Consumer Reports (CR) has named Morgan State University vice president Willie May, Ph.D. to its 16-member Board of Directors. Dr. May, who heads the University’s Division for Research and Economic Development (D-RED), was one of two new members CR announced at its Annual Meeting held in October. He joins Russell G. Noles, retired executive vice president and chief operating officer at Nuveen, a subsidiary of Teachers Insurance & Annuity Association, as the latest additions to the volunteer governing body. Consumer Reports’ members annually elect a slate of nominees to serve a three-year term on the Board.
“It is truly an honor to be able to work collaboratively with Consumer Reports in proactively setting standards for consumer safety, satisfaction, and sustainability,” said Dr. May. “This is the perfect complement to a professional career that has allowed me to meaningfully contribute to the nation’s go-to agency for measurements, standards, and technology for 45 years and assist in preparing the students at Morgan to become future leaders. I look forward to this new opportunity to serve.”
Members of the board are responsible for overseeing Consumer Reports activities. Board members meet periodically to discuss and vote on the affairs of the organization.
“It’s a special honor to help guide an organization that offers people certainty and confidence in an ever-shifting world,” said Annette LoVoi, Chair of Consumer Reports’ Board of Directors. “I look forward to working with Willie, Russell and fellow Board members, along with CR leadership, members and partners, to help deliver greater fairness, safety, and transparency to the marketplace.”
As a nonprofit membership organization, CR works in cooperation with consumers to create fairer, safer, and healthier environments. It provides evidence-based product testing and ratings, rigorous research, hard-hitting investigative journalism, public education, and steadfast policy action on behalf of consumers’ interests. For its efforts, CR has uncovered landmark public health and safety issues and strives to be a catalyst for pro-consumer changes in the marketplace.
At Morgan, in his role as vice president for D-RED, Dr. May supports research throughout the University and oversees IP and commercialization efforts. He previously served as the U.S. Under Secretary of Commerce for Standards and Technology and director of the National Institute of Standards and Technology (NIST) and as the director of Major Research and Training Activities at the University of Maryland, College Park. His laboratory-based research is described in more than 90 peer-reviewed technical publications.