Bend, OR – March 3, 2009 – (RealEstateRama) — Governor Kulongoski’s State Board of Higher Education appointment of Bend real estate developer Kirk Schueler was confirmed last week by the Oregon State Senate. Succeeding Board member Howard Sohn of Roseburg, who served from 2004 to 2008, Schueler’s 4-year (plus a partial year) term on the Board began on February 25, 2009 and runs through June 30, 2013.
Paul Kelly, president of the Oregon State Board of Higher Education, said, “Kirk Schueler brings a broad set of experience and skills to the board from his work in the areas of business, education, economic development, civic engagement and philanthropy. His commitment to the communities in which he has worked extends from student access and success to improving cities, neighborhoods, and local government operations.”
Schueler has been the president and a member of the board of Brooks Resources Corporation, a real estate development firm in Bend, Oregon, since 1993. Prior to this, he was an audit manager with KPMG Peat Marwick in Portland from 1987 to 1993.
“I have a strong interest and belief in the public education system, and the transformative affect of quality, inclusive education on the lives of students,” said Schueler. “Having worked in industry in Central Oregon has demonstrated to me the importance of a strong, well supported system of higher education as the core foundation of any successful community or state. Postsecondary education is vital to the economic and social growth of Oregon, and I’m looking forward to advancing the education agenda through the important work of the Board of Higher Education.”
Actively involved in the Bend community, Schueler has been a board member of the Bend Foundation since 2000; of the Mt. Bachelor Sports Education Foundation since 2004; and of the Jeld-Wen Tradition Foundation in Portland since 2007. He has been president and a board member Building a Better Bend, Inc. since 2003; and co-chairman and board member of the Center for Innovative School Facilities in Portland since 2005. Previously, Schueler was chairman and a board member of the City of Bend Budget Committee from 1999 to 2004; and was president and a board member of Economic Development for Central Oregon from 1996 to 2001.
The Oregon State Board of Higher Education, the statutory governing board of OUS, is composed of eleven members appointed by the Governor and confirmed by the Oregon State Senate. For additional information, go to the OUS website.
