The Farmer School of Business is extremely proud of our outstanding individuals who comprise our Board of Visitors this year. Their many years of wisdom and experience are of great value to the School, especially now as we have embarked on an ambitious and challenging process of continuous improvement on our journey from “good to great.”
The external members of our Board of Visitors are energetic risk-takers who have steered their companies through times of change and challenge keeping those organizations creative and competitive. We plan to harness that entrepreneurial mindset, ensuring that the Board remains a source of advice and ideas that benefit students, our faculty, and the greater Miami University community!
RICHARD T. FARMERChairman
Cintas Corporation
Mason, Ohio
Richard Farmer earned his bachelor’s degree in marketing from Miami University in 1956 and then completed Officer Training and served in the United States Marine Corps. After his discharge, he joined his father and grandfather in a family business. He helped them expand, then left in 1968 to start his own company, which eventually purchased the family enterprise.
Farmer’s company, Cintas Corporation, has grown to become the world's leading provider of corporate identity uniform programs and the largest company in its industry. It has achieved 35 consecutive years of uninterrupted growth in sales and profits, and has increased dividends by a compound annual rate of 28 percent since it went public in 1983. Cintas, ranked in the Standard Poor's 100, employs nearly 30,000 people and serves more than 500,000 businesses. Every day, 5 million people go to work wearing a uniform furnished by Cintas.
For four consecutive years, Forbes Platinum 400 list has ranked Cintas among the best-performing big corporations. In 2005, for the fifth consecutive year, Cintas was listed among Fortune’s “America’s Most Admired Companies.”
In addition to chairing the board of his own company, Farmer is a Director of Fifth Third Bancorp and Chairman of Summer Hill, Inc., an investment firm. He is a past director or chairman of many other companies and many community organizations. An active alumnus of Miami, he has served on the university’s Board of Trustees and is a past chairman.
Honors include being named “CEO of the Year” twice by Financial World magazine and “Entrepreneur of the Year”” by Ernst Young, and being inducted into the Greater Cincinnati Business Hall of Fame. Farmer has received honorary Doctor of Laws degrees from Miami and Xavier universities.
Farmer is married to the former Joyce Barnes and they have three children, all of whom are graduates of Miami University.
ARTHUR D. COLLINS, JR.Chairman and CEO
Medtronic, Inc.
Minneapolis, Minnesota
Since graduating from Miami University in 1969 with a B.S. degree in business administration, Art Collins has become a leader in the world of medical technology. Collins is Chairman and CEO of Minneapolis-based Medtronic, Inc., the largest medical technology company in the world, with annual revenues of $11 billion. The company has a presence in more than 120 countries and employs more than 34,000 people.
Medtronic is continually recognized for its strong corporate governance and its commitment to philanthropy and community involvement. In the 2006 Fortune magazine list of the “Most Admired” U.S. companies, Medtronic was first in its industry category.
After leaving Miami, Collins served as an officer in the U.S. Navy and then earned an MBA from The Wharton School at the University of Pennsylvania. He began his professional career as a consultant with Booz, Allen Hamilton’s Chicago office, then joined Abbott Laboratories, where he remained for 14 years, eventually becoming Corporate Vice President with responsibility for Abbott’s worldwide diagnostic business units.
In 1992 Collins accepted the position of Corporate Executive Vice President and President of Medtronic International. He became the corporate CEO in 2001 and Chairman in 2002.
Collins serves on the Board of Directors of U.S. Bancorp and Cargill, Inc. He is a member of the Board of Overseers of the Wharton School and a member of the Board of The Institute of Health Technology Studies. He is the previous Chairman of AdvaMed, the medical technology industry association, and remains active in a variety of community and volunteer activities.
Collins was born in Lakewood, Ohio in 1947. He and his wife now live in Minneapolis and have two grown daughters.
SCOTT D. FARMERPresident and CEO
Cintas Corporation
Mason, Ohio
Scott Farmer joined Cintas in 1981. He has held the positions of Vice President–National Account Division, Vice President–Marketing and Merchandising, and Rental Division Group Vice President. In 1994, he was elected to the Board of Directors and in 1997, he was elected President and Chief Operating Officer. He was elected Chief Executive Officer in July 2003.
JAKKI HAUSSLERChairman and CEO
Opus Capital Management, Inc.
Cincinnati, Ohio
Jakki Haussler received her Bachelor of Business Administration degree cum laude in accounting from the University of Cincinnati and her JD from the Salmon P Chase College of Law, where she was named outstanding Woman Law Graduate by the National Association of Women Lawyers.
