Dick DeVos
Encyclopedia
Dick DeVos is a businessman and Republican
politician
from Michigan
. The son of billionaire Amway
co-founder Richard DeVos
, he served as CEO of the multi-level marketing
consumer goods distribution company from 1993–2002. In 2005, DeVos launched the most expensive gubernatorial campaign in the history of Michigan, totaling more than $41 million. Ultimately, DeVos lost on November 7, 2006, to Democratic incumbent Jennifer Granholm
. DeVos announced on November 12, 2008, that he would not run for governor in 2010
.
, DeVos is a graduate of the Forest Hills
public schools and received a bachelor's degree
in business administration from Northwood University
. He later attended, but did not graduate from, the Harvard Business School
and the Wharton School
's Executive Study Programs.
His wife, Betsy DeVos
, is the sister of Blackwater Worldwide
(now Xe) president Erik Prince
, and she is the former chairperson of the Michigan Republican Party
. DeVos and his wife have four children: Richard Marvin (Rick), III, Elisabeth (Elissa), Andrea, and Ryan.
DeVos is an avid sailor. In 2007 he finished first in the Chicago Yacht Club
's Race to Mackinac Island
, along with his brother Doug, in their boat Windquest. They placed third in their division in the 100th annual running of the Race to Mackinac in 2008.
Corporation in 1974, holding positions in various divisions, including research and development, manufacturing, marketing, sales, and finance. In 1984, he became one of Amway's vice presidents, with responsibility for the company's operations in 18 countries. Under his leadership, the company opened new markets and tripled international sales to exceed domestic sales for the first time in company history.
In a 1979 ruling
, Amway was found by the Federal Trade Commission
that its operations did not violate pyramid scheme
prohibitions, but the company was ultimately sanctioned for price fixing (by requiring distributors to sell at a fixed price) and failing to police income representations.
In 1989, DeVos left Amway to start a new business venture, The Windquest Group, a multi-company management group involved in the manufacture and marketing of storage and closet organizers. When the DeVos family acquired the National Basketball Association
's Orlando Magic
basketball franchise in 1991, DeVos became president and CEO of the team. He left both positions in January 1993 to rejoin Amway as its president, succeeding his father, Amway co-founder Rich DeVos.
In 2000, DeVos oversaw a corporate restructuring that created Alticor
, the new parent company
of predecessor Amway, as well as subsidiary companies Access Business Group and Quixtar
. Under DeVos, Alticor expanded operations to more than 50 countries and territories on six continents. In a 20-month span, Alticor cut over 1,300 jobs (primarily in Michigan) during this restructuring, with 400 of them being buyouts and early retirement.
Job cuts were one of several cut backs made during the corporate restructuring of Amway in order to expedite the return to profitability and prevent further downsizing or the possible loss of the company.
DeVos retired as president of Alticor in August 2002. In that fiscal year, Alticor reported sales of $4.5 billion, primarily through its more than 3.5 million mostly part-time sales force and its complementary e-commerce channel. After retiring from Alticor, DeVos returned to become president of The Windquest Group.
As of 2007, DeVos sits on the board of directors
of the Education Freedom Fund, which provides money for families to send children to private schools. He is the author of the 1998 book Rediscovering American Values.
to the Grand Valley State University
Board of Control. He resigned in 2000 after missing 16 of 27 meetings. This occurred during the time that DeVos was responsible for leading the corporate restructuring of Amway.
, which provides similar scholarships across the country. When the Children's Scholarship Fund provided $7.5 million to the Education Freedom Fund, the DeVoses matched the grant, and their foundation covers all of the administrative costs of the organization. Pro-privatization groups such as the Children's Scholarship Fund use charitable scholarship programs as part of their campaign to build support for publicly funded vouchers, in part by favoring religious schools in how it awards its grants.
In 2000, DeVos was the co-chairman of the "Kids First! Yes!" campaign committee, which sponsored a ballot-initiative that would have amended the Michigan constitution
to allow vouchers and tuition tax credits for private K-12
education
. The initiative lost, with 69% of voters opposing the measure.
