William Rowland, chairman and CEO of First Mid-Illinois Bancshares Inc., has been named chair of the Business Advisory Board. He chaired his first BAB meeting Oct. 22, which Barbara Baurer, the chief operating officer, at Country Financial, in Bloomington, was appointed chairperson elect for the BAB.

Board members conferred with Cheryl Noll, chair of the School of Business, to make the decision for Rowland’s appointment. Noll said the board was looking for someone who was committed to Eastern and to be a strong advocate for the BAB.

“(Members of the Business Advisory Board) see Rowland as a business leader,” Noll said. “They appreciate his leadership style and respect his opinion.”

The Business Advisory Board serves in an advisory role to the Chair of the School of Business and as advocates of the School of Business.

The BAB provides an interface between the university and business community, provides advice and support to the chair on a variety of issues related to the management and promotes positive public relations for Eastern.

Rowland is currently a member of the Board of Coles Together in Coles County, and is a member of the board of directors of the Mattoon YMCA. In the past, he has served as president of the board of CCAR in Charleston and as president of the Lake Land College Foundation in Mattoon.

“It’s one of the greatest honors I’ve ever received,” Rowland said. “I hope to foster and nurture relationships that exist in the greater university community. I’m really honored to be seen as someone who can accomplish this strategy.”

From the beginning of his educational career, Rowland was a non-traditional student.

He attended the University of Iowa majoring in Engineering.

“I didn’t have much of a mechanical aptitude, it just took me a while to realize it,” Rowland said.

Rowland dropped out after his sophomore year and went on to serve in the U.S. Army from 1967-68.

In 1975 he received his B.A. of Accounting from St. Ambrose University in Davenport, Iowa and went on to work with accounting firm KPMG in Davenport for 10 years.

In the summer of 1989, a friend in Chicago referred Rowland to the First Mid-Illinois Bancshares Inc. for his eclectic knowledge and experience in accounting, finance and bank management.

He was appointed as the chief financial officer for the bank and was promoted to chairman and chief executive officer 10 years later.

Rowland, who is a certified public accountant, will serve as the chair of the BAB until spring 2012 when Baurer takes over as chair.

Noll hopes that in the future, BAB membership will increase and individual roles will be identified.

As the chair of the BAB, Rowland will be responsible for facilitating more funding for endowments is also a primary goal for the BAB. The school of business uses current endowments to fund operating costs, send students to business conferences and to support research.

“(The position) is really about building connections,” Noll said. She added that because all members of the board serve on a volunteer basis, she appreciates all the work that is put forward.

Shelley Holmgren can be reached at 581-7942

or meholmgren@eiu.edu