Foundation Trustee Retires

Embargoed For Release:
December 15, 2006

Contact:
Karen Whalen
Director of Communication
(269) 968-1611

Foundation Announces Retirement of Long-time Trustee

BATTLE CREEK, Michigan – After serving 25 years as a trustee of the Kellogg Foundation, Howard Sims of Detroit will retire, effective December 31, 2006.

“We’ve been truly fortunate to have a leader of Howard’s caliber serve on our Board,” said Sterling Speirn, president and CEO of the Kellogg Foundation. “His wisdom and leadership has been a huge asset to our organization. And his contributions, across three decades, have become part of the Kellogg legacy.”  

When Sims joined the Kellogg Foundation Board in 1981, the philanthropy had assets of $746 million and made $59 million in grant expenditures. Upon his retirement in 2006, the Foundation reported assets of $7.5 billion and made nearly $287 million in grant expenditures.

“An architect by profession, Howard Sims has helped to build a strong Foundation,” noted Cynthia H. Milligan, chair of the Board.  “His active participation in the work of the Board has helped the organization to stay focused on fulfilling its donor’s desire to help people to help themselves.”

Among his many affiliations, Sims is chairman and CEO of SDG Design Group, Inc. and the Sims Design Groups Inc. He has served as director with numerous organizations, including the United Way Community Services; Comerica, Inc.; the Boy Scouts of America Executive Board, Detroit Area Council; and the DTE Energy Group.  He has also served as a trustee and board chair for Oakland University in Rochester, Michigan and as director and board chair of the Federal Reserve Bank, Detroit Branch.  Additionally he is a member of the College of Fellows of the American Institute of Architects, and is affiliated with the National Organization of Minority Architects.

He earned a bachelor’s degree and master’s degree in architecture at the University of Michigan in Ann Arbor.

The W.K. Kellogg Foundation was established in 1930 “to help people help themselves through the practical application of knowledge and resources to improve their quality of life and that of future generations.” To achieve the greatest impact, the Foundation targets its grants toward specific areas. These include: health; food systems and rural development; youth and education; and philanthropy and volunteerism. Within these areas, attention is given to exploring learning opportunities in leadership; information and communication technology; capitalizing on diversity; and social and economic community development.

Grants are concentrated in the United States, Latin America and the Caribbean, and the southern African countries of Botswana, Lesotho, Malawi, Mozambique, South Africa, Swaziland, and Zimbabwe.
For further information, please visit the Foundation’s Web site at www.wkkf.org. The site offers: in-depth information about the Foundation’s programming interests; information on the Foundation’s grant application process; a database of current grant recipients; and access to publications which report on Foundation-funded projects.

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