LANSING, MI – Longtime Michigan State University trustee and Lansing real estate developer Joel Ferguson has passed away. The 85-year-old died on Saturday morning, Oct. 19, family representative Tina Miller told MLive.

Joel Ferguson, a known developer in Michigan and former Michigan State University trustee, has died at the age of 85.

Ferguson, an MSU alumnus, was elected to the MSU board four times. He was known as a businessman, sports lover and civil rights leader.

Joel Ferguson, a longtime Lansing power-broker, real estate developer and high-profile Democrat, has died, according to Michigan State University. He was 85.

Former longtime Michigan State University trustee and businessman Joel Ferguson has died. Governor Gretchen Whitmer, in a statement on his death, said Ferguson was a "Lansing legend."

EAST LANSING, Mich. (WILX) - Former Michigan State University Board of Trustee Joel Ferguson died at 86. Michigan State University confirmed with News 10 of Feguson’s passing.

Lansing developer and Democratic political leader Joel Ferguson has died. Ferguson, 86, was a long-time elected member of the Michigan State University Board of Trustees. This is a developing story.

Ferguson, an MSU alumnus, was elected to the MSU board four times. He founded Lansing-area TV stations WFSL and WLAJ and was a real estate developer.