by James W. Butler III
Chair of the Sparrow Health System Board of Directors
Sparrow Health System’s Board of Directors is made up entirely of people who volunteer their time and expertise to serve the people in the mid-Michigan region. James W. Butler III serves as chair of the Sparrow Board, a post he has held since 2009. Butler, a longtime community advocate, also serves as director of the Urban Revitalization Division of the Michigan State Housing Development Authority. He is a highly decorated combat veteran of the Vietnam War, receiving four Bronze Stars for heroism.
As the first African–American to serve as chair of the board of Sparrow in its 114-year history, I am in a unique position to bring a different perspective to our leadership team. I try to make people understand the diversity perspective in all the decisions we make.
“It is also a great responsibility to keep Sparrow as a leader in providing the highest quality health care and at the forefront of promoting diversity and inclusion in the region we serve.”
Serving as chair of the Sparrow Board of Directors is a role I take very seriously, for it is vitally important to the overall health status of the region we serve. I am also keenly aware that as the first African-American to serve in this role, my performance influences the chances of other minorities to serve in similar leadership positions. Consequently, I am a strong advocate for an agenda that advances diversity and inclusion at Sparrow. I am pleased to say it is an agenda that is sincerely embraced by our board and by our president and CEO, Dennis Swan. Sparrow has worked hard to develop a process and methodology to advance the concepts of diversity and inclusion.
Fortunately, we live in a region that is relatively advanced in embracing the concepts of diversity and inclusion. People in mid-Michigan aren’t that hung up on race, religion or ethnicity. Employers tend to focus more on things like work ethic and positive attitudes. These qualities are highly sought after, recruited and rewarded.
Sparrow, under the leadership of Dennis Swan, has made great strides in emphasizing these qualities in its workforce and reflecting the diverse profile of our community. Still, we have plenty of work to do. We are doing more to attract and retain more top and mid-level executives from minority populations. We are working to develop stronger mentoring programs to help develop minority candidates to advance up the corporate ladder. And Sparrow’s leadership team is becoming more active and visible in our community so that minority populations become familiar with our organization and understand that there are great careers in health care and in health care administration.
It is indeed a great honor to serve as the chair of a progressive and forward-thinking organization such as Sparrow. It is also a great responsibility to keep Sparrow as a leader in providing the highest quality health care and at the forefront of promoting diversity and inclusion in the region we serve. It is a responsibility I wholly accept and am eager to uphold.
James W. Butler III
Chair of the Sparrow Health System Board of Directors