Oregon Gov. Tina Kotek has submitted three nominees to the Oregon Senate to fill a trio of upcoming openings on the university’s board of trustees.

This article first appeared in Around the O on April 21, 2023.

Oregon Gov. Tina Kotek has submitted three nominees to the Oregon Senate to fill a trio of upcoming openings on the university’s board of trustees.

Kotek has nominated Amy C. Tykeson and Andy Storment to fill at-large positions and Ruby Wool as the student trustee.

All of the nominations are subject to confirmation by the Oregon Senate. The nominations will be considered along with the governor’s other executive appointments during the current session of the Legislature, likely in May. If confirmed, terms for each of the nominees would begin July 1.

The nominees would succeed trustees whose terms are coming to a close this summer and are stepping down. They include board Chair Ginevra Ralph and trustee Ross Kari, who were both appointed to the board when it was formed in 2013. Julia Lo, a senior in the Clark Honors College, will step down upon her graduation.

In addition to the new trustees filling at-large spots, the governor will resubmit Steve Holwerda, Connie Seeley, Elisa Hornecker, and faculty member Ed Madison for reappointment to the board.

Holwerda joined the board in 2021 and is now vice chair. Seeley was seated in 2020 and was chair of the recently concluded presidential search committee, while Hornecker joined the board in 2019 and is the chair of the Academic and Student Affairs Committee.

Madison’s first term concludes this spring after joining the board in 2021. Faculty members, staff and student trustees are eligible for two two-year terms. Madison is a professor at the School of Journalism and Communication.

Meet the nominees:

Tykeson is the managing trustee of the Tykeson Family Foundation and earned her bachelor’s and MBA from the UO. Tykeson has an extensive background in the telecommunications industry, starting at HBO then then serving as president and CEO of BendBroadband, a Central Oregon-based, family-owned cable and broadband company. Tykeson serves on the boards of Meyer Memorial Trust, Providence Montana Health Foundation and the Montana chapter of The Nature Conservancy. Other recent community service includes sitting on the governing board for Oregon Health & Science University, Oregon Public Broadcasting, and the advisory board for Oregon State University-Cascades Campus.

Storment, the managing director of McKenzie Capital in Eugene and a UO alumnus, currently serves as director on the board of Summit Bank in Eugene, of which he was also a founder; The Ford Family Foundation in Roseburg; Eugene-based Jerry’s Home Improvement Centers; and Stahlbush Island Farms. A lifelong Oregonian, he also served on the board of Oregon22 World Championships; as president/CEO of Kerr Concentrates in Salem; was the lead outside investor of Ridgeline Pipe Inc.; and was co-owner/board member of Cascade Structural Laminators.

Wool is a sophomore and Stamps Scholar in the Clark Honors College. Wool, who went to high school in Burlington, Vermont, is involved in several student organizations on campus, including the UO club tennis team, where she serves as vice president; the Daily Emerald; Duckcorps; and Warsaw Sports Business Club.

—By Jim Murez, University Communications