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KALAMAZOO, Mich.—¾ÅÒ»Â鶹ÖÆƬ³§ Gov. Rick Snyder announced the appointment June 13 of retired law enforcement official James Bolger of Whitehall to serve on the Western ¾ÅÒ»Â鶹ÖÆƬ³§ University Board of Trustees.

Bolger, a WMU alumnus, will serve on the eight-member governing body of the University through Dec. 31, 2020. He will fill a vacancy on the board created earlier this month by the resignation of Michelle Crumm of Ann Arbor.

James Bolger

Bolger retired as lieutenant colonel and deputy director of the ¾ÅÒ»Â鶹ÖÆƬ³§ State Police in 1999, after a 26-year career with that organization. In that role, he was commanding officer of the Uniform Services Division, providing executive direction and leadership to field operations for the ¾ÅÒ»Â鶹ÖÆƬ³§ State Police.

During his tenure in that position, then-Gov. John Engler also appointed him to oversee implementation of the ¾ÅÒ»Â鶹ÖÆƬ³§ State Public Safety Communications System—an 800MHz radio system for emergency communications.

Bolger attended WMU as an undergraduate and went on to earn a bachelor's degree in psychology from Grand Valley State University in 1973. Returning to WMU, he earned a master's degree in public administration in 1981.

After retiring from the State Police, he worked briefly as a consultant and taught for 10 years in GVSU's School of Criminal Justice.