New trustee member appointed in place of Richard Landau

By Robin Wyllie-Scholz
Deputy Editor

Realtor Alex Milshteyn will join the Board of Trustees to fill the place of Dr. Richard Landau, who announced his surprise departure at a board meeting in December. The board held a special meeting on Jan. 3, in which they appointed new trustee Milshteyn in a 5-0 vote.

One member of the board, Trustee Ruth Hatcher, chose to abstain.

“I’d like to express my disappointment in how we’ve gone about this. It’s been very quick, there hasn’t been as far as I’m concerned enough publicity…I’m going to withhold my vote because I think the process was not well done,” Hatcher said.

Hatcher noted that her disapproval was not centered around Milshteyn or David Malcolm, the other nominee, but rather the process as a whole, saying “I’ve known both of these candidates for a long time…none of my comments should reflect on either one of them.”

Landau served on the board starting in 2001. Though he did not give a specific reason for leaving in announcing his departure, he said, “It’s been my privilege to serve on this board with everyone here… I leave this board after 22 years knowing that I’m leaving it in the best care that I could envision.”

A graduate of Washtenaw Community College himself, Milshteyn is also on the Washtenaw Technical Middle College Board of Directors and volunteers with several other organizations in the Ann Arbor area.

Milshteyn will join the board at their first meeting of the semester, which will take place at 6 p.m. on Jan. 31.