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FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE
June 24, 2004

BOARD OF REGENTS ELECTS NEW CHAIR AND VICE CHAIR (TOPEKA)

Today the Kansas Board of Regents elected a new Chair and Vice Chair. The nine-member Board elected Dick Bond, of Overland Park, as the new Chair and Donna Shank, of Liberal, as the new Vice Chair.

Dick Bond was appointed to the Board by Governor Bill Graves in 2002, and had served as the Board’s Vice Chair since 2003. A former Kansas State Senator, Bond was appointed to the Kansas Senate in 1986 and was elected to three four-year terms. Bond was elected Kansas Senate President in 1996 and retired in 2001.

Bond’s civic involvement includes serving as a Kansas Statehouse Restoration Foundation Officer, Kansas Children’s Campaign Co-Chair, Youth Friends for Greater Kansas City Board Member, University of Kansas (KU) Edwards Campus Advisory Board Chairman, Shawnee Mission Medical Center Foundation Board and Executive Committee Member, KCPT Public Television Board Member, and as a YMCA Board of Directors Member. Honors and awards include the KU Law School 2004 James Woods Green Medallion, 2003 Shawnee Mission School District Patron Award, 2001 KU Distinguished Service Citation – the highest honor bestowed by KU, and Governing Magazine’s 2000 Legislator of the Year in the Nation.

Bond attended KU where he earned both a bachelor’s degree and law degree. Bond and his wife, Sue, have two children and three grandchildren.

"I am honored to be selected by my peers on the Board of Regents to serve as Chair," Bond said. "It is truly an honor to have the opportunity to advocate on behalf of higher education in Kansas and I look forward to a successful year."

Governor Bill Graves appointed Donna Shank to the Board in 2002. She is the Vice President and Co-Owner of Al Shank Insurance, Inc. in Liberal. She is an Accredited Advisor in Insurance and has been a licensed insurance agent since 1984.

Shank currently serves on the Higher Learning Commission Accreditation Review Council, as a Wichita State University (WSU) Alumni Association member, on the Governor’s Economic Policy Council, the Liberal High School Site Council, and as the Kansas Prosperity Summit Southwest Region Co-Chair. Her past civic involvement includes the Kansas Children’s Cabinet, Kansas Council for the Future of Post-Secondary Education, Leadership Liberal Board Chair, Liberal Chamber Ambassador, and Kansas Chamber of Commerce and Industry Board Member.

Shank earned an associate’s degree from Seward County Community College and a bachelor’s degree from WSU. She is also a graduate of the Leadership Liberal and Leadership Kansas programs. Shank and her husband, Al, have three children.

"I look forward to my continued work with this dedicated group of professionals who truly believe in the quality, efficient and accessible higher education system that Kansans deserve," Shank said. "As a mother of a child currently attending a Kansas institution, I am anxious to continue exploring funding mechanisms that help reduce the financial stress on our institutions while also addressing the financial burden on our students."
Dick Bond and Donna Shank will both serve one-year leadership terms that begin immediately.

For more information contact Kip Peterson, Director of Government Affairs & Communications, at (785) 296-3421.

July 16, 2004 11:56 AM