Butvilas to Chair Tech Fund Board

George Butvilas, vice chairman of Republic Bancorp and a longtime supporter of Michigan Technological University, has been elected chair of the Michigan Tech Fund Board. In addition to chairing the board, which oversees the university's fundraising operations, Butvilas chairs the board's Managing Directors and its Major Gifts Committee. He has also served as chair of the Investment and Finance Committee.

"George brings to us extensive experience on the board and a highly disciplined approach to its business," said Shea McGrew, vice president for advancement and president of the Michigan Tech Fund. Already he is providing me with sound advice as we position the Tech Fund to support Tech's new strategic plan."

Butvilas is vice chairman of the board of Republic Bancorp in Ann Arbor. A native of Chicago, Butvilas graduated from of the US Naval Academy in 1967 with a degree in mechanical engineering and served seven years in the Navy, including 13 months in Vietnam. He earned an MBA from the Illinois Institute of Technology and completed the Advanced Management Program at Harvard in 1989.

Butvilas was the CEO of D&N Financial Corp. prior to its merger with Republic Bancorp. He has been involved with Michigan Tech, teaching several terms and serving on advisory boards for the School of Forest Resources and Environmental Science and the Applied Portfolio Management Program. He is also a member of the university's McNair Society, which recognizes planned giving.

In 2002, President George W. Bush appointed him to a six-year term on the board of directors of the National Veterans Business Development Corporation in Washington, D.C., of which he currently serves as chairman. He served on the board of directors of Portage Health System and was instrumental in establishing the Michigan Tech Enterprise SmartZone.

Michigan Technological University is a public research university founded in 1885 in Houghton, Michigan, and is home to more than 7,000 students from 55 countries around the world. Consistently ranked among the best universities in the country for return on investment, Michigan’s flagship technological university offers more than 120 undergraduate and graduate degree programs in science and technology, engineering, computing, forestry, business and economics, health professions, humanities, mathematics, social sciences, and the arts. The rural campus is situated just miles from Lake Superior in Michigan's Upper Peninsula, offering year-round opportunities for outdoor adventure.