INDIANAPOLIS—Butler University today announced the appointment of seven new members to its Board of Trustees.
Tonya L. Combs, Joseph G. Eaton ’88, Michael K. Hole ’08, DuJuan McCoy ’89, Mark D. Minner ’12, Kathy Martin Harrison ’79, and Rob McConnell ’78 joined the 34-member Board, effective June 4.
“We are absolutely thrilled to welcome so many outstanding members to our Board,” Chairman Keith Faller says. “They bring an extremely valuable mix of talent, experience, and enthusiasm to help guide Butler forward as we continue to implement the University’s mission and strategic plan.”
In addition to welcoming new members, the board celebrated the service of four outgoing trustees: Jim Dickson ’95, Nick Musial ’02, Josh Smiley, and Alex Anglin ’10. They also remembered board member Kevin Morris ’95, who passed away in November 2019.
“We are grateful for the years of service and generosity these individuals dedicated to Butler University,” President James Danko said. “Their leadership has been tremendously valuable to our community in establishing Butler as an innovative leader in higher education.”
As of the June meeting, Keith Faller ’71 replaced Jatinder-Bir “Jay” Sandhu ’87 as Chair of the Board of Trustees (though Sandhu will continue to serve on the Board). Tracy Stevens became Vice Chair of the Board. Gary Aletto will continue serving as Treasurer, and Kathryn Betley will continue as Secretary.
The board bestowed the title of Trustee Emeritus upon two former board members, Dennis Bassett MBA ’79 and John Cooke ’62, in consideration of their exceptional service to the University.
More about the new Board members:
Tonya L. Combs serves as Vice President and Deputy General Patent Counsel at Eli Lilly and Company, where she advises senior leaders on intellectual property strategy. She also leads a group of experienced patent attorneys. Combs earned a bachelor’s degree in Chemical Engineering from Rose-Hulman Institute of Technology in 2001, and a juris doctor degree summa cum laude from Indiana University Robert H. McKinney School of Law in 2006. She is an active member of the American Intellectual Property Association, who named her a Woman to Watch in January 2019. Combs is also an active member of the Intellectual Property Owners Association, where she currently serves as the co-chair of the Pharmaceutical and Biotechnology Issues Committee. She currently serves on the board of The Children’s Museum of Indianapolis and is a member of the Rose-Hulman Institute of Technology Board of Trustees.
Joseph G. Eaton is a Partner in the Litigation Department at Barnes & Thornburg LLP and Co-Chair of the firm’s Toxic Tort Practice Group. He has represented clients throughout the U.S. in chemical exposure product liability and commercial litigation matters. Eaton earned a bachelor’s degree in Business Administration from Butler in 1988. He served as President of the Sigma Nu fraternity and was a member of the Butler football team. He earned a juris doctor degree from the Indiana University Robert H. McKinney School of Law in 1991. Eaton was named to the Butler “50 Under 50” list and previously served on the Butler Alumni Association Board of Directors. He and his wife, Florie Theofanis Eaton ’88, received the Mortar Award from the Butler Alumni Association in 2019. Eaton previously served on the boards of the Hamilton Southeastern Schools Foundation and Advisory Council, the Fishers-HSE Youth Football Board, and TigerONE. He currently serves on the Board of Directors of the Youth Mentoring Initiative and Launch Fishers.
Michael Hole is a physician, professor, author, and entrepreneur at The University of Texas at Austin. He is a “street doctor” for children experiencing homelessness and founding director at Financial Health Studios, a university hub for health systems innovation. Hole has started four organizations: StreetCred, a national nonprofit helping low-income families file taxes at medical clinics; Early Bird, a scholarship fund for babies born into poverty; Good Apple, a grocery delivery company fighting child hunger; and Main Street Relief, a nationwide corps helping small businesses navigate economic crises. He has led campaigns that helped fund a new elementary school in Uganda, an orphanage in post-earthquake Haiti, and a new food product tackling malnutrition in developing countries. Hole was Butler’s top male student in 2008 before earning his M.D. and MBA from Stanford University and completing residency at Harvard University. He has published more than 50 peer-reviewed and lay media publications. In 2016, Forbes placed him on America’s “30 under 30” list. In 2019, Presidents Bill Clinton and George W. Bush named Hole a Presidential Leadership Scholar.
