Posted: July 17, 2002
Contact: Doug Anderson, doug.anderson@MinnState.edu, 651-201-1426
The Minnesota State Colleges and Universities Board of Trustees today elected officers for the coming year: Mary (Ditlevson) Choate, Bloomington, will serve as board chair; Jim Luoma, Cohasset, will serve as vice chair; and Michael Redlinger, Moorhead, will be treasurer. Their one-year terms begin Aug. 1.
Choate, who also served as board chair during the past year, is a graduate of St. Cloud State University. She and her husband own and operate seven McDonald's restaurants in the Twin Cities area, and she serves as secretary/treasurer for the business. She was appointed in 1998 to a six-year term on the board.
Choate earlier was a stockbroker with Piper Jaffray, E. F. Hutton and Norwest Investment Services. She has been active with the St. Cloud State University Foundation Board, serving as its chair in 1995-1997, and with the university's Alumni Board, for which she was president in 1984-85.
Luoma was vice chair during the past year as well. His professional career has been in education, starting as a teacher for the South Washington County School District and later as a principal in the district. He then was superintendent of the Grand Rapids public schools before retiring in 1999, the year he was appointed to the Board of Trustees for a six-year term.
Redlinger represents state university students on the board. He is a graduate of Minnesota State University Moorhead, where he earned a bachelor's degree in political science and now is pursuing a master's degree in the Public, Human Service and Health Administration program. Redlinger has been active in student government and is a past state chair and chief executive officer of the Minnesota State University Student Association. He was appointed to a two-year term on the board in 2001.
The Board of Trustees governs the largest system of higher education in the state.
