WCC’s Morris Lawrence building exterior. Voice File Photo
By Debra Destefani
Deputy Editor
Three seats on the WCC board of trustees are open, with several board members running for reelection this Nov. 3.
The members are Board Chair Christina Fleming, Trustee Ruth Hatcher and Trustee Dave DeVarti. The four-candidate race also includes Martin Thomas, manager of campus services.
Board Chair Christina Fleming has a background in tech and was a student at WCC, where she was the webmaster of the Voice student newspaper. She is a tech consultant with her own LLC.
During her term as board chair, Fleming has helped navigate WCC through a major IT transition, as well as work closely with President Bellanca to steer the college through the many hurdles that COVID-19 created.
“I’m not a government person, I’m a technology person. But if you’re talking about a board of trustees you need a mixture of people. I just wanted to lead in example in that way,” said Fleming.
“I just happened to raise my hand and put my name on the ballot. I was the first to say that if you don’t like what you see, you have to step up.”
Trustee Ruth Hatcher spent 30 years as a staff member of the English department at WCC. She also served as the English/Writing Department chair, was president of the faculty union, director of the Writing Center and interim Vice President of Instruction.
Hatcher was also the recipient of several awards throughout her career, including the first Morris Lawrence award in 1991.
“At one point I didn’t feel like I had been making any accomplishments, but I have encouraged the president to work with the faculty more, to listen to them, to work with them and I think that’s very important,” said Hatcher.
“I think there should be a teacher on the board, someone who has been in the classroom at WCC. I bring that experience as well as I negotiated on the other side several times.”
Dave DeVarti held a seat on Ann Arbor city council as a Democrat representing ward four from April 1987 to April 1988. He served on the Board of the Ann Arbor Downtown Development Authority from 1991 to 2008.
DeVarti currently serves on the Ann Arbor zoning board of appeals.
“We have a very strong support for community college across the county,” DeVarti said.
“My argument was let’s make it as inexpensive as possible for in-county residents to get access to post secondary education. My goal always is to keep tuition rates as low as we can.”
Martin Thomas, manager of campus services facilities, has been an employee of the college for 45 years. He’s held his current position as manager of campus services for 25 years.
Thomas owes his experience to his longevity at the college where he manages his department using four different budgets.
“It’s going to take me a little on-boarding because I’m just new to this. But my heart is telling me I need to do something, just like anyone else who said ‘I’ve had enough and I’m taking action,’” said Thomas.
“I know WCC and the internal workings, the heartbeat and pulse of WCC and I know what we can deliver.”
Mich. election information including candidate listings and absentee voter resources can be found on the Secretary of State website.
EDITOR’S NOTE: This story has been updated to correct biographical information.
