12 July 18 • 2019
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JACKIE HEADAPOHL ASSOCIATE EDITOR
Ties that Bind
Jewish Detroiters share a special relationship with the Technion.
A
s one pillar of the Detroit Jewish
community leaves his post
as chairman of the Board of
Governors (BOG) at Technion–Israel
Institute of Technology, another will
take his place.
Larry Jackier completed his 12th
and final year as chairman of the BOG,
and Scott Leemaster has stepped into
the position. Both men were honored
for their commitment to Israel and the
university last month at a ceremony in
Haifa.
Jackier of West Bloomfield, an attor-
ney with the Law Offices of Jackier
Gould, belongs to three synagogues:
Congregation Shaarey Zedek, Temple
Israel and The Shul. He is the trustee of
various charitable foundations and has
been a leader in the Jewish community,
both locally and nationally, for more
than 40 years. His ties to the Technion
run especially deep.
Jackier’
s late parents, Edythe and
Joe, were active supporters. Joe Jackier
was also on the Technion Board of
Governors when he returned from a trip
to Israel in 1987. Tragically, he died a
week later and Larry stepped up to fin-
ish the projects his father had started. “I
became interested in what the Technion
was doing,
” he said. That was the start.
Jackier has been on the BOG for 24
years and is a past national president
of the American Technion Society
(ATS). He co-created the 21st Century
Leadership Development Program and
helped organize a Solidarity Delegation
to Israel during Operation Protective
Edge in 2014.
As Technion Guardians — an honor
reserved for those who support the
university at the highest level — Jackier
and his wife, Eleanor, have advanced
research across numerous fields. Jackier
has been recognized with a Technion
honorary fellowship and honorary doc-
torate as well as the Technion Medal
and the Einstein Award — the highest
honors of the Technion and the ATS,
respectively. The Jackiers were presented
with the key to the Technion to cement
the deep connection between their fam-
ily and the university. That family legacy
is likely to continue, said Jackier, who
will remain on the Technion’
s BOG.
He and Eleanor together have seven
children, 21 grandchildren and one
great-grandchild. Twelve members of
his family were able to make it to the
event in Haifa. “
As a result,
” he said,
“they are now interested in getting
involved with the Technion as well.
”
Jackier’
s grandson Jonah Folbe of New
York has already been in touch with the
Technion to see what he can do, and his
stepson Adam Folbe, a physician from
Michigan, was also impressed and eager
to get involved.
“My son Seth, who lives in Glencoe,
Ill., is already involved in leadership
development at the Chicago chapter of
the American Technion Society, so that
makes four generations of Jackiers,
” he
said proudly.
A NEW CHAIRMAN
Incoming chairman Scott Leemaster of
Franklin, vice president and principal
of Madison Electric Company, has been
involved with Hebrew Free Loan and
the Jewish Federation of Metropolitan
Detroit in addition to his work with the
Technion. He and his wife, Susie, are
members of Temple Israel.
After training in the ATS 21st
Century Leadership Program,
Leemaster served twice as president
of the Detroit ATS Chapter. Stepping
up in 2012 to become ATS national
president, he presided over the launch
of the organization’
s half-billion-dollar
fundraising campaign “Innovation for a
Better World.
”
As Technion Guardians, he and Susie
have supported many projects and
ATS Missions. He also chaired a trip to
Israel and Paris and joined Jackier as
co-leader of the Solidarity Delegation. In
2009, he received a Technion Honorary
Fellowship.
Leemaster said he’
s lucky to have “fol-
lowed in Larry’
s footsteps” at the ATS
when he had been looking to become
involved with something that had a
direct Israel connection.
“The Technion has had tremen-
dous impact on the country since it
was established, from the early days
of expertise in civil engineering and
agriculture to today where it is on the
advanced frontiers of science. The
Technion has elevated the economy and
security of Israel,
” he said.
Leemaster said his work with the
Technion has always been motivated
by the Jewish value of tikkun olam —
repairing the world. “The Technion is an
extraordinarily effective tool for repair-
ing the world by innovating and sharing
solutions in science and technology. It is
without question the engine behind
Israel’
s startup nation phenomenon
and is making the entire world a better
place.
”
PROUD DETROITERS
“More than anything, I’
m proud of my
own Jewish community for producing
back-to-back chairmanships,
” Jackier
said. “It’
s truly amazing.
”
Started in 1940, the Detroit ATS
Chapter is one of the oldest in the U.S.
Its donors have built many key projects
on campus and their Technion connec-
tions often pass through the generations.
“The Detroit Jewish community has
more people involved in national and
international Jewish organizations than
any other Jewish community in the
U.S.,
” Jackier said. “We have a history
of producing tremendous leadership in
the American and international Jewish
communities — out of all proportion to
the size of our community. This is just a
current example.
”
When asked why he thinks Detroit
enjoys such a proud tradition, Jackier
said, “I think it’
s because we’
re a very
closeknit community with a lot of inter-
relationships that go way, way back. So
many of our peers who grew up with us
are still here and involved in Jewish life.
”
(To read more about Detroit’
s long history
with the Technion, see “Looking Back” on
page 42.)
As Leemaster takes over the reins as
chairman, he said, “I plan to stay the
course, maintaining the high standards
and values the Technion exemplifies. I
want to help the new president in any
way I can.
”
Prof. Uri Sivan will become next pres-
ident of the Technion in September.
“I stand on the shoul-
ders of giants and I
hope to see far, high and
deep,
” Sivan said at the
ceremony. “Technion
will continue to serve as
a beacon of pluralism,
equality, freedom of
speech, integrity, ethics,
social justice, environ-
mental consciousness and inclusion in
the global community based on these
values.
”
Jackier said he plans to remain active
in the background and has already
offered his help to Sivan and Leemaster
should they need it.
“I’
ve gotten way more out of my
time with Technion than I ever put in,
”
Jackier said. “It’
s been a privlege to have
served as chairman of the BOG, but my
biggest pride is in our Detroit Jewish
community and its legacy of service.
” ■
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in
the
Scott Leemaster and Larry Jackier
CREDIT: COURTESY OF THE TECHNION
Uri Sivan
Incoming president
continued on page 14