Question: Why Is Pat Sajak Chairman of Michigan’s Hillsdale College?
Now that I once again live with my parents in Allegan I've fallen into a nightly routine of watching game shows with my folks. As a trivia lover I mostly stick through Wheel of Fortune to get to Jeopardy but as luck would have it, I've come to love "America's Game" just as much.
When I found out that Pat Sajak was serving as Chairman of the Board of Hillsdale College in Michigan I had one question: WHY?
Schooling Sajak
Though he has served on Hillsdale's Board of Trustees since 2003, Sajak was never a student there himself! In fact, Pat Sajak is a Chicago-man who attended Columbia College before landing a job at local radio station WEDC. I'm not even sure Pat received a degree from Columbia as he left after only three years and joined the U.S. Army.
Pat's Promotion
In 2019 Pat was promoted from Vice-Chairman to Chairman of the Board of Trustees after then-Chairman William Brodbeck decided to step down. Brodbeck told Hillsdale's campus newspaper The Collegian that Sajak's lack of degree would not hinder his ability to move the school forward saying,
Pat is a brilliant mind. He brings a sound knowledge of the school...He can dramatically move Hillsdale forward, both on campus and around the country.
Why Hillsdale?
Throughout all my research, I still cannot find the answer to my burning questions: Why Pat? Why Hillsdale? I suppose the TV host simply has a passion for higher education. Sajak has been known to be a presence on campus talking to students and staff, according to MLive.
About Hillsdale College
Founded in 1844, the small private college located south of Battle Creek in Hillsdale, Michigan only has a student body of about 1,500. The liberal-arts college was ranked 46th in National Liberal Arts Colleges by the publication U.S. News and World Report. The college was also the sight of an infamous UFO sighting in 1966.