The Dick and Betsy DeVos Foundation has also given money to groups like the American Education Reform Council, Choices for Children, and Children First America, in addition to funding Christian schools in the West Michigan area.
; the Institute for Marriage Policy; the National Day of Prayer Task Force
; the Council for National Policy
(of which DeVos is a member); and the Michigan-based Foundation for Traditional Values, among others.
; and the Hudson Institute
. Also the DeVos family has contributed much to Northwood University in Midland, Michigan
. This includes various donations of scholarships, buildings and uncountable financial donations.
group Triangle Foundation of Michigan claimed Dick and Betsy DeVos of supporting the American Family Association
's boycott
of Michigan based Ford Motor Company
.
The AFL-CIO
has claimed that DeVos has exported Michigan jobs in the past, supports trade agreements that encourage further outsourcing, and lobbied for tax breaks that benefit big businesses instead of workers. The AFL-CIO has since endorsed incumbent Democratic
governor Jennifer Granholm
.
, DeVos announced his candidacy to be governor of Michigan. He is still considered to be the wealthiest man to run for statewide office in Michigan's history. As of October 27, 2006, the DeVos campaign had spent $39 million, of which nearly $35 million was DeVos's own money. This paid for billboards in Detroit, some of which were vandalized to read "DeVil
For Governor, Enough is Enough: Vote for Satan" instead of "DeVos For Governor, Enough is Enough: Vote for Change."
On November 7, 2006 DeVos was defeated by Democratic incumbent Jennifer Granholm by a 14-point margin. He congratulated the re-elected Granholm via phone after the results were in; Granholm was quoted as saying she "admired his tenacity and his passion for Michigan".
, as Michigan has had one of the highest unemployment
rates in the country, largely attributed to a decline in the domestic automotive industry.
in science classes, indicating in a press release that he believes it should be left to local control. He has been criticized by the National Center for Science Education
for this stance, and by the Michigan Citizens For Science for what they call engaging in doubletalk.
. During the debate, he stated his personal opposition to both expanding embryonic stem cell research
and abortion
without exceptions. DeVos mentioned in an interview at a Catholic
radio station that he favors overturning Roe vs. Wade. In a subsequent debate, he stated that current laws in Michigan are acceptable. On October 2008, Dick Devos donated $200,000 to the PAC opposing Michigan State Proposal - 08-2 (2008)
.
Republican Party (United States)
The Republican Party is one of the two major contemporary political parties in the United States, along with the Democratic Party. Founded by anti-slavery expansion activists in 1854, it is often called the GOP . The party's platform generally reflects American conservatism in the U.S...
politician
Politician
A politician, political leader, or political figure is an individual who is involved in influencing public policy and decision making...
from Michigan
Michigan
Michigan is a U.S. state located in the Great Lakes Region of the United States of America. The name Michigan is the French form of the Ojibwa word mishigamaa, meaning "large water" or "large lake"....
. The son of billionaire Amway
Amway
Amway is a direct selling company and manufacturer that uses network marketing to sell a variety of products, primarily in the health, beauty, and home care markets. Amway was founded in 1959 by Jay Van Andel and Richard DeVos...
co-founder Richard DeVos
Richard DeVos
Richard DeVos, Sr. is an American businessman, co-founder of Amway along with Jay Van Andel , and owner of the Orlando Magic NBA basketball team...
, he served as CEO of the multi-level marketing
Multi-level marketing
Multi-level marketing is a marketing strategy in which the sales force is compensated not only for sales they personally generate, but also for the sales of others they recruit, creating a downline of distributors and a hierarchy of multiple levels of compensation...
consumer goods distribution company from 1993–2002. In 2005, DeVos launched the most expensive gubernatorial campaign in the history of Michigan, totaling more than $41 million. Ultimately, DeVos lost on November 7, 2006, to Democratic incumbent Jennifer Granholm
Jennifer Granholm
Jennifer Mulhern Granholm is a Canadian-born American politician, educator, and author who served as Attorney General and 47th Governor of the U.S. state of Michigan. A member of the Democratic Party, Granholm became Michigan's first female governor on January 1, 2003, when she succeeded Governor...
