Four new board of trustees elected

Upper Iowa University has elected four new members to its Board of Trustees. The new board members are Mike Eischeid, West Union, Iowa; Mary Cheddie, Coral Springs, Fla.; alumni representative Michele Matt, West Des Moines, Iowa, and student representative Cody Booker, LaSalle, Ill.

“On behalf of the entire Upper Iowa University Board of Trustees, I would like to welcome our newest members,” said board chairman Dennis Murdock. “We are extremely confident that the professional and personal knowledge that these four individuals have compiled will contribute greatly to ensuring UIU continues to provide the greatest possible academic opportunities to our students.”

Additional officers are Steve Harms, vice chair; John R. Falb, treasurer; Richard Andres, secretary, and Betty Davis Firth, assistant secretary.

Mike Eischeid previously served on the board of trustees from 1998-2009. He earned a bachelor’s degree from UIU in 1963 before earning a master’s from The University of Northern Iowa.

An inaugural member of the UIU Athletic Hall of Fame, Eischeid was named an N.A.I.A. Little All-American in 1962 and earned I.I.A.C. All-Conference honors three times. In addition to being a four-time letterwinner in football, he lettered in baseball and golf twice while attending Upper Iowa. The Fayette High School graduate continues to hold multiple punting records at the University.

Upon graduation, he was named to the Minnesota Vikings taxi squad in 1963, the Chicago Bears in 1965, and Kansas City Chiefs in 1971. Eischeid was a member of the active squads for the Oakland Raiders from 1966 to 1971 and the Minnesota Vikings from 1972 to 1974. He played in three Super Bowls, once with the Raiders and twice with the Vikings. He also played in seven championship games.

In addition to teaching for two years, he worked in the field of foodservice distribution management at H&H Foodservice in West Union, Iowa; Rykoff-Sexton in Chicago, Ill., and Minneapolis, Minn.; GFG Foodservice in Grand Forks, N.D. Eischeid also worked in commercial construction management at Allied Glass, Midwest Glazing of Cedar Rapids, Iowa.

Mary Cheddie is senior vice president of human resources for Interval Leisure Group, a leading provider of vacation services. She has more than 25 years of domestic and international experience in all aspects of human resources and training. Prior to joining Interval, Cheddie served as senior vice president, people with PRC, as well as vice president, human resources, strategic planning, office services, and facilities for The Orvis Company, Inc. in Manchester, Vt.

Cheddie, who received her master’s degree at UIU in 2008, serves as the chair for Keiser Career College’s Advisory Board and has served on the Society for Human Resource Management (SHRM) board of directors from 2003-2008 and chaired SHRM’s governance and compensation committees. She also served on the Waldorf College Alumni Board from 2004 through 2008 and was president of the Dallas HR Association in 2000.

Business Leader Magazine named Cheddie a 2011 Women Extraordinaire and in 2012 the National Diversity Council presented her with the Glass Ceiling Award.

Michele Matt, formerly of Elkader, Iowa, graduated with a bachelor’s degree from UIU in 1987. She currently serves as the University’s Alumni Association president.

Since 1989, Matt has been a consultant in the health care industry, specializing in continuing care retirement communities. She is a master training consultant for the Service Excellence Initiatives with Custom Learning Systems of Calgary, Canada.

In 1991, Matt founded Inspiring Solutions in Des Moines, Iowa. She is a recognized expert for facilitating strategic planning, strengthening teamwork and enhancing customer service. Through 15 years of experience working with board of directors, department directors, staff and even residents, she has developed numerous programs to assure organizational, leadership and team effectiveness.

An award-winning authorized partner for Wiley Publishing Company – creators of the DiSC profile, Matt’s best-selling book, “Attitude: The Choice is Yours” is in its eighth printing.

Cody Booker is a UIU senior biology major, with minors in business and pre-law.

In addition to being the student representative on the Board of Trustees, Booker was the Student Government Academic Extension representative in 2013-14 and the SGA president in 2014-15. Cody also serves UIU as a student ambassador for the Admissions Office, and is a mentor for freshman athletes.

A catcher on the Peacock baseball team, Booker plans to attend law school after graduating from Upper Iowa.

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

Photos and brief biographies of all Upper Iowa University Board of Trustees can be found at www.uiu.edu.