Joe Fitzsimmons is a past member of the Board of Directors of the Mackinac Center for Public Policy.

Fitzsimmons earned a degree in Chemical Engineering from Cornell and in 1957 joined the Xerox Corporation. He moved to Ann Arbor in 1966 to help with the development of a recent acquisition—University Microfilms (UMI). He was appointed President in 1976 and over the years UMI showed substantial growth and gained international prominence.

After retiring from UMI in 1995, he ran the following year as the Republican nominee for the U.S. Congress. His bid was unsuccessful and since then Joe has concentrated on his passion of “helping to improve the quality of life in our community”. From 1999 to 2001, as CEO of Nonprofit Enterprise at Work (NEW), he led this organization to help non-profits become more efficient and effective in the delivery of their services. In 2001, his civic contributions were recognized when he and fellow volunteer, Judy Dow Rumelhart, were named Ann Arbor Citizens of the Year and in 2007 he received the Jewel Award for “Outstanding Volunteer Fundraiser” for Southeast Michigan.

In addition to the Mackinac Center for Public Policy, Joe has served on numerous Corporate and Nonprofit boards, including the Bartech Group, National City Bank, St. Joseph Mercy Health System, Siena Heights University, the Washtenaw Housing Alliance, and the Rotary Club of Ann Arbor.

Together, Joe and his wife Beth have seven children and fifteen grandchildren.