. DeVos announced on November 12, 2008, that he would not run for governor in 2010
Michigan gubernatorial election, 2010
The Michigan gubernatorial election of 2010 was held on November 2, 2010. Governor Jennifer Granholm, a Democrat, was prohibited by the state's Constitution from seeking a third term. This resulted in a large pool of candidates which was whittled down, when the May 11 filing deadline passed, to two...
.
Family and early life
Born in Grand Rapids, MichiganGrand Rapids, Michigan
Grand Rapids is a city in the U.S. state of Michigan. The city is located on the Grand River about 40 miles east of Lake Michigan. As of the 2010 census, the city population was 188,040. In 2010, the Grand Rapids metropolitan area had a population of 774,160 and a combined statistical area, Grand...
, DeVos is a graduate of the Forest Hills
Forest Hills, Michigan
Forest Hills is an unincorporated community in Kent County in the U.S. state of Michigan. It is a census-designated place for statistical purposes. The population was 20,942 at the 2000 census....
public schools and received a bachelor's degree
Bachelor's degree
A bachelor's degree is usually an academic degree awarded for an undergraduate course or major that generally lasts for three or four years, but can range anywhere from two to six years depending on the region of the world...
in business administration from Northwood University
Northwood University
Northwood University is a private university with multiple locations. The school has four residential campuses: Midland, Michigan , Cedar Hill, Texas , West Palm Beach, Florida and a joint program with Hotel Institute Montreux in Montreux, Switzerland, began in 2001...
. He later attended, but did not graduate from, the Harvard Business School
Harvard Business School
Harvard Business School is the graduate business school of Harvard University in Boston, Massachusetts, United States and is widely recognized as one of the top business schools in the world. The school offers the world's largest full-time MBA program, doctoral programs, and many executive...
and the Wharton School
Wharton School of the University of Pennsylvania
The Wharton School is the business school of the University of Pennsylvania, an Ivy League university in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania. Wharton was the world’s first collegiate business school and the first business school in the United States...
's Executive Study Programs.
His wife, Betsy DeVos
Betsy DeVos
Elisabeth "Betsy" DeVos is an American politician and school choice activist from the state of Michigan. She is a former chairperson of the Michigan Republican Party.-Family background and education:...
, is the sister of Blackwater Worldwide
Blackwater Worldwide
Xe Services LLC, better known by its former names, Blackwater USA and Blackwater Worldwide, is a private military company founded in 1997 by Erik Prince and Al Clark.. Xe is currently the largest of the U.S. State Department's three private security contractors...
(now Xe) president Erik Prince
Erik Prince
Erik Dean Prince is the founder and formerly the sole owner of the private military company Xe Services LLC, formerly Blackwater Worldwide. On March 2, 2009, Prince announced that he was stepping down as CEO of Xe. He is currently living abroad in the United Arab Emirates, where he is creating a...
, and she is the former chairperson of the Michigan Republican Party
Michigan Republican Party
The Michigan Republican Party is the state affiliate of the national Republican Party in Michigan. It is sometimes referred to as MIGOP, which simply means Michigan Grand Old Party....
. DeVos and his wife have four children: Richard Marvin (Rick), III, Elisabeth (Elissa), Andrea, and Ryan.
DeVos is an avid sailor. In 2007 he finished first in the Chicago Yacht Club
Chicago Yacht Club
The Chicago Yacht Club is located in Chicago, Illinois. The Chicago Yacht Club is best known for organizing the Chicago to Mackinac Race each July. It also hosts dozens of other races and regattas throughout the season.- History :...
's Race to Mackinac Island
Chicago to Mackinac Boat Race
The Chicago to Mackinac Sailboat Race is run by the Chicago Yacht Club. It is one of the longest fresh-water races in the world, with hundreds of boats entering the race each year. It starts off the mouth of the Chicago River in Chicago, crosses Lake Michigan, barely enters Lake Huron, and finishes...
, along with his brother Doug, in their boat Windquest. They placed third in their division in the 100th annual running of the Race to Mackinac in 2008.
Business activities
DeVos began working with AmwayAmway
Amway is a direct selling company and manufacturer that uses network marketing to sell a variety of products, primarily in the health, beauty, and home care markets. Amway was founded in 1959 by Jay Van Andel and Richard DeVos...
