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Lafayette President Arthur J. Rothkopf ’55 will share his experiences and thoughts on leadership noon today in the Kirby Hall of Civil Rights auditorium (room 104).
The event is part of the Lafayette Leadership Education series.
Rothkopf will discuss his leadership style, offering a glimpse into a day in the life of the College’s 15th president; his leadership path from his student days to the present, including things in which he takes pride and what he is disappointed to have missed; and his perspective on today’s student leaders, including what qualities impress him.
In the first of this fall’s Lafayette Leadership Education brown bag lectures, three students who have served political internships discussed the politics of landing a political internship or staff position Oct. 15.
Rothkopf has led a far-reaching transformation of Lafayette since becoming president in July 1993, spearheading the most ambitious and successful fundraising campaign in Lafayette’s history. The Lafayette Leadership Campaign, publicly launched in 1997, concluded in October 2001 with $213 million in gifts and pledges, exceeding its original goal of $143 million. More than $100 million was dedicated to strengthening excellence in the classroom, the main goal of the campaign.
Under Rothkopf the College has played a key role in the revitalization of the City of Easton and forged a closer relationship with the city whose citizens founded the College in 1826. This includes developing the Williams Visual Arts Building in downtown Easton and acquiring and beautifying properties near the arts building. In addition, there has been impressive growth in community outreach activities, with about half of Lafayette’s students engaged each year in sustained programs of voluntary service.
Rothkopf is board chair of the Council for Higher Education Accreditation. He recently served as board chair of the Association of Independent Colleges and Universities of Pennsylvania and the Council of Presidents of the Patriot League, the athletic conference of which Lafayette is a member. He is treasurer of The Pennsylvania Society, serves on the boards of the Lehigh Valley Hospital and Lehigh Valley Partnership, and was a trustee of the Lehigh Northampton Airport Authority. He has been a board member for several years of Insurance Services Office, a company providing data and analytic services to the insurance industry.
An English graduate, Rothkopf was elected to Phi Beta Kappa and received his law degree from Harvard.
Prior to becoming Lafayette’s president, Rothkopf was deputy secretary of the U.S. Department of Transportation. He was appointed to the position in 1992 by President George H.W. Bush and confirmed by the Senate. He served under Andrew H. Card Jr., who was then Secretary of Transportation and is now White House chief of staff. Rothkopf played a major role in defining government positions on such issues as foreign investment in U.S. airlines, the role of the U.S. merchant marine, trucking deregulation, and other matters related to aviation, highways, railroads, and maritime affairs. Prior to this position, Rothkopf served as general counsel of the Transportation Department (also a Senate-confirmed position).
Before joining DOT, Rothkopf was a senior partner from 1967-91 in the Washington, D.C., law firm of Hogan & Hartson.