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Glen Tracy heads Paper Technology Foundation

May 6, 2004

KALAMAZOO--A Western Michigan University alumnus with a long track record in the paper and energy industries has been named the executive director of WMU's Paper Technology Foundation.

Glen A. Tracy, whose WMU appointment was effective April 1, comes to the University from Shell Services USA in Houston, where he had served as director of business development for the past two years. In that role, he led Shell's development of paper industry services. Prior to that he was a general manager for Shell Trading Gas and Power Co., also in Houston. In addition, he has held management positions in the energy sector with engineering and recycling firms, and he has extensive paper mill management experience.

Tracy says volunteer work in recent years led him to focus on opportunities in the nonprofit sector and he views his new role with the foundation as an opportunity to both "give back" to the industry and help ensure the growth of the foundation.

"I want the foundation to continue to be a leader in developing young people for careers in the paper industry," Tracy says. "I also expect to be aggressive in securing commercial technology and patents to be developed at the University, and I'll be spending a lot of time making sure the industry recognizes and utilizes the great asset base WMU's paper program offers."

Tracy says a major part of his job will involve marketing that asset base, which includes paper and printing pilot plants and a new paper coating pilot plant that came online late last year. WMU is the only university in the world with the capability of going from paper pulp to the printed page on a single campus. Industry clients come from around the world to do research at WMU.

"For industry, we are really the complete package," Tracy says. "We have the facilities the industry needs, and we have incredibly talented faculty and staff members to work with them."

Tracy began his career in 1976 with Georgia Pacific in Kalamazoo, shortly after he graduated from WMU with a degree in paper science. After four years with that company, he accepted the first of a series of positions at Scott Paper Co., working in engineering, capital planning and business development. In addition to a bachelor's degree from WMU, Tracy earned an MBA from the Wharton School at the University of Pennsylvania, with an emphasis in finance and marketing.

WMU's Paper Technology Foundation, established in 1958, supports and enhances the internationally known paper programs offered by WMU's Department of Paper Engineering, Chemical Engineering and Imaging. It also helps recruit and financially assist young men and women who wish to pursue careers in the pulp and paper industry. Foundation members include many of the leading figures in the nation's paper industry.

Tracy succeeds longtime PTF head Dr. John A. Ferguson, who retired in February.

Media contact: Cheryl Roland, 269 387-8400, cheryl.roland@wmich.edu

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