Johnson Center appoints new researcher

Mary B. Mc Donald has been appointed to the position of senior researcher at Grand Valley State University's Johnson Center for Philanthropy and Nonprofit Leadership. According to Dr. Donna VanIwaarden, director of the Johnson Center, the new appointment reflects an increasing demand for the Johnson Center to generate and apply research with philanthropic and nonprofit organizations.

'It is essential that research geared towards our communities' nonprofit sector be academically rigorous and responsive to nonprofit needs,' VanIwaarden said. 'Mary's background makes her an excellent person to accomplish those goals.'

Dr. Mc Donald will direct the Michigan Nonprofit Research Program (MNRP), a partnership of the Aspen Institute Nonprofit Sector Research Fund, the Johnson Center for Philanthropy, and the Michigan Nonprofit Association. The MNRP was created to improve understanding of the Michigan nonprofit sector through high-quality research and convenings. In its seven years of operation, the program has awarded $700,000 in support of 32 research projects to improve the effectiveness of Michigan nonprofits and inform public policy related to the state's nonprofit sector. MNRP is one of only two statewide programs to support research on nonprofit organizations; the other program is in California.

Mc Donald has worked in nonprofit organizations in a number of capacities, most recently serving as director of the Muskegon Family Coordinating Council. She was previously director of Every Woman's Place in Muskegon, where in the mid-'80s she conducted a successful capital development campaign, and development manager at Hackley Hospital, also of Muskegon. She received her baccalaureate degree from Eastern Michigan University, master's degree from Western Michigan University, and her Ph.D. from Michigan State University.

The MNRP is currently funded by a grant from the W. K. Kellogg Foundation and is governed by an Advisory Committee composed of Michigan-based nonprofit practitioners, policy experts, and university-based researchers. At the committee's semi-annual meeting in December, Mark E. Neithercut, vice president of Program for the Community Foundation for Southeastern Michigan, was elected chair, replacing Elizabeth Sullivan, vice president-Program for the Kresge Foundation. Ann Marsten, president of the Michigan League for Human Services, serves as the MNRP vice-chair.