President Bill Pink became the president of Ferris State University on July 11, 2022, making him the first African American President at Ferris State.
Prior to becoming president at Ferris State, he served as president of Grand Rapids Community College.
He also served as Vice President at Oklahoma State University.
Some of his other achievements include being appointed leader of the Growing Michigan Together Council by Gov. Gretchen Whitmer.
He earned a doctoral degree of philosophy and leadership, a master’s of education and a bachelor’s of science degree.
On Jan. o7, 2026, Pink was named one of Michigan’s Inspiring Leaders by Corp! Magazine.
Highlighting his leadership role at Ferris State, but for Pink, this was just another average day, as he gives all the credit to the students and staff on campus.
“While I’m honored to receive this award, this award to me has everything to do with the people I’m surrounded by, my leadership team, and university faculty and students,” Pink said. “This is a reflection of the work that happens here at the university as a whole. I just get to be the one to lead it out.”
He explains that he wouldn’t be in his leadership role if it weren’t for others pushing him to be his best. To him, the best part of receiving the award is being able to brag about his school.
Some of the most influential people in his career, including colleagues, family, coaches and professors, citing his faith as a prominent influence as well.
The mentors he had shaped his leadership qualities, such as compassion and assertiveness which has helped him along the way.
“Those are the people I think were instrumental in my leadership and in the person you see today,” Pink said.
In his journey to becoming president, at first, he did not think he would go this far. He said that with all the obstacles standing in his way, he did not realize what he was capable of.
“I really didn’t think that graduating from college, I would even go on to get a PhD,” Pink said. “My plan was to get a master’s degree and just coach basketball. But surprisingly, there was more in store for me and bigger heights for me to reach.”
There were two people in Pink’s life who said something to him that would always ring in his ear forever.
“The first person was Dr. John Benson, my professor at the time, who said to me he would be disappointed if one day I didn’t have a doctorate degree. That one stood out to me because there I was, not even finished with my bachelor’s degree, yet this man thinks I need to have a doctorate degree,” Pink said.
He explained that at that moment, he thought his professor was just being nice but it stuck with him and that one person believing in him put the idea in his mind.
“I started questioning, am I capable of that? Could I one day be a doctor?” Pink said.
Pink’s resiliency is what kept him going along with having a great support system as well. He also mentioned he was the first in his family to receive a college education.
“From having come from a background where growing up with not a lot of resources around us, but having incredibly loving parents to help me accomplish that, that was a defining moment for me,” Pink said.
President Pink leaves some advice for students who hope to become aspiring leaders someday.
“One thing I always tell aspiring leaders is that you go into a leadership role with the understanding that you will never please everybody,” Pink said. “Try your best at leadership, but always know that because humans are different from one to the next, we all have different needs and come from different backgrounds, you can’t please everybody. I don’t believe you can ever please anybody; that means do the best at what you think is the right way to lead.”
He suggests that students pull ideas and learn from other people and ask questions.
His final words of wisdom: “There’s always going to be people who may not get exactly what they thought you should do or what they wanted you to do, but stay true to yourself.”
Pink plans on highlighting and promoting the idea of curating a common unity on campus throughout the spring semester further showcasing why he was named one of Michigan’s inspiring leaders.