TIFFIN UNIVERSITY, Tiffin, Ohio—TU Alumnus Donald Hampton, Jr. and Dr. Richard Helton were elected to Tiffin University’s Board of Trustees, according to Claire Johansen, Board Chair.
“We are thrilled to welcome our newest trustees to Tiffin University’s Board,” said Dr. Lillian Schumacher, President. “Their experiences in the business world and higher education will be especially valuable as we continue to expand our global emphasis of transforming lives through education.”
Donald Hampton, Jr.
Donald Hampton Jr. has been a Division General Manager, a corporate officer level Operations Vice President, and a multi-plant Director of Manufacturing. He has delivered more than two decades of global P&L leadership leveraging Six Sigma, Kanban, JIT, Pull Systems, and synchronous manufacturing strategies for premier companies such as Honeywell International/Allied Signal, Maxion Wheels/Hayes Lemmerz and Rea Magnet Wire Company. In all of his roles he has consistently ignited revenue and profit growth, equity value creation, and world-class standards of operational excellence.
Currently Mr. Hampton is President of Faurecia Interior Systems North America where he is responsible for all aspects of a $1.7b enterprise chartered to deliver world class interior products to the NA automotive market. Prior to joining Faurecia, he was Executive Vice President, COO of Rea Magnet Wire Company. Rea Magnet Wire Company, Inc. is the largest producer of magnet wire in North America and China and the second largest in the world. In his role as a member of the Executive Leadership team, Mr. Hampton was charged with leading the global operations strategy for the company and helping to grow Rea Wire’s global footprint.
He is a member of the Association for Manufacturing Excellence, Automotive Industry Professionals Worldwide, and OPEX – Global Operating Excellence Network.
Mr. Hampton earned both his BBA in Accounting and an MBA from Tiffin University.
Dr. Richard Helton
Dr. Richard Helton served 47 years in public education, including 11 years as President of Vincennes University prior to his retirement in 2015. Most recently, he completed an 18-month term as Interim President of Wittenberg University.
Upon his Indiana retirement, Dick received The Sagamore of the Wabash from the Indiana Governor’s Office for rendering distinguished service to the state. Cited as a “transformational leader,” he led VU to eight years of continuous growth culminating in system-wide headcount enrollment that surpassed 19,000 students.
He also was a leader in developing an ever growing number of partnerships with major employers, secondary schools and career centers, armed forces, and communities. Far beyond the borders of Indiana, VU’s Military Education Program continued to grow, making VU the number one provider of education aboard deployed U.S. Coast Guard Cutters, third largest provider of educational services to the U.S. Coast Guard, and one of the largest providers to the military in the nation.
Helton is a graduate of Indiana State University with a Doctor of Philosophy in Educational Leadership, plus both a master’s degree in secondary education and an educational specialist degree from Indiana University. He also holds a bachelor’s degree in secondary education from Hanover College.