“What always struck me as I (stayed) longer and longer on the board was how creative this place is,” she said. “It’s such a dynamic place — it’s hard to get your head around.”

McNamara graduated from MSU in 1974 with a bachelor of arts degree in social science.

Trustee Don Nugent’s first steps on MSU’s campus as a board member also were not his first ­— he graduated in 1965 with a bachelor of science degree in agriculture.

Both trustees joined the board in January 1995, with the help of Michigan voters. Both lost their bids for re-election this year, ending a combined 30 years of service to the university.

Brian Breslin, the son of the man for whom Breslin Center is named and a former Meijer vice president, nabbed one of the seats. Former MSU football player Mitch Lyons was elected to the other. Their terms are set to begin Jan. 1.

Although Nugent thought he knew everything there was to know about MSU when first elected, he was just scratching the surface, along with McNamara, he said.

“The university board, the budget — everything,” Nugent said. “It was a bit overwhelming.”

One begins to realize after a few months there are thousands of people who work on campus and thousands more who are here to learn and prosper, McNamara said.

And, Nugent said, to fully understand the issues affecting the university, the passage of time and listening to the MSU community is necessary.

The trustees’ terms conclude at the end of this month, and their last board meeting together is Dec. 10.

Both expressed little to no regret of their decisions to shape the future of MSU.

“Oh my God — how lucky I was to be a part of that,” McNamara said.

Missions accomplished

According to MSU’s constitution, the duties of the MSU Board of Trustees include hiring university presidents and managing university finances, McNamara said.

In light of numerous of difficult financial circumstances affecting faculty, staff and students, MSU has gotten along pretty well, she said.

On Jan. 14, 2005, then-Provost Lou Anna K. Simon sat in the university boardroom, leading eight trustees in her new role as MSU president. In retrospect, hiring Simon was among the largest and most important issues in which he was involved, Nugent said.

“The hiring of Lou Anna K. Simon was the only (president) we hired during the 16 years,” he said. “Probably the single biggest issue — nothing was more important than the long-range growth of the university.”

Although the issue of college affordability has yet to be solved, both trustees expressed hope students in the future can trust the board to act upon the behalf of their educational and financial situations.

Looking back, the university grew in numbers since 1995, from student population to buildings on campus. But perhaps one of the projects McNamara felt was most special was expanding the College of Osteopathic Medicine to Detroit.

“When I first got on the board, my interest was MSU’s involvement in urban life of Michigan and my hope we could involve ourselves more,” she said.

Enhancements to MSU athletic facilities, the Secchia Center in Grand Rapids and the Eli Broad College of Business’ Henry Center in Lansing are great accomplishments Nugent has seen during his tenure, he said.
But once decisions are made, he said he isn’t one to worry about voting one way or another.

“Probably the single issue that I was not in favor of was the same-sex benefit program, but the majority of the board was in favor of it,” Nugent said, referencing MSU’s passing of a stipulation to grant health benefits to university employees in same-sex relationships.

“It passed and you know, life goes on.”

Although McNamara said she can’t necessarily point out a specific vote she regrets or would rescind, she acknowledged MSU’s expansion into Dubai in 2008 was authorized during a time when the university’s approach in the region was not the most ideal.

“I feel sometimes the university’s business plans are not what the business world would necessarily be involved in,” she said. “This one went wrong because of something totally unanticipated.”

Years of experience

A wave of Republican support across the country did not bypass MSU during the November midterm elections last month.

McNamara, an incumbent and Democrat, was ousted after she sought a third term. Nugent, a Republican, did not receive his party’s nomination during the state Republican convention in August. As such, he did not appear on the November ballot.

Regardless of each not serving a third term, family members, university officials and students expressed thoughts and well-wishes toward the departing trustees.

Although Nugent said he feels he might have had to sacrifice precious family time for university business, his wife dismissed such notions.

“We both feel if you choose to serve on the board, you have a responsibility,” Gail Nugent said. “You also have a responsibility to your family, but you have to find a balance for things and I think Don has done a fine job at doing that.”

Marissa McNamara, Colleen’s 13-year-old daughter, confessed she was unsure about a large part of what her mother does, but still feels a sense of pride.

“I am proud (of my mom),” she said. “I think it’s really nice. If I learn more about (the position), I might think it would be something I’d like to do.”

Chris Schotten, who chairs the Student Assembly in ASMSU, MSU’s undergraduate student government, said both departing trustees have kept students’ best interests in mind.

With student health care required for all students in 2013, board members did a fine job of understanding the issues and being open to suggestions on behalf of students, he said.

“Both McNamara and Nugent were very receptive to student issues and, I would say, generally concerned for students and their well-being,” Schotten said.

“I don’t think there are any main criticisms I have to level against either of them,” said Stefan Fletcher, president of the Council of Graduate Students. “They’ve been very open at listening to the needs of graduate students.”

Having worked with both trustees since 1992 as university provost and vice president for academic affairs, Simon said Colleen McNamara’s and Don Nugent’s greatest impact was their push of MSU’s capital campaign to raise more than $1 billion in five years, beginning in September 2002.

More than $1.4 billion was raised during that period of time, she said.

“When a board makes a decision, it is not simply of today, it builds the MSU of tomorrow,” Simon said. “If you think about the success of the university during that period of time (as trustee members), they’ve been very much part of that success with their guidance and support.”

Bill Beekman, secretary to the MSU Board of Trustees and executive assistant to Simon, said he’s noticed during his three years as secretary that both trustees have been able to look across the table at each other and work toward the betterment of the institution and its students.

“When they are on the board, that partisanship goes away,” Beekman said. “I don’t know if people believe it, but it is true. (You’d) be hard-pressed to find an issue where they were not working on the behalf of the university.”

Trustee Joel Ferguson, the board’s chairman, said the departing trustees each brought something new and something different to MSU, making the university the best it could be.

“Nugent, I can’t even believe there’s a person here like him,” he said. “Here’s a guy who had to drive four and a half hours (from northern lower Michigan) to get to every meeting. To me, he’s the best chairman we’ve ever had at the finance committee.”

Colleen McNamara’s work behind the scenes made her a trustee of the people — deans, faculty and students, Ferguson said.

“Her main accomplishments for me wasn’t any specific piece of legislation, it was her attitude and her work with the students,” he said. “I kind of looked at her funny sometimes during meetings because she had so many questions that were relevant to the topic and just kept going.”

At the end of the day, if people join the board and bring their best ideas to the table, MSU will be the best it can be, Ferguson said.

“I think experience is really overrated,” he said. “I think people who have been on the board for a year or two already have shown 16 years of experience each time around with their decisions. I wouldn’t rate it above common sense and commitment — McNamara and Nugent, they’ve had it both.”