Katherine E. White was elected to the University of Michigan Board of Regents in 1998 and re-elected in 2006 and 2014. She is currently serves as board chair. Regents are elected on a statewide ballot.
UM regents Katherine White (left) and Denise Ilitch in the stands at the Glick Fieldhouse in January 2012, awaiting the start of a speech by President Barack Obama. (Photo courtesy of The Ann Arbor Chronicle.)
White is an Ann Arbor resident. She is a law professor at the Wayne State University Law School in Detroit, a registered patent attorney, and a Lt. Colonel in the U.S. Army reserves, serving as an Instructor of Law at the United States Military Academy at West Point, NY. The Wayne State University Law School lists her areas of expertise as patent law, government contracting (federal), and contracts.
She holds an undergraduate degree in electrical engineering and computer science from Princeton University, a law degree from the University of Washington, a master of laws degree from the George Washington University Law School, and a master’s degree in strategic studies from the U.S. Army War College.
From 1995–1996, she was a judicial law clerk to Randall R. Rader, Chief Judge of the U.S. Court of Appeals for the Federal Circuit. From 2000–2002, she was appointed by the Secretary of Commerce to serve on the United States Patent and Trademark Office Patent Public Advisory Committee. She was also a Fulbright Senior Scholar, and a White House Fellow 2001–2002.
She is co-author, with Eric M. Dobrusin, of "Intellectual Property Litigation: Pretrial Practice, Third Edition."
Excerpt from the "Friends of Kathy White" newsletter, dated Aug. 25, 2014:
I will continue to use my unique background to build a bridge between education, science, industry, and government. For example, when I was chair of the Board of Regents in 2008, I pushed for the University of Michigan to buy the land and research facilities that Pfizer vacated when it left Ann Arbor. With those facilities, the University of Michigan created the North Campus Research Complex, which not only expands the university’s translational research capabilities, but also has a mission “to be a driver in the resurgence of the Michigan economy.” As I continue as chair of the Board of Regents in 2014, I will continue to further these goals.
As state and federal funding have reduced support to higher education, I have fought to keep the University of Michigan quality high and attendance accessible. For example, I have continued to ensure increases in financial aid are commensurate with any tuition increases on Michigan residents. I have also sought to make the University of Michigan a welcoming place for veterans by spearheading the University of Michigan’s move to provide in-state tuition for all veterans.
She is the daughter of Bob White, who serves on the Ann Arbor historic district commission and the city's Board of Review. Katherine White also serves on the Board of Review, for a term ending February 3, 2016. She was first appointed by the city council to that board in February 2010, and re-appointed in 2013.
In the Aug. 5, 2014 primary, she was elected as a Democratic precinct delegate for the city of Ann Arbor, Ward 4, Precinct 7.
Sources
- http://www.law.wayne.edu/faculty/bio.php?id=43026
- http://www.regents.umich.edu/about/bios/white.html
