Murdock named new UIU board chairman

Dennis Murdock has been named chairman of Upper Iowa University’s Board of Trustees. A 1968 UIU graduate, Murdock has served as a board member since 2005. With nearly 50 years of experience in the electric utility industry, he is currently the executive vice president and CEO of Central Iowa Power Cooperative (CIPCO) in Des Moines, Iowa.

Additional officers are Steve Harms, Board vice chair; Richard Andres, Board secretary; and John R. Falb, Board treasurer.

A ’73 UIU graduate, Harms served as president and chairman of the board for Rain and Hail LLC, Rain and Hail Insurance Service Inc. and Agri General Insurance Company before retiring in 2011. He has served on the UIU Board of Trustees since 2001.

A board member since 2005, Falb is the managing director of The PrivateBank’s Upper Midwest Region. Meanwhile, Andres has served as a board member since 2010 and is currently vice president of client development for Automated Member Services.

Newly selected board members are Mike Prochaska of Stewartville, Minn., and Neil Wilkinson of Fairbank, Iowa.

After graduating from UIU in ’89 with a degree in computer science, Prochaska has been employed with IBM for 26 years in a variety of management end executive roles. The Fayette native currently serves as vice president of the global IBM Cloud Managed Services Development Team. A 1985 North Fayette High School graduate, Prochaska is also a member of the UIU Athletics Hall of Fame Committee.

A 1996 West Central High School graduate, Wilkinson owns Financial Decisions Group in Oelwein, Iowa. Graduating from UIU in ’00 with a degree in finance and business management, the Westgate native later completed a master’s in financial services from the American College.

Each of the newly appointed Upper Iowa University officers and board members assumed their duties on Wednesday, July 1.

Additional members of the UIU Board of Trustees include Bruce I. Campbell, Peter A. Clemens, William R. Cook, Betty Davis Firth, Robert R. Firth, Howard K. Fischer, Dr. Darrel Lang, Dr. Margaret B. Lawson, Scott R. Lebin, Bernard Pattison, Lowell Schwab, and faculty trustees Dr. Jeffrey Butikofer and Angela Leete.