The Santa Clara University Board of Trustees has elected Apple Computer co-founder A.C. “Mike” Markkula Jr. chairman.
Markkula is vice chairman of Echelon Corporation. He and his wife, Linda, provided seed funding and the initial endowment for the Markkula Center for Applied Ethics at SCU.
“Mike Markkula has played an integral role in the growth of Santa Clara University for the last decade,” said University President Paul Locatelli, S.J. “His leadership and support were instrumental in the development of our Ethics Center. His accomplishments and vision, coupled with his strong commitment to higher education, will help Santa Clara’s community of scholars in its goal of becoming global citizens, working toward the global common good.”
Markkula has served as a trustee of Santa Clara University since 1989 and was awarded an honorary Doctor of Public Service degree in 1992.
Trustees also elected Larry Sonsini, chairman and chief executive officer of the law firm Wilson Sonsini Goodrich & Rosati, to the board.
Sonsini is considered an expert in corporate and securities law, mergers and acquisitions, and corporate governance.
“Santa Clara is very pleased to have Larry Sonsini join our board,” Locatelli said. “His accomplishments and experience in Silicon Valley make him an invaluable asset to the University. He understands the value of higher education and will play an important role in furthering Santa Clara University’s goal of educating men and women to be leaders of competence, conscience, and compassion.”
Sonsini was also recently chosen the honorary chair of the High Technology Law Institute at Santa Clara University. He earned an A.B. from the University of California, Berkeley in 1963 and a juris doctorate from the Boalt Hall School of Law, University of California, Berkeley, in 1966.
In 2001, Sonsini was appointed to the board of directors of the New York Stock Exchange and is a member of the NYSE’s Corporate Accountability and Listing Standards Committee. He is a member of both the American Academy of Arts and Sciences and the American Law Institute. Sonsini is also a former trustee of the University of California, Berkeley.