Corporation in 1974, holding positions in various divisions, including research and development, manufacturing, marketing, sales, and finance. In 1984, he became one of Amway's vice presidents, with responsibility for the company's operations in 18 countries. Under his leadership, the company opened new markets and tripled international sales to exceed domestic sales for the first time in company history.
In a 1979 ruling
In re. Amway Corp.
In re Amway Corp. is a 1979 ruling by the United States Federal Trade Commission concerning the business practices of Amway, a multi-level marketing company...
, Amway was found by the Federal Trade Commission
Federal Trade Commission
The Federal Trade Commission is an independent agency of the United States government, established in 1914 by the Federal Trade Commission Act...
that its operations did not violate pyramid scheme
Pyramid scheme
A pyramid scheme is a non-sustainable business model that involves promising participants payment or services, primarily for enrolling other people into the scheme, rather than supplying any real investment or sale of products or services to the public...
prohibitions, but the company was ultimately sanctioned for price fixing (by requiring distributors to sell at a fixed price) and failing to police income representations.
In 1989, DeVos left Amway to start a new business venture, The Windquest Group, a multi-company management group involved in the manufacture and marketing of storage and closet organizers. When the DeVos family acquired the National Basketball Association
National Basketball Association
The National Basketball Association is the pre-eminent men's professional basketball league in North America. It consists of thirty franchised member clubs, of which twenty-nine are located in the United States and one in Canada...
's Orlando Magic
Orlando Magic
The Orlando Magic is a professional basketball team based in Orlando, Florida. They play in the Southeast Division of the Eastern Conference of the National Basketball Association and are currently coached by Stan Van Gundy...
basketball franchise in 1991, DeVos became president and CEO of the team. He left both positions in January 1993 to rejoin Amway as its president, succeeding his father, Amway co-founder Rich DeVos.
In 2000, DeVos oversaw a corporate restructuring that created Alticor
Alticor
Alticor is a privately held corporation, owned and run by members of the DeVos and Van Andel families. It was established in 1999 to serve as the parent company for a handful of business ventures, most notably the direct selling company Amway and Quixtar and a manufacturing and distribution...
, the new parent company
Parent company
A parent company is a company that owns enough voting stock in another firm to control management and operations by influencing or electing its board of directors; the second company being deemed as a subsidiary of the parent company...
of predecessor Amway, as well as subsidiary companies Access Business Group and Quixtar
Quixtar
Amway Global is a multi-level marketing or network marketing company, founded 1959 in Ada, Michigan, United States...
. Under DeVos, Alticor expanded operations to more than 50 countries and territories on six continents. In a 20-month span, Alticor cut over 1,300 jobs (primarily in Michigan) during this restructuring, with 400 of them being buyouts and early retirement.
Job cuts were one of several cut backs made during the corporate restructuring of Amway in order to expedite the return to profitability and prevent further downsizing or the possible loss of the company.
DeVos retired as president of Alticor in August 2002. In that fiscal year, Alticor reported sales of $4.5 billion, primarily through its more than 3.5 million mostly part-time sales force and its complementary e-commerce channel. After retiring from Alticor, DeVos returned to become president of The Windquest Group.
As of 2007, DeVos sits on the board of directors
Board of directors
A board of directors is a body of elected or appointed members who jointly oversee the activities of a company or organization. Other names include board of governors, board of managers, board of regents, board of trustees, and board of visitors...
of the Education Freedom Fund, which provides money for families to send children to private schools. He is the author of the 1998 book Rediscovering American Values.
Political activities prior to 2006
Dick DeVos is president of the Dick and Betsy DeVos Foundation, a Grand Rapids area foundation that has donated thousands of dollars to religious and free-market economic organizations since 1990. In 1990, DeVos won election to the Michigan State Board of Education, and resigned two years into his eight-year term. In 1996, DeVos was appointed by Governor John EnglerJohn Engler
John Mathias Engler is an American politician and a member of the Republican Party. He served as the 46th Governor of Michigan from 1991 to 2003....
to the Grand Valley State University
Grand Valley State University
Grand Valley State University is a public liberal arts university located in Allendale, Michigan, United States. The university was established in 1960, and its main campus is situated on approximately west of Grand Rapids...
