“Dennis and I were just talking and we said hey, let’s do something that the next generation can see what happens when brothers come together, stay together, work together, pray together, lose together, win together. And I think that hopefully that’s what this naming will mean. It will mean that anybody from anywhere, can accomplish anything.”
–Dr. Bill Pickard
That conversation took place nearly half a century ago, when a young Bill Pickard and Dennis Archer were roommates at Western Michigan University in a dormitory semi-humorously known at the time as ‘Hungry Hall’, because it was the only dormitory on campus that didn’t serve food. Archer was planning on going into education, and Pickard’s major was social work. The two were also bonded through their fraternity, Alpha Phi Alpha, which created a valued social network and place of refuge on the predominantly white campus during the 1960s.
But it was Ron Hall, the third man completing the trio of brothers, who both Archer and Pickard acknowledge was the genius of the group. A mathematics major, Hall was actually one of the co-founders of the Epsilon Xi chapter of Alpha Phi Alpha on WMU’s campus that they all joined. Before his untimely death last year, Hall more than established himself as one of the most respected, gifted and astute business leaders in (at least) the entire state of Michigan.
Half a century later, thanks to a generous $3, 050,000 philanthropic gift to the university from Dr. Pickard, a trio of new university facilities will be named in honor of the trio of brothers who met and became friends on the WMU campus, and who remained hugely supportive of each other, and of their university, throughout the years. From the press release:
“Acting at its April 27 meeting, the WMU Board of Trustees approved naming two campus residence halls and a Heritage Hall conference room for the three alumni, who met at WMU in the 1960s. They are:
- Ronald E. Hall, a 1965 WMU alumnus, Detroit civic and business leader, and automotive executive who died June 1, 2016, half way into his eight-year term as a WMU Trustee;
- Dennis W. Archer Sr., a 1965 WMU alumnus, former Detroit mayor, former member of the Michigan Supreme Court and past president of the American Bar Association as well as a former trustee; and
- William F. Pickard, a 1964 alumnus who is a current WMU trustee, longtime Detroit entrepreneur, and founder and chairman of the Global Automotive Alliance.
Action by the WMU board April 27 means that, in recognition of a $3,050,000 gift recently made by Pickard to the University and in celebration of the three friends’ lifelong bonds and ties to WMU, the two residence halls that comprise the Western Heights complex will be named Hall-Archer-Pickard Hall East and Hall-Archer-Pickard Hall West. In addition, a conference room on the main level of Heritage Hall will be named the Hall-Archer-Pickard Conference Room.”
“The lifelong bonds these men nurtured over the years are exactly the kinds of connections we wish for all of our students,” said WMU President John M. Dunn. “Trustee Pickard’s gift and his desire to honor the people so critical throughout his life really illustrate the transformational power that comes from friendship, common goals and powerful learning experiences.”
Reminiscing about the conversation he and his old college roommate shared all those years ago, Pickard said “We never thought it would be anything like this, of course. I thought Dennis would become principal of a school, I thought I would become head of the Flint Urban League, or something like that. Pontiac Urban League. But Ron was the smartest guy. I mean, can you imagine a black guy? A math major?”
But regardless of what they had imagined at the time, the careers of all three men – one from Cassopolis (Archer), another from Flint, and the third a Cass Tech graduate from Detroit – their collective trajectory of overwhelming success and accomplishment stands in a category all its own. But it is a record of accomplishment that never would have happened had they not been able to depend and lean on each other – frequently – throughout the years.
Brothers.
“Calling for help whenever we needed each other. We did some socializing together, but it was basically… man, I’m serious… when I was in my business journeys there were two or three times when without these guys, I would not have made it. I wouldn’t have made it. I would not have made it, man. I wouldn’t have made it.”
As an example, “I had a company that was almost in bankruptcy, and it was Ron Hall, and Dennis, and some other folks that were really orchestrating the strings with the customer and the community and the lawyers, that helped me get out of it. Alex Parrish was my lawyer, and Ron was the head of Michigan Minority Business Development Council, and Dennis was the mayor at that time, and they were all talking a lot without my even knowing it. And all of the sudden one day (makes whistling noise) I was OK.”
