Irvin D Reid

Irvin D. Reid is president emeritus of Wayne State University. After 11 years of distinguished service, Dr. Reid left the presidency of Wayne State to become inaugural holder of the Eugene Applebaum Chair in Community Engagement and Director for the Forum on Contemporary Issues in Society (FOCIS). Dr. Reid served as Wayne State University’s ninth president from Nov. 24, 1997 to August 1, 2008. Under Dr. Reid’s 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 Dr. Reid’s most far-reaching achievements as president 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. 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. Irvin D. Reid sits on the boards of the Mack-Cali Real Estate Trust (CLI) and its audit committee where he is past chair; Pep Boys and its audit committee; Michigan Economic Development Corporation; and A.Schulman. 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 (chair of trust committee), Fleet Bank (New York; chair of trust committee) and the Handleman Company (HDL) and its audit committee. Dr. 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, president of Saint Joseph College in Connecticut.