The son of Fred Meyers Keller and Bernadine Johnson, Fred P. Keller, Jr. was born June 16, 1944. Fred grew up in Grand Rapids, and graduated from East Grand Rapids High School in 1962. His father had a successful tool and die business (Paragon Tool and Die Company) and was a major philanthropist in Grand Rapids. Keller, Jr. earned degrees in engineering and business and started his own company, Cascade Engineering in 1973, a provider of plastics solutions for the automotive, industrial, and solid waste industries. He and his engineering business are nationally recognized leaders in sustainability.
He graduated Cornell University in 1966 with a degree in material science and engineering and went to work for Pratt & Whitney Aircraft. He added a master's degree in business management from Rensselaer Polytechnic Institute in 1971, while working as a metallurgist. He founded Cascade Engineering in his hometown, and grew it from a six-employee plastics injection-molding shop to an employer of over 1,200 at 10 facilities known for "shaping ideas in plastics."
Keller became broadly recognized as a leader in the sustainability movement, originally through Cascade Engineering. Sustainability is a term associated with environmental conservation, but it can also apply to social issues. Keller places enormous value on his employees and the impact they can have. He supports many environmental and community programs that benefit West Michigan. Fred Keller instituted a program at Cascade Engineering called PHASES (Providing Health, Activities, Safety & Enrichment Services) that offers innovative employee benefits such as adoption assistance. He has been a leader in welfare to work programs that develop methods of overcoming obstacles to attaining jobs and promotions. In 1998, he organized the Delta Strategy, a think tank that identifies critical community concerns and works towards solutions. He is also pioneering wind and other green energy technology in West Michigan
He is married to noted mezzo-soprano Linn Maxwell Keller, and they have three daughters.
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Sister Marjorie Vangsness, O.P., '38
Doctor of Divinity, Honoris Causa
**Special 125th Anniversary Honorary Degree |