Board of Control. He resigned in 2000 after missing 16 of 27 meetings. This occurred during the time that DeVos was responsible for leading the corporate restructuring of Amway.
School vouchers
DeVos and his wife became co-chairs of what is now the Education Freedom Fund in 1993. The Fund provides private scholarships to children of low-income families in Michigan with wishes to attend private schools. DeVos also sits on the board of a national organization, the Children's Scholarship FundChildren's Scholarship Fund
The Children's Scholarship Fund is a privately-funded tuition assistance program in the United States. The fund allows low-income children to attend private schools. Almost 25,500 students in Kindergarten to 8th Grade receive the fund's scholarships. It was founded in 1998 by Theodore J. Forstmann...
, which provides similar scholarships across the country. When the Children's Scholarship Fund provided $7.5 million to the Education Freedom Fund, the DeVoses matched the grant, and their foundation covers all of the administrative costs of the organization. Pro-privatization groups such as the Children's Scholarship Fund use charitable scholarship programs as part of their campaign to build support for publicly funded vouchers, in part by favoring religious schools in how it awards its grants.
In 2000, DeVos was the co-chairman of the "Kids First! Yes!" campaign committee, which sponsored a ballot-initiative that would have amended the Michigan constitution
Michigan Constitution
The Constitution of the State of Michigan is the governing document of the U.S. state of Michigan. It describes the structure and function of the state's government....
to allow vouchers and tuition tax credits for private K-12
K-12
K–12 is a designation for the sum of primary and secondary education. It is used in the United States, Canada, Australia, and New Zealand where P–12 is also commonly used...
education
Education in the United States
Education in the United States is mainly provided by the public sector, with control and funding coming from three levels: federal, state, and local. Child education is compulsory.Public education is universally available...
. The initiative lost, with 69% of voters opposing the measure.
The Dick and Betsy DeVos Foundation has also given money to groups like the American Education Reform Council, Choices for Children, and Children First America, in addition to funding Christian schools in the West Michigan area.
Funding for other organizations
The foundation has funded organizations such as Michigan Family Forum, an affiliate of the national group Focus on the FamilyFocus on the Family
Focus on the Family is an American evangelical Christian tax-exempt non-profit organization founded in 1977 by psychologist James Dobson, and is based in Colorado Springs, Colorado. Focus on the Family is one of a number of evangelical parachurch organizations that rose to prominence in the 1980s...
; the Institute for Marriage Policy; the National Day of Prayer Task Force
National Day of Prayer Task Force
The National Day of Prayer Task Force is an American evangelical conservative Christian non-profit organization which organizes, coordinates, and presides over Evangelical Christian religious observances each year on the National Day of Prayer....
; the Council for National Policy
Council for National Policy
The Council for National Policy , is an umbrella organization and networking group for social conservative activists in the United States...
(of which DeVos is a member); and the Michigan-based Foundation for Traditional Values, among others.
Free-market economics
The foundation has also given money to organizations which promote free-market economics, such as the Grand Rapids-based Acton Institute; the Heritage FoundationHeritage Foundation
The Heritage Foundation is a conservative American think tank based in Washington, D.C. Heritage's stated mission is to "formulate and promote conservative public policies based on the principles of free enterprise, limited government, individual freedom, traditional American values, and a strong...
; and the Hudson Institute
Hudson Institute
The Hudson Institute is an American think tank founded in 1961, in Croton-on-Hudson, New York, by futurist, military strategist, and systems theorist Herman Kahn and his colleagues at the RAND Corporation...
. Also the DeVos family has contributed much to Northwood University in Midland, Michigan
Midland, Michigan
Midland is a city in the U.S. state of Michigan in the Tri-Cities region of the state. It is the county seat of Midland County. The city's population was 41,863 as of the 2010 census. It is the principal city of the Midland Micropolitan Statistical Area....
. This includes various donations of scholarships, buildings and uncountable financial donations.
