Jeff Breneman

Jeff has a longstanding and strong connection with the Kalamazoo community and Western Michigan University. Born at Bronson Hospital, educated at WMU, and now serving as one of the university's senior leaders, he has dedicated much of his career to strengthening the institution that helped shape his own journey. With more than twelve years in senior leadership under four presidents, he has worked to connect WMU with government leaders, employers, and community partners while advancing the university's mission and influence beyond campus. 

During both his first and current leadership endeavors, WMU has secured approximately $300 million in capital funding, operations, and research investments, including state funding support for the College of Health and Human Services Building, the renovation of Dunbar Hall, and, most recently, $30 million for the renovation and reimagining of Knauss Hall. He built the university’s corporate and community partnership portfolio into a strategic function that connects WMU with the region’s leading employers. Under his leadership, WMU’s professional development programs and the Osher Lifelong Learning Institute have extended the university’s reach to learners at every stage of life. As an alumnus, Jeff brings a personal commitment to mentoring today’s Broncos—preparing them not only for successful careers, but for a lifetime of community leadership and stewardship. 

Jeff is a committed advocate for free speech, viewpoint diversity, and civil discourse. He helped found WMU’s We Talk initiative, which promotes these ideals through campus and community engagement, and he co-chairs WMU’s Heterodox Academy Campus Community. He received Heterodox Academy's Open Inquiry Award in 2022, and in 2025 WMU was recognized with the same distinction for its We Talk initiative and for having the largest Heterodox Academy membership of any university in the nation. 

During his time away from WMU, Jeff created the first internal government relations function for Robert Bosch LLC, the North American subsidiary of Bosch, and founded a major nonprofit trade association of leading automotive suppliers, which he led for more than a decade. Earlier in his career, he served eight years with Congressman Fred Upton before becoming President Elson Floyd’s first senior leadership appointment. 

A Michigan resident for more than forty years, Jeff devotes significant time to the region’s civic and charitable institutions. He served on the Kalamazoo County Transit Authority Board for more than a decade and completed eight years of term-limited service on the boards of the Kalamazoo Downtown Development Authority and the Kalamazoo Downtown Economic Growth Authority in early 2026. He currently serves on the Discover Kalamazoo Board of Directors, where he has been both Chair and Vice-Chair, and on the Park Club Board of Directors, which he led as President from 2024 to 2026. 

He is a proud WMU alumnus, earning his B.A. in Political Science in 1991. 

Outside of work, Jeff enjoys spending time with his wife, Lisa, whether on the golf course, at music festivals like Jazz Fest in New Orleans—where the two were married by legendary musician George Porter Jr.—or on nature walks with their Vizsla, Bodhi, and German Shorthaired Pointer, Storm.