Eric Lupher, who has served the Citizens Research Council of Michigan (CRC) in various capacities for more than 27 years, has been appointed president of the non-partisan public affairs research organization.

Lupher has expertise in government organization, operations and finance, serving most recently as CRC’s research director. He has prepared all CRC research for final publication, maintained CRC’s nationally recognized website and provided oral presentations and worked with the media and government officials to disseminate CRC policy recommendations.

“Eric’s experience in governmental research and behind the scenes at CRC make him the perfect candidate to lead CRC into its next century,” said Terry Donnelly, new chair of the CRC Board of Directors, in announcing Lupher’s appointment September 12 at the group’s 98th annual meeting, held at the Detroit Athletic Club. “His leadership will help ensure that the CRC continues to remain influential in the development of state and local public policy in Michigan.”

Lupher just completed a two-year term as president of the Governmental Research Association (GRA), a 100-year-old association of government research professionals. He also represented GRA for six years on the Governmental Accounting Standards Advisory Council, whose members are drawn from throughout the nation to advise the Governmental Accounting Standards Board (GASB) in the development of standards for public sector financial reporting.

Donnelly, a member of the Dickenson Wright law firm who has served on the CRC board since 2001, was elected chair of the board for a two-year term. He serves as bond counsel to a number of public institutions in Southeast Michigan and around the state.

The keynote speaker at the annual meeting was noted urban policy expert and Detroit historian Thomas Sugrue, a professor of history and sociology at the University of Pennsylvania and director of the Penn Social Science and Policy Forum. Sugrue drew on his decades of research on urban policy to provide insights on the promise and pitfalls of strategies to remake Michigan cities.