Board says farewell