She is an attorney and CPA, with more than 25 years in public accounting and transactional experience, including work in mergers and acquisitions, investment banking and venture capital. Haussler serves as Chairman and CEO of Opus Capital Management, Inc., a registered investment advisory and asset management firm which she co-founded with her husband, Len Haussler in 1996. In addition, Haussler is a Partner and Managing Director in two venture capital funds, Adena Ventures, LP and Capvest Venture Fund, LP.
Community responsibilities involve serving on the CincyTech USA Leadership Council and on the boards of the Madison E-zone, the Association for Corporate Growth, and several of the venture funds' portfolio companies.
ROGER L. HOWEPresident, Howe Investment Co.
Chairman (retired), U.S. Precision Lens, Inc.
Cincinnati, Ohio
After graduating in 1957 from Miami University with a BS in business, Roger Howe was employed for 13 years by the S.D. Warren Co., a Boston-based fine paper manufacturer. He worked in sales management, product management, and was Director of Advertising.
In 1970 Howe purchased U.S. Precision Lens, a small maker of plastic optics in Cincinnati, and built it into a world leader of innovative optical systems for the photographic, instrument, and television industries. In 1986 he sold the company to Corning, Inc. and remained as Chairman of the Board until his retirement in 1997.
Howe currently serves as a Director of Cintas Corp. and Convergys Corp. as well as of privately-held Atkins Pearce, Inc. He was formerly on the boards of Taft Broadcasting, U.S. Shoe Corp., Great American Communications, Eagle Picher Industries, Cincinnati Bell, Baldwin Piano Organ, and US Bancorp.
In addition to his professional responsibilities, Howe has been Chairman of The Christ Hospital, The Elizabeth Gamble Deaconess Home Association, and the James N. Gamble Institute of Medical Research. He served as a Trustee of the Health Alliance of Greater Cincinnati.
Howe’s record of service to Miami University includes membership on the Business Advisory Council of the Farmer School of Business, the University Foundation Board, and the Board of Trustees, which he chaired for three years. He was awarded an honorary Doctor of Laws degree from Miami in 1987 and was inducted into the Cincinnati Business Hall of Fame in 1998.
Howe and his wife, Joyce, have one son and two daughters.
CYNTHIA A. NIEKAMPVice President, BorgWarner Inc.
President and General Manager, BorgWarner TorqTransfer Systems
Auburn Hills, Michigan
Cindy Niekamp graduated with distinction from Purdue University in 1981 with a bachelor’s degree in industrial engineering. Two years later she earned a master’s degree in business administration from Harvard Business School. She started her career at General Motors, in engineering and manufacturing operations for brake systems and transmission components, working in the United States as well as in France. She then moved to TRW to assume operational and business development responsibilities in automotive components and systems.
In 1995, Niekamp joined Mead Corporation, subsequently serving in a variety of senior roles, including four years as President and General Manager of Mead Specialty Paper Division. She helped lead the company through its merger with Westvaco Corporation in 2002, ultimately becoming the new company’s Senior Vice President and Chief Financial Officer.
Niekamp was named President and General Manager of BorgWarner TorqTransfer Systems and Vice President of BorgWarner Inc. in July of 2004. BorgWarner Inc. is a product leader in highly engineered components and systems for vehicle powertrain applications worldwide. The company operates manufacturing and technical facilities in 62 locations in 17 countries. Customers include Ford, DaimlerChrysler, General Motors, VW/Audi, Toyota, Hyundai/Kia, Renault/Nissan, Honda, Caterpillar, Navistar International, Peugeot, and BMW.
Niekamp served on the board of directors of Delphi Corp. from 2003 to 2005. She is the mother of two daughters: Emilie, age 14, and Elizabeth, age 11. They reside in Birmingham, Michigan.
President of Miami University since 2006. B.A., Macalester College 1970; M.A., 1973, and Ph.D., Pennsylvania State University, 1975.
Provost and Executive Vice President for Academic Affairs since July 2005. B.A., Princeton, 1983; M.A. and M. Phil., Yale, 1985; Ph.D., Princeton, 1987.
Vice President for University Advancement since 2000. A.B. Washington University, 1981; J.D., Washburn University School of Law, 1984.
Dean and Professor of Marketing, Farmer School of Business since 2002. B.S. Berea College, 1968; MBA, East Tennessee State University, 1970; Ph.D., Ohio State University, 1976.
Last modified on 10/3/08 | Content maintained by External Relations
