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Lafayette Board of Trustees chairman Alan R. Griffith has announced the membership of a committee formed to conduct a search for the next president of Lafayette.
The Presidential Search Committee is made up of six Trustees, all of whom are graduates of the College; three faculty members, two alumni, and a student.
Griffith announced earlier that the committee would be chaired by Trustee Riley K Temple, with Trustee Robert L. Yohe serving as vice chair.
The other Trustees are Edward W. Ahart, Susan Barnes Carras, Elisabeth Hughes MacDonald, and Michael H. Moskow.
Faculty members are James P. Schaffer, director of engineering; James Woolley, Frank Lee and Edna M. Smith Professor of English; and Eric J. Ziolkowski, professor and head of religious studies.
Additional alumni on the committee are Pamela Gaary Holran and Robert E. Sell.
The student member is John Stephenson, a junior majoring in Government and Law.
Ralph L. Slaght, professor emeritus of philosophy, will serve as secretary to the committee. Griffith will serve as a committee member ex-officio.
Lafayette president Arthur J. Rothkopf announced Jan. 31 that he will complete his service as president at the conclusion of the 2004-05 academic year, having served 12 years in the position. Rothkopf has led a far-reaching transformation of Lafayette since becoming president in July 1993.
“The Presidential Search Committee will strive to find an exceptional individual who will continue the college’s positive momentum on all fronts,” Griffith said. “It is hoped the next president of Lafayette will be identified in a timeframe that will afford him or her ample opportunity to work with Arthur before he steps down, insuring a smooth transition of leadership.”
Information on the Committee members follows:
Trustees
Riley K. Temple ’71,chair of the Presidential Search Committee, is a partner in the telecommunications law firm of Halprin and Temple, Washington, D.C. He holds a J.D. degree from Georgetown University. A Lafayette Trustee since 1994, he is secretary of the board and a member of the Steering Committee and Executive Committee.
Robert L. Yohe ’58, vice chair of the Presidential Search Committee, is the former vice chairman and director of Olin Corporation. He holds an MBA from Harvard University. A Lafayette Trustee since 1992, he is chair of the board’s Committee on Financial Policy and a member of the Executive Committee and the Investment Committee. He is a former chair of the Lafayette College Annual Fund.
Edward W. Ahart ’69 is managing partner of the law firm of Schneck, Price, Smith & King, LLP, Morristown, N.J., and chairman of the firm’s Management Committee and Corporate Practice Group. He holds a law degree from Cornell University Law School. A Lafayette Trustee since 1992, he is chair of the board’s Committee on Athletics and Student Affairs and a member of the Executive Committee.
Susan Barnes Carras ’76 is a principal in the commercial real estate investment firm Grange Partners LLC., Bethesda, Md. She did graduate work at Fordham University and Pace University. A Lafayette Trustee since 1996, she is vice chair of the board’s Committee on Development and Alumni Affairs. She is chair of the Lafayette College Annual Fund and former chair of the Marquis Society. She is a member of the Advisory Board of the Council of Lafayette Women and a former member of Lafayette Leadership Council.
Elisabeth Hughes MacDonald ’81 is senior vice president, J.P. Morgan Chase & Co., New York City. She holds a master’s degree in management from Northwestern University’s Kellogg Graduate School of Management. A Lafayette Trustee since 1999, she is a member of the board’s Committee on Athletics and Student Affairs. She is member of the Advisory Board of the Council of Lafayette Women and a former member of Lafayette Leadership Council.
Michael H. Moskow ’59 is president and chief executive officer of the Federal Reserve Bank of Chicago. He holds a Ph.D. in business and applied economics from the University of Pennsylvania. A Trustee since 1996, he is a member of the board’s Committee on Financial Policy.
Faculty
James P. Schaffer has served as director of engineering since 2000. A professor of chemical engineering, he is the recipient of the American Society for Engineering Education’s George Westinghouse Award as the nation’s most outstanding young engineering educator. A member of the Lafayette faculty since 1990, he holds a doctorate from Duke University.
James Woolley has served as clerk of the faculty since 1997. He was designated Frank Lee and Edna M. Smith Professor in 1996 and served as head of the English Department from 1993-97. He is the recipient of a Guggenheim Fellowship. A member of the Lafayette faculty since 1980, he holds a doctorate from the University of Chicago.
Eric J. Ziolkowski has served as head of the religious studies department since 2002. Author of three books, he was elected Life Fellow in the Society for the Arts, Religion, and Culture. A member of the Lafayette faculty since 1988, he holds a doctorate from the University of Chicago.
Alumni
Pamela Gaary Holran ’88 is a former associate in the communications and engineering law firm of Lukas, Nace, Gutierrez & Sachs, Washington, D.C. She also served in the litigation division of the U.S. Department of Energy’s Economic Regulatory Administration. She holds a J.D. from George Washington University. A former board associate, she is a member of the Executive Committee of the Alumni Council and a member of the Alumni Association’s Long-Range Planning Committee.
Robert E. Sell ’84 is a partner in the Communications and High Tech practice of Accenture, headquartered in Florham Park, N.J. A former board associate, he is president-elect of the Alumni Association and chair of the Alumni Association’s Long-Range Planning Committee.
Student
John Stephenson ’05 is agovernment and law major from Kintnersville, Pa. He has played significant roles in State Senate, Congressional, and gubernatorial campaigns. As an EXCEL Scholar, he has helped to update the Approaching Democracy textbook co-authored by Bruce Allen Murphy, Fred Morgan Kirby Professor of Civil Rights, and he has served as an officer for College Republicans and the Kirby Government & Law Society.
Secretary
Ralph L. Slaght, professor emeritus of philosophy, was elected by the Board of Trustees to emeritus status in 2003, upon his retirement following 34 years as a member of the Lafayette faculty, most recently as James Renwick Hogg Professor of Mental and Moral Philosophy. He served as clerk of the faculty from 1983-97. He holds a doctorate from the University of Pennsylvania.
Ex-Officio
Alan R. Griffith ’64 is vice chairman of the Bank of New York and The Bank of New York Company, Inc. He has been chairman of the Board of Trustees since 2001 and a Lafayette Trustee since 1994.