ECONOMICS
develop a kinship in the fraternity and that’s what we have here,” says PGP Johnson, a lawyer and businessman in Houston, TX. When Brother Pickard made the donation in 2017, WMU’s board voted to rename the two residence halls built in 2015 and a meeting room in the new administration building after the trio. The donation “represents how three young Black men came to a place that was a predominantly white institution along with less than 300 Black students and we became friends through the fraternity and we became lifelong friends,” said Brother Pickard, author of Millionaire Moves: Seven Proven Principles of Entrepreneurship. The two, four-story freshmen dorms include a kitchen, study area, private bathrooms, laundry facilities and game rooms. The meeting room named in their honor, sits across the street from the former Vandercook Hall. “Bill would not hear of it that his name be first despite the fact he was the principal funder,” says Brother Archer, Chairman Emeritus of Dickinson Wright law firm in Detroit and founder of a foundation that grants scholarships to students in need at Wayne State and Western. PGP Johnson calls Brother Pickard the “type of guy that likes to put others first and he does things behind the scenes. He’s not one to seek the limelight.” Ronald Hall Jr., who succeeded his father as president and CEO of Bridgewater Interiors in 2015 one year before his death, described the relationship between his father, Brother Pickard and Brother Archer as one in which they “were friend or mentor to the other.” “Dad often referred to Doc Bill as his best friend. Not just his best friend personally, but had been a critical mentor throughout his career,” said Hall Jr.
THE SUSTAINABILITY ISSUE
Brother Hall Sr, who graduated from WMU in 1965 with a degree in mathematics, founded automotive manufacturing company Bridgewater Interiors, which makes seat assemblies, console assemblies and other interior components for cars and trucks. “It seems to me that it was not until the mayor came off the (Michigan Supreme) court that their lives began to intersect more professionally,” said Hall Jr., a graduate of West Point military academy. “They fulfilled a lot of the personal goals they established so many years ago at Western.” He said his family is proud to be a part of their affiliation with WMU and Alpha Phi Alpha. “It’s a wonderful thing. Their story is a great legacy story for the university,” says Hall Jr., who graduated the University of Michigan law school and was recommended by Brother Archer. “Officials at the (WMU) university have attested to that and a number of students – particularly Black students and students in that Alpha chapter have expressed their appreciation to them.” S
Brother Ronald Hall, Sr.
Brother Bill Picard
The Honorable Brother Dennis Archer
Brother James Floyd, a 1983 Tau Chapter initiate is a member of the Business & Economic Development Commission.
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