Criticism
The pro-LGBTLGBT
LGBT is an initialism that collectively refers to "lesbian, gay, bisexual, and transgender" people. In use since the 1990s, the term "LGBT" is an adaptation of the initialism "LGB", which itself started replacing the phrase "gay community" beginning in the mid-to-late 1980s, which many within the...
group Triangle Foundation of Michigan claimed Dick and Betsy DeVos of supporting the American Family Association
American Family Association
The American Family Association is a 501 non-profit organization that promotes conservative Christian values, such as opposition to same-sex marriage, pornography, and abortion, as well as other public policy goals such as deregulation of the oil industry and lobbying against the Employee Free...
's boycott
Boycott
A boycott is an act of voluntarily abstaining from using, buying, or dealing with a person, organization, or country as an expression of protest, usually for political reasons...
of Michigan based Ford Motor Company
Ford Motor Company
Ford Motor Company is an American multinational automaker based in Dearborn, Michigan, a suburb of Detroit. The automaker was founded by Henry Ford and incorporated on June 16, 1903. In addition to the Ford and Lincoln brands, Ford also owns a small stake in Mazda in Japan and Aston Martin in the UK...
.
The AFL-CIO
AFL-CIO
The American Federation of Labor and Congress of Industrial Organizations, commonly AFL–CIO, is a national trade union center, the largest federation of unions in the United States, made up of 56 national and international unions, together representing more than 11 million workers...
has claimed that DeVos has exported Michigan jobs in the past, supports trade agreements that encourage further outsourcing, and lobbied for tax breaks that benefit big businesses instead of workers. The AFL-CIO has since endorsed incumbent Democratic
Democratic Party (United States)
The Democratic Party is one of two major contemporary political parties in the United States, along with the Republican Party. The party's socially liberal and progressive platform is largely considered center-left in the U.S. political spectrum. The party has the lengthiest record of continuous...
governor Jennifer Granholm
Jennifer Granholm
Jennifer Mulhern Granholm is a Canadian-born American politician, educator, and author who served as Attorney General and 47th Governor of the U.S. state of Michigan. A member of the Democratic Party, Granholm became Michigan's first female governor on January 1, 2003, when she succeeded Governor...
.
2006 gubernatorial candidacy
On June 2, 2005, at Mackinac IslandMackinac Island
Mackinac Island is an island and resort area covering in land area, part of the U.S. state of Michigan. It is located in Lake Huron, at the eastern end of the Straits of Mackinac, between the state's Upper and Lower Peninsulas. The island was home to a Native American settlement before European...
, DeVos announced his candidacy to be governor of Michigan. He is still considered to be the wealthiest man to run for statewide office in Michigan's history. As of October 27, 2006, the DeVos campaign had spent $39 million, of which nearly $35 million was DeVos's own money. This paid for billboards in Detroit, some of which were vandalized to read "DeVil
Cruella de Vil
Cruella de Vil is a fictional character and the iconic villain in Dodie Smith's 1956 novel The Hundred and One Dalmatians, Disney's 1961 animated film adaptation One Hundred and One Dalmatians, and Disney's live-action film adaptations 101 Dalmatians and 102 Dalmatians. In all her incarnations,...
For Governor, Enough is Enough: Vote for Satan" instead of "DeVos For Governor, Enough is Enough: Vote for Change."
On November 7, 2006 DeVos was defeated by Democratic incumbent Jennifer Granholm by a 14-point margin. He congratulated the re-elected Granholm via phone after the results were in; Granholm was quoted as saying she "admired his tenacity and his passion for Michigan".
Economic issues
Since announcing his candidacy, he went to all 83 Michigan counties and conducted a week-long statewide bus tour beginning on May 1, 2006. The campaign focused on the economyEconomic system
An economic system is the combination of the various agencies, entities that provide the economic structure that defines the social community. These agencies are joined by lines of trade and exchange along which goods, money etc. are continuously flowing. An example of such a system for a closed...
, as Michigan has had one of the highest unemployment
Unemployment
Unemployment , as defined by the International Labour Organization, occurs when people are without jobs and they have actively sought work within the past four weeks...
rates in the country, largely attributed to a decline in the domestic automotive industry.
