Notice of Online Archive

  • This page is no longer being updated and remains online for informational and historical purposes only. The information is accurate as of the last page update.

    For questions about page contents, contact the Communications Division.

Thirty-five years after graduating from Lafayette with a degree in economics, Willard Compton ’72 is finally returning to his roots. He recently became vice president of commercial lending with NewMil Bank, based in New Milford, Conn.

Although Compton’s first job after college was with the former State and National Bank in Connecticut, his career path led him to several corporate positions.

“Prior to this, I worked for another bank where I was vice president in charge of the Fannie Mae aggregation program, but I also worked for a succession of companies, like General Electric Credit Corporation, MetLife Capital Corporation, and TransAmerica, in different marketing and credit roles,” Compton says. “So, I’ve had what I consider bigger jobs, but I think this job has more responsibility.”

For instance, as part of his position, he counsels small- and mid-sized businesses that don’t have the advantage of having internal accountants.

“These are people who come in and ask questions: about borrowing money, whether it makes sense for them to take out a loan, and what can I do to help them run their businesses more effectively from a financial standpoint,” Compton explains.

Moving toward the place he began has brought him satisfaction and made him happier, he says.

“The people here are tremendous. My boss is extremely helpful in terms of providing me with information about the bank and its services. He’s also been great about informing me about new regulations in the banking field due to the Patriot Act. Nowadays, there’s probably 10 times the amount of bookkeeping I have to do than when I started out of Lafayette.”

Which is not to say the financial industry was an easy place to get a job 35 years ago.

“It was a tough job market in ’72,” says Compton, who comes from a line of bankers. “Liberal arts graduates were not in vogue at the time. Companies were looking to hire people in engineering or the sciences, which Lafayette was known for. Liberal arts math people went into banking, marketing roles, or graduate schools. But I had a number of interviews at a variety of financial companies, such as Procter & Gamble. I ended up joining a small bank in Connecticut. It was an excellent place to work, the people were great, and there were opportunities for advancement within the bank.”

Compton says his Lafayette education equipped him with the skills and qualifications he needed to not only land that first position, but to succeed in his current position.

Categorized in: Alumni Profiles