Join Great Lakes Now Wednesday, Apr. 5 at 12 p.m. for a conversation on sustainability and fighting climate change with University of Michigan President Santa Ono.
Ono has put sustainability and fighting climate change among the top priorities for his administration. In addition to several programs and initiatives that are being expanded or developed, the university is serving as the lead institution for the University Climate Change Coaltion that convenes 23 leading North American universities to work toward climate action on campus, in communities, and at a global scale.
The Sustainable Business Network Detroit is proud to host Dr. Ono as keynote speaker at an April 5 luncheon where he will expand on his sustainability agenda for the university. After his speech, Q&A will be moderated by Telva McGruder, chief diversity, equity, and inclusion officer for General Motors Co. Telva also is a member of the advisory board for the UM School for Environment and Sustainability.
About Santa Ono
Santa J. Ono, Ph.D., is the 15th president of the University of Michigan. He began a five-year term on Oct. 14, 2022. A recognized leader in higher education in the United States and Canada, President Ono is an experienced vision researcher whose pioneering work in experimental medicine focuses on the immune system and eye disease. At U-M he is also a professor of ophthalmology and visual sciences in the Medical School. He joined U-M from the University of British Columbia, where he served as president and vice chancellor since 2016. While at UBC, he chaired the U15 Group of Canadian Research Universities and the Research Universities of British Columbia, and served on the board of Universities Canada. He also served on the steering committee of the Association of Pacific Rim Universities; Government of Canada’s Industry Advisory Ad Hoc Roundtable on COVID-19 Testing; and the boards of Fulbright Canada and Mitacs. Prior to his appointment at UBC, he was president of the University of Cincinnati, where he also served as professor of pediatrics at Cincinnati Children’s Hospital Medical Center. While at the University of Cincinnati, he was appointed by Ohio Gov. John Kasich to lead the state’s Biopharmaceutical Task Force and to the Board of the Ohio Third Frontier, the state’s technology-based economic development program.
About the Moderator, Telva McGruder
Telva McGruder is the Chief of Diversity, Equity, and Inclusion for General Motors. She was named to this position in August 2016. Telva previously led facility engineering for the GM global footprint as well as facility management strategy for North American manufacturing facilities. Responsibilities included the procurement of energy, energy efficiency initiatives, coordination of contractual agreements, and material handling strategy for facility services in North America.
Previously, Telva was Die Program Manager for Global Body Manufacturing Engineering. In that role, she led the team responsible for tool and die strategy, planning, quality and launch for global vehicle programs. Prior to this role, she held positions of increasing responsibility and influence within manufacturing engineering and at several manufacturing locations where she motivated teams to rethink the possible in project execution, maintenance, quality, operations and labor negotiations. Telva earned her BS and MS degrees in Electrical Engineering from Purdue University.