Intelligent design
While DeVos had been focusing his comments on Michigan's dismal economy rather than on potentially divisive social issues, he expressed supplementing standard evolutionary theories with alternative theories including intelligent designIntelligent design
Intelligent design is the proposition that "certain features of the universe and of living things are best explained by an intelligent cause, not an undirected process such as natural selection." It is a form of creationism and a contemporary adaptation of the traditional teleological argument for...
in science classes, indicating in a press release that he believes it should be left to local control. He has been criticized by the National Center for Science Education
National Center for Science Education
The National Center for Science Education is a non-profit organization based in Oakland, California affiliated with the American Association for the Advancement of Science. It is the United States' leading anti-creationist organization, and defends the teaching of evolutionary biology and opposes...
for this stance, and by the Michigan Citizens For Science for what they call engaging in doubletalk.
Abortion and embryonic stem cells
On October 2, 2006, DeVos had his first debate against incumbent governor Jennifer GranholmJennifer Granholm
Jennifer Mulhern Granholm is a Canadian-born American politician, educator, and author who served as Attorney General and 47th Governor of the U.S. state of Michigan. A member of the Democratic Party, Granholm became Michigan's first female governor on January 1, 2003, when she succeeded Governor...
. During the debate, he stated his personal opposition to both expanding embryonic stem cell research
Stem cell controversy
The stem cell controversy is the ethical debate primarily concerning the creation, treatment, and destruction of human embryos incident to research involving embryonic stem cells. Not all stem cell research involves the creation, use, or destruction of human embryos...
and abortion
Abortion
Abortion is defined as the termination of pregnancy by the removal or expulsion from the uterus of a fetus or embryo prior to viability. An abortion can occur spontaneously, in which case it is usually called a miscarriage, or it can be purposely induced...
without exceptions. DeVos mentioned in an interview at a Catholic
Catholic
The word catholic comes from the Greek phrase , meaning "on the whole," "according to the whole" or "in general", and is a combination of the Greek words meaning "about" and meaning "whole"...
radio station that he favors overturning Roe vs. Wade. In a subsequent debate, he stated that current laws in Michigan are acceptable. On October 2008, Dick Devos donated $200,000 to the PAC opposing Michigan State Proposal - 08-2 (2008)
Michigan State Proposal - 08-2 (2008)
Michigan State Proposal - 08-2 of 2008 proposes to amend the state Constitution to remove restrictions on stem cell research in Michigan while maintaining the ban on human cloning. Opponents counter that it will raise taxes...
.
Current posts and board memberships
- President, The Windquest Group, 2002–present
- Chairman, Board of Directors, World Federation of Direct Selling Associations, 2002–present (Board Member since 2000)
- Governing Board, Orlando MagicOrlando MagicThe Orlando Magic is a professional basketball team based in Orlando, Florida. They play in the Southeast Division of the Eastern Conference of the National Basketball Association and are currently coached by Stan Van Gundy...
, 1994–present - Member, Board of Trustees, Thunderbird School of Global ManagementThunderbird School of Global ManagementThunderbird School of Global Management is a private business school whose main campus is located in Glendale, Arizona. Founded in 1946 by retired U.S...
, 2003–present - Member, Board of Directors, Willow Creek AssociationWillow Creek AssociationThe Willow Creek Association , a 5013 not-for-profit ministry, is an international, evangelical Christian association of more than 9,000 member churches from 90 denominations and 45 countries.-Mission:...
, 1997–present - Member, Michigan Business Roundtable, 1997–present (Co-Chairman, 1997; Chairman, 1998)
- Member, Board of Trustees, Blodgett/Butterworth Health Care Foundation; 1994–present (Board Member since 1990)
- Co-Chairman, Grand Action Committee, 1992–present (Chairman, Grand Vision Committee, 1991–1992)
- Member, Board of Directors, Education Freedom Fund, 2005–present (Chairman, 1994–2005)
External links
- Dick DeVos campaign contributions at Newsmeat
- Dick DeVos collected news and commentary at ForbesForbesForbes is an American publishing and media company. Its flagship publication, the Forbes magazine, is published biweekly. Its primary competitors in the national business magazine category are Fortune, which is also published biweekly, and Business Week...