DuJuan McCoy is Owner, President, and CEO of Circle City Broadcasting, LLC, a company he formed in May 2019 to purchase both the WISH-8 and WNDY-23 television stations from Nexstar Broadcasting, Inc. Along with this acquisition, McCoy agreed to sell the television stations of his former company, Bayou City Broadcasting, to Allen Media Broadcasting. Founded in 2007, Bayou City Broadcasting was the only African-American-owned company to own and manage a Big-4 affiliate in the U.S. McCoy is now the only African American in the U.S. to own a major local news station (WISH TV) in a major market. He earned a bachelor’s degree in Business Administration in 1989 from Butler, where he also ran track. McCoy completed the National Association of Broadcasters (NAB) Broadcast Leadership Program in 2008. He is now a member of the NAB and is a Director of the NAB Television Board, the NAB Education Foundation, the National Association of Black Owned Broadcasters, the Broadcasters Foundation of America, and the National Urban League. He was recognized at the Indy Black Expo as Entrepreneur of the Year in 2019.
Mark Minner serves as President & Chief Strategy Officer for the Indianapolis-based consulting firm FirstPerson. He is also a co-founder and partner of The Performance Lab, which works with leaders to build and develop high-performing organizations. Since 2013, Minner has served as the play-by-play “Voice of the Butler Bulldogs” for men’s basketball broadcasts on the PNC Butler Radio Network. He has called other sporting events for Fox Sports and the Big East Digital Network, as well as NCAA championships for Turner Sports. Minner is a 2012 graduate of Butler, with dual degrees in both Marketing and Electronic Journalism. In 2019, Minner was named to the Indianapolis Business Journal’s “Forty Under 40” list. In 2016, he was awarded Employee Benefit Advisors’ “Rising Star in Advising” honor. In the community, Minner is an active member of the Penrod Society, has served on the executive committee for the Leukemia and Lymphoma Society’s “Light the Night” event, serves on the board of Hillcrest Country Club, and is one of the founding board members of the non-profit organization Stay Positive.
Kathy Martin Harrison is the owner and CEO of the Ed Martin Automotive Group, founded by her father in 1955. According to the Indianapolis Business Journal, the company is the largest Indianapolis-area woman-owned business. Previously, Martin Harrison owned Martin Realty and KAH Designs. She attended Indiana University and Franklin College before transferring to Butler and earning a bachelor’s degree in Sociology in 1979. She is a member of Butler’s Board of Visitors and the LAS Dean’s Advisory Council. She is the Founder and past President of the Indy SurviveOars dragon boat racing team for breast cancer survivors. Martin Harrison was on the founding board of directors for the Ryan White Foundation in 1990. She was also on the founding committee who brought the Susan G. Komen Race for the Cure to Indianpaolis in 1991. She has served on many community boards, including for the Junior League of Indianapolis, Indiana Sports Corporation, YWCA, Lawrence Township School Foundation, and the John Stewart Foundation.
Rob McConnell is CEO of Indycoast Partners, an independent sponsor and consulting firm in Mergers & Acquisitions. Before Indycoast, he was CEO of Telecorps Holdings, Inc., parent of Wexler Video, Coffey Sound, and Telecorps Sales and Leasing. Prior to that, he was COO of Encoda Systems, following his time as President and CEO of Enterprise Systems Group, Inc., a predecessor to Encoda. He was involved in taking the company public, leading a going-private transaction, merging with an industry competitor, and completing several bank financings. He has also worked in the radio and TV broadcasting industry in various managerial, sales, and talent capacities. He has served as an expert witness in litigation in both state and federal courts in the areas of media, media technology, and misappropriation of trade secrets. McConnell is currently President of the Butler University Alumni Association.
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