Effective Jan. 1, Trustee Melanie Foster will serve as board chairwoman, Trustee James Fabiano Sr. will serve as vice president, Executive Assistant to the President for External Relations Tom Davis will serve as secretary and Finance and Administrative Services Vice President-elect George Ross will serve as treasurer.

Ross will assume the duties of Finance and Administrative Services vice president Monday.

Foster replaces board Chairman Bill Johnson. Rao expressed his gratitude for Johnson’s service to CMU.

“It’s been terrific working with you and I’m going to miss working with you,” he said to Johnson.

“He’s very committed to the university and will continue to be.”

Rao also welcomed Trustee Jeffrey R. Caponigro, and said Stephanie Comai and Gail Torreano both will bring strengths to the board.

Caponigro, president and chief executive officer of Caponigro Public Relations, Inc., replaced Nancy McKeague, whose resignation from the board was effective Oct. 31. He will serve until Dec. 31, 2008.

Torreano, president of SBC Ameritech Michigan, will replace Rajendra Vattikuti, whose term expires Dec. 31. She will serve on the board until Dec. 31, 2010.

Comai, special adviser to the governor for information technology, will replace Johnson, effective Jan. 1, 2003. She will serve until Dec. 31, 2010.

Another addition to the university was a $10 million gift from Ford Motor Co.

Ford Global Technologies, Inc. — a division of Ford Motor Company — donated three patents to the university worth an estimated $10 million, and a cash gift of $80,000 to cover associated patent maintenance fees.

The patents are in the areas of robotics technology, lighting technology and texture mapping/CAD technology, and Ford Global Technologies, Inc. donated them as a charitable gift.

Acceptance of the patents will enable the university to further its goals and objectives using the technologies to enhance education programs and facilitate the establishment of beneficial relationships between the university and the industry, according to information provided by the Board of Trustees.

A representative from Ford Global Technologies, Inc. could not be reached for comment.

Trustees also voted to name Building B of the new residence halls — facing northeast — to be named the Roger L. and Phyllis J. Kesseler Residence Hall.

Johnson said both Roger and Phyllis Kesseler have made many contributions to the university, both personally and financially — as the Kesseler’s have donated more than $1 million to the university.

“This is a well-deserved recognition of their efforts,” Johnson said.

Kesseler said the honor would be leverage for his grandchildren to attend CMU.

“My 11-year-old granddaughter said, ‘I want to go in that dorm and be treated like a queen,’” he said.

In other news:

• Trustees approved a seven-year lease for an amount not to exceed $1,075,817 for classroom and administrative office space at Travelers Tower, 26555 Evergreen St. in Southfield. Funding will come from the College of Extended Learning-Southfield budget.

• Trustees accepted software and technical support for use in the computer-assisted design lab in human environmental studies from Lectra USA, Inc.

“The software and support positions students in apparel merchandising and design to be among the top choice of recruiters for design positions in the apparel industry,” according to the board proposal.

The cost for the project is $562,295, with Lectra USA, Inc. providing $555,000 gift. The additional $7,295 will be paid for by the College of Education and Human Services and the Student Technology Planning Board.