Meet Your Board Members

Jim Bell worked in the Hospital Finance for 18 years. He started in Reimbursement dealing with Medicaid, Medicare and Blue Cross cost reports and regulations. He then moved on to the Budget office meeting with the Chairs and Department heads to set the budget for the Health System. The last 18 years he moved into administration after working with the Chair of the Department of Surgery he took a job as the Clinical Department Administrator within Surgery. The last few years he moved to the Deans office as the Chief Administrative Officer of the Medical School.

Before finishing his education Jim was in the US Air Force for 3 Years, 10 Months and 6 days, learning Vietnamese and stationed in Okinawa Japan Jim then obtained his BBA degree (in Accounting) at Eastern Michigan University. After taking an auditing position with the State of Michigan auditing Healthcare facilities for Medicaid, Jim attended Thomas Cooley Law School, while working. After receiving his CPA certificate and passing the Bar exam, he joined the University of Michigan Hospitals.

Esrold Nurse

Esrold Nurse arrived at the University of Wisconsin – Oshkosh in 1972, leaving his home country of Trinidad & Tobago to pursue a degree in English Literature. After completing his degree at Oshkosh, he attended Western Michigan University in Kalamazoo, Michigan, where he earned a degree in Educational Leadership. His first professional role after completing his master’s degree was in Wisconsin as an academic student advisor, later serving as Director of Minority Student Services.

He and his wife later moved to Madison with their two young children, where he was appointed assistant dean of student academic affairs in the College of Letters & Science. Working directly with the university chancellor, he created a campus-wide mentoring program for students of color. During this time, he also completed a Ph.D. in Educational Administration in the School of Education.

In 1995, Nurse accepted the position of assistant dean of Academic Advising and later became the executive director of the Newnan Academic Advising Center. Additionally, he served as a member of the LSA Dean’s leadership group and collaborated with other departments across campus that advised students. One of the highlights of his tenure as Assistant Director of Undergraduate Education was the creation and development of the annual campus-wide Advising Conference.

Staff members in his department received accolades and commendations for their efforts in serving students in LSA and across campus.

Throughout his career, Nurse remained deeply committed to student success, considering it his most important role as director of the Newnan Advising Center. His final official appointment was as special advisor to the Provost of the university, a role that extended his collaboration with student services across campus.

Jack Kalbfleisch

Jack Kalbfleisch was a Professor of Biostatistics in the School of Public Health and Professor of Statistics in LS&A. He also served as Director of the Kidney Epidemiology and Center for several years. Having formally retired in 2012, he continued to work on various research projects at a reduced level for the next ten years. He joined the University in 2002 as Chair of Biostatistics, a position that he held for the next five years. His research interests spanned many areas of statistics, with particular emphasis on the analysis of data on time to an event, especially with applications to medicine and public health. He joined the UMRA in 2012 and the Board in 2022.

Prior to joining U-M, Jack was Dean of the Faculty Mathematics at the University of Waterloo in Ontario where he had previously served as Chair of the Department of Statistics and Actuarial Science. He has been extremely fortunate to work in very supportive academic environments and particularly enjoyed supervising graduate students and collaborative research. In 2023, Jack and his wife Sharon moved to Virginia to be closer to their two daughters. His interests include gardening, acting, stained glass and traveling.

Rodger Wolf

Rodger Wolf retired as a Business Manager for the University of Michigan’s Division of Student Affairs, now known as the Division of Student Life. He holds a Bachelor of Business Administration from Western Michigan University and is a Certified Public Accountant. Rodger’s interests include genealogy, stock market investing, taxation, canoeing, fly fishing, and hiking.

Jan Lach

Jan Lach began her engineering career as a civilian with the Department of Defense and moved into consulting with a global engineering company, providing services to the aerospace, automotive and construction industries before joining Michigan Medicine. After 17 years there as a senior manager in occupational safety and environmental management, she retired, joining UMRA in 2020. She continues to serve the University as a lecturer in the School of Public Health. Jan holds a Bachelor’s degree in Mechanical Engineering from the University of Utah and a Master’s degree in Engineering Management from the University of Tennessee. She is also a retired licensed professional engineer and Certified Safety Professional. In retirement, Jan is actively involved in the Novi community, and pursues many interests, including gardening, travel, genealogy, and being outdoors as much as possible.

Katherine Kurtz

Following undergraduate and graduate degrees from Western Michigan University, Katherine Kurtz started her career at the University of Michigan Dearborn as a counselor and director of student life. In 1980, she moved to the Ann Arbor campus to direct an internship program in LSA and moved into fundraising approximately four years later. She served as assistant dean for development in LSA until she moved to central development as associate vice president in 1998. She retired from UM in 2003 and accepted a position as vice dean for development at Northwestern University Feinberg School of Medicine. Katherine retired from Northwestern in 2012, and joined UMRA when she returned to Ann Arbor. She joined the Board in 2018 and served as president from 2022 – 2024.