“Well the story gets better, because what happened is Dennis was appointed to the [WMU] board by Governor Jennifer Granholm. And then, when Dennis’ term was up, Snyder was governor, and he said, ‘Hey man, one of you guys has got to come on the board. And I said, ‘Ron, congratulations, it’s you because I’m too busy!’ So Ron went on the board. And then, when Ron passed away, I called the governor and I said, ‘Hey, I gotta step up now. I gotta finish his term, because this is important for us.’ Now at that time, I didn’t know if we were gonna do a building or not. I simply wanted to complete the term. And then Dennis and I started talking a little bit and I said, you know what? Let’s see if we can do this. And just to show you how God works, man, the building that Ron lived in (Bigelow Hall) has been torn down. OK? The new building is built on the ground where Ron’s building was.
[But] see, this is what is so sweet to me; I was on the board at Grand Valley State University when I was in my early 30s in Allendale, Michigan. And they named the Living Center in my name, the William F. Pickard Living Center. And man, I tell you, at that time I didn’t have the money to even pay for the building. But they did it because they felt I would one day be able to do it. And now you go full circle, and I got another building named after me at Western Michigan University. God is awesome, man. God is awesome.”
Unlike Hall and Pickard, Archer did not start his college career at WMU, but transferred from Wayne State University.
“I think I got up there about ’63 or so,” he said, where he met Hall and Pickard for the first time.
“I did not have a clue of what I was going to do beyond graduating from Western and starting to teach. And looking forward to that. I did not have any idea that would have led me to what I’ve done of recent note. But the commonality that the three of us had was that our parents and mothers were very strong on our graduating from college.”
That commonality led to a lifelong bond producing a whole far greater than the sum of its parts. One of the best examples of that occurred during Archer’s tenure as Mayor of the City of Detroit. It was his administration that was involved in the beginnings of Comerica Park and Ford Field, as well as Compuware when it moved downtown, plus the three casinos that had been approved by City Council. Recognizing the need for Detroit to benefit from these major developments, Archer’s corporation counsel, Phyllis James, crafted Executive Order 4 “which required all of our city departments to do 30 percent of their spend with Detroit businesses. And that was able to make sure that businesses of color who had remained in the city of Detroit got a chance to do work on city projects,” said Archer.
“Well, as it turned out, the Ford family, the Ilitch family, the three casinos, and Compuware all agreed to follow Executive Order 4. I asked Ron Hall, who at that time was CEO of MMBDC, to take on the responsibility to make sure that businesses of color had opportunity to do work with all of those major investments. Ron did a spectacular job. That’s when Ron was recognized for his enormous talent and General Motors suggested that it would be wise that a company was formed with Ron because of his enormous talents. …
Ron came to the attention, also, of Johnson Controls. And so they saw what Ron was able to do and how he was able to work with a lot of interesting and great people from different walks of life and his capacity in heading up the MMBDC that General Motors approved a new business called Bridgewater, which Ron built into a billion-dollar business before he regrettably died. His son now is the CEO of Bridgewater.”
Hall’s wife, Ann, spoke about her late husband in a separate statement:
“My family and I are so pleased that Western Michigan University has chosen to honor Bill Pickard, Dennis Archer and my late husband Ron, by naming such an important campus facility after them. The University meant so much to Ron. I believe his days in Kalamazoo as an undergraduate set him on his life’s path and it was there that he met Bill and Dennis—two of his closest friends.
“Bill, Ron and Dennis supported each other’s successes, for so many years, and I hope that seeing their names together on WMU’s campus will be an inspiration to students, faculty and alumni of ‘Bronco nation’ for many years to come.”
I would say to all the young people, but especially the young African American men and women who walk those grounds [at Western Michigan University] that they should know that we came under some challenging situations and yet, we not only achieved and succeeded, but we have given back to our community and now we’re giving forward in hopes that this will be a symbol to them of what can be done.
–Dr. Bill Pickard
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