2002 Honorary Degree

Dale D. Reed Doctor Of Agriculture Dale D. Reed has distinguished himself as a civic and business leader whose personal commitment and vision has made our world a better place. Dale D. Reed Born and raised in Veedersburg, Ind., Mr. Reed attended Purdue University and earned his bachelor’s degree in agriculture and biological engineering in 1953. After leaving Purdue, Mr. Reed became a lieutenant in the United States Army and then went to work for John Deere Corporation and Le Tourneau Westinghouse. In 1962, he moved to California and became the manager of a Le Tourneau Westinghouse distributorship and later became part owner of a Kenworth Truck Dealership for Northern California. Mr. Reed has been active in production agriculture since graduation and has owned and managed 27 farms in Iowa and Minnesota, including 20,000 acres of prime cropland and a large cattle farm. Currently, Mr. Reed is chairman, chief executive officer and half owner of Buran and Reed Inc., a scale manufacturing and distribution company, which has several operating divisions. Two of the divisions are distributors for several agriculture-oriented scale manufacturers providing sales, parts and service throughout California. Another division of Buran and Reed specializes in the manufacture of patient weighing devices, used primarily for bedridden patients in medical facilities around the world. Mr. Reed also joined other successful businessmen in Northern California and in 1984 established Civic Bank of Commerce, which has grown to more than $530 million in assets. He was director and chairman of the Loan and Risk Management Committees for several years and has always promoted the philosophy of a "hands-on" approach to working directly with the owners and operators of client businesses. The bank was considered one of the premier business banks in the state and had 10 branches when it was purchased by City National Bank in March of this year. In 1991, Mr. Reed was selected to be part of a five-person delegation that traveled to Russia to provide technical assistance in the privatization of Russian industry and agriculture. More recently, he was active in an American/Russian joint venture to remove warheads from the vast supply of Russian missiles and use them to launch low-orbit communication satellites. Mr. Reed has been active in many community activities and organizations in San Leandro, Calif., including serving as president of the chamber of commerce, trustee of a hospital, president of a scholarship foundation, chairman of a planning commission and director of Goodwill Industries of the East Bay.