Al Hermsen

Al Hermsen served over 40 years in higher education, starting straight out of college working in UM’s accounting department. After 8 years he moved to private industry to serve as a controller, but decided he preferred higher education. He returned to UM to work in the Office of Financial as an assistant and then associate director. He retired from UM in 2007, but only to assume the position of financial aid director at Wayne State University. He retired from WSU in 2013 but continues to do consulting to help schools with their financial aid administration. He has an accounting degree from MSU and an MBA from EMU. He has served on the UMRA Board since 2014, serving as President from 2020-2022. Al enjoys golfing, skiing, hiking, kayaking and a variety of other activities.

Elaine Fellows

Elaine Fellows began her connection with the University of Michigan as an undergraduate student pursuing a bachelor’s degree from the School of Nursing. She chose nursing because she liked being able to help people learn about their heath status, practice ways to prevent disease, as well as continue to invest in themselves to be independent as possible. Elaine remained in Ann Arbor after that and worked as a nurse. Her drive for continuing learning was strong, working with many different patient populations, many different health professions, as well as learning more through formal education at U-M.

She achieved master’s at U-M and then returned to U-M for another year to achieve a post-master’s certificate to meet practice requirements as a nurse practitioner. During the above, she was able to create 4 patient education booklets about vascular disease, treatments, and surgery in association with the Society for Vascular Nursing through a grant from the Society of Vascular Surgery and involved new and past patients, nurses, surgeons, physical therapists, social worker, as well as other multi-disciplinary people from U-M for their expertise in the development of those. Elaine retired in 2021 after > 49 years as a nurse/nurse practitioner and joined UMRA.

Sharon Grayden

Sharon Grayden’s career in higher education spanned over 40 years and three universities, culminating in a decade at the University of Michigan School of Dentistry, where she served as Director of Communication until 2016. However, before fully embracing retirement, one significant project remained unfinished. In 2017, she returned to the school part-time to complete Victors for Dentistry (1962–2017): Decades of Innovation and Discovery, the school’s history book, which was published in 2018. Writing and editing this comprehensive history was a labor of love for Sharon and served as the perfect culmination to a long and impactful professional career.

In February 2020, Sharon and her husband relocated to Key West, Florida, and have totally embraced island life. Tropical gardening has become a favorite pastime, adding to the charm of their new surroundings. An avid cyclist, Sharon enjoys exploring the island on two wheels, often ending her rides with morning coffee at the beach or an evening sunset at the waterfront.

When forced indoors, she indulges her love for baking, knitting, and reading. The discovery of audiobooks has been a game-changer, allowing her to combine her favorite activities with reading—a delightful “two-for-one” experience.

Dr. Violet H. Barkauskas

Dr. Violet H. Barkauskas joined the faculty of the U-M School of Nursing in 1980 and served the school in various capacities including Associate Dean, Department Chair, and tenured faculty. Her nursing specialties are community health and primary care. She developed a graduate program in home care and led a major research effort to evaluate clinical outcomes of nurse-managed primary care centers. During a sabbatical, she was a Fulbright scholar and teacher in Lithuania, assisting universities there to develop academic nursing programs. She is a graduate of Saint Joseph’s College in Emmitsburg MD (BS), the U-M School of Public Health (MPH), Johns Hopkins University (CNM), and the University of Illinois (PhD). Her past experiences include service as a Peace Corps Volunteer in Sabah, Malaysia.

Edward Adams

Ed Adams served as Chief Technology Officer at the Ross School of Business for 24 years, culminating a 42 year career across varied emerging technology areas and companies, including banking, digital imaging, graphics, manufacturing, software, CAD/CAM and consulting. All involving ‘disruptive technologies’ that changed the way businesses operate. At U-M Ed introduced highly automated administrative systems with integrated databases, advanced research computing infrastructure, rich media classrooms and student study spaces, a mock financial trading floor, and immersive distance learning spaces, setting a new standard for academic technology. Ed holds degrees in Mathematics, Computer Science, and Business.

Susan Shields

Susan Shields built a 40 year career in higher education focused on corporate/university fundraising and research relations at both the University of Michigan and the University of Minnesota. Her work introduced her to diverse areas within these renowned institutions and their corporate partners. At U-M, Susan reported to the Office of University Development and the former Business Engagement Center. After retiring in 2018, she became actively involved with UMRA, joining the Board in 2022. Susan holds an MBA in Marketing and an undergraduate degree in Social Science.

Jim Randolph

Jim Randolph dedicated 39 years to the University of Michigan, retiring in 2009 as Senior Associate Director of the Division of Research Development and Administration. Throughout his career in central research administration, Jim served U-M administration, funding agencies—principally the National Institutes of Health—and individual investigators, who were the primary focus of his efforts. In retirement, Jim has embraced life as a Chelsea resident, volunteering with numerous local organizations.

Mike Kalasinski

Mike Kalasinski’s 38-year career at the University of Michigan spanned several units, including Financial Operations, the Institute for the Study of Mental Retardation and Related Disabilities, the College of Architecture and Urban Planning, the School of Art and Design, and the School of Public Health. Over his tenure, Mike worked with seven deans and took on roles in budget planning, financial management, research administration, human resources, and computing services oversight. He holds a degree from the University of Michigan-Dearborn.