wayne State University’s ninth president from November 1997 to August 1, 2008. Under his leadership, Wayne State 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 his most far-reaching achievements was the creation of TechTown, a 43-acre technology park adjacent to the Wayne State campus.
Before coming to Wayne State University as its president, Reid served from 1989 to 1997 as the seventh president of Montclair State which he took to university status from a college.
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.
Reid serves on the boards of the Mack-Cali Real Estate Trust (CLI), A. Schulman, Inc., and Pep Boys. He previously served on the boards of Federal Reserve Bank of Chicago (Detroit Branch), First Tennessee Bank of Chattanooga, NatWest Bank New Jersey, NatWest Bank USA, Fleet Bank (New York), and the Handleman Company (HDL).
He has received many honors and awards, including The Jewish National Fund Tree of Life Award, Austrian-American Council of North America's Austrian-American Medal, Howard University's Distinguished Postgraduate Achievement Award in Education and Administration, and Michael P. Malone International Leadership Award from the National Association of State Universities and Land Grant Colleges.
The Detroit News placed Reid among its 12 Michiganians of the Year in 2000 and he was named a Newsmaker of the Year by Crain's Detroit Business in 2002. In 2006, he 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.
Reid is married to Pamela Trotman Reid, president of Saint Joseph College in Connecticut.