Gov. Gretchen Whitmer appointed Muskegon Community College President Dale K. Nesbary to the Michigan Education Trust (MET) Board of Directors on May 22. The appointment is subject to the advice and consent of the Michigan Senate.
Nesbary, who holds a Ph.D. in Law, Policy and Society from Northeastern University, succeeds Robert Ferrentino as the Board’s representative from a community or junior college. His term expires Dec. 31, 2021.
“I am honored to have been asked to serve on the Board of the Michigan Education Trust,” said Nesbary. “With assets of $1.01 billion, the MET was the first state prepaid college tuition program in the nation and remains a gold standard among the now 50 such plans established.”
MET is a 529 Prepaid Tuition Plan which allows for the pre-purchase of tuition based on today’s rates and then paid out at the future cost when the beneficiary is in college. The MET was established pursuant to Public Act 316 of 1986 as Michigan’s prepaid tuition program. MET is a “qualified tuition program” under Section 529 of the Internal Revenue Code which provides tax exemption for the trust and tax exemption of earnings for contract participants who use MET funds to pay for qualified higher education expenses.
The MET Board of Directors is responsible for policy development, investment initiatives, program development, and implementation.