2008 Woodie Awards
Trustees anticipate year building funds, facility
By: Matthew Stone, Editor in Chief
Issue date: 9/7/07 Section: News
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Despite a summer leadership shakeup, members of Macalester's Board of Trustees say they are anticipating a tranquil year as they concentrate on helping the college meet its fundraising goals and maintain student services as a substantial portion of campus is overtaken by construction.
At the same time, members say they're hoping that a new student liaison to the Board will help to chip away at the Board's perceived aloofness on campus.
The Board of Trustees saw multiple changes in its ranks this summer as chairman Jeffrey Larson '79 resigned from his post following the collapse of his Boston hedge fund, Sowood Capital Management. Vice chairman Timothy Hart-Anderson assumed the interim chairmanship and the Board will settle on a permanent chair in May. Five new trustees, all alumni, replaced five retiring trustees, including former chairman Mark Vander Ploeg '74 and Joan Mondale.
Hart-Anderson praised Larson for his leadership during the inaugural year of the college's latest $150 million fundraising push.
"We were all very sorry to see him go," Hart-Anderson said. "I'm humbled by the idea of having to follow someone like Jeff."
In conversations this week, trustees said the Board would continue to address the issues it normally takes on--endowment stewardship and fundraising for construction projects and scholarships--as the college embarks on its $150 million capital campaign.
Expectations for a major controversy, like the debate surrounding the Board's decision to shift Macalester away from a financial need-blind admissions system in Jan. 2005, are low.
"I don't see any major controversial issues or particularly sticky or tricky issues on the horizon," said Hart-Anderson, a Presbyterian pastor and the only Board member who is not a Macalester alumnus.
The absence of controversy should clear the way for the Board of Trustees to "demystify" itself to the student body, according to trustee Peter Fenn '70, a Washington, D.C.-based political consultant. Macalester College Student Government (MCSG) confirmed this week that Blythe Austin '08 would serve as a student liaison to the trustees.
At the same time, members say they're hoping that a new student liaison to the Board will help to chip away at the Board's perceived aloofness on campus.
The Board of Trustees saw multiple changes in its ranks this summer as chairman Jeffrey Larson '79 resigned from his post following the collapse of his Boston hedge fund, Sowood Capital Management. Vice chairman Timothy Hart-Anderson assumed the interim chairmanship and the Board will settle on a permanent chair in May. Five new trustees, all alumni, replaced five retiring trustees, including former chairman Mark Vander Ploeg '74 and Joan Mondale.
Hart-Anderson praised Larson for his leadership during the inaugural year of the college's latest $150 million fundraising push.
"We were all very sorry to see him go," Hart-Anderson said. "I'm humbled by the idea of having to follow someone like Jeff."
In conversations this week, trustees said the Board would continue to address the issues it normally takes on--endowment stewardship and fundraising for construction projects and scholarships--as the college embarks on its $150 million capital campaign.
Expectations for a major controversy, like the debate surrounding the Board's decision to shift Macalester away from a financial need-blind admissions system in Jan. 2005, are low.
"I don't see any major controversial issues or particularly sticky or tricky issues on the horizon," said Hart-Anderson, a Presbyterian pastor and the only Board member who is not a Macalester alumnus.
The absence of controversy should clear the way for the Board of Trustees to "demystify" itself to the student body, according to trustee Peter Fenn '70, a Washington, D.C.-based political consultant. Macalester College Student Government (MCSG) confirmed this week that Blythe Austin '08 would serve as a student liaison to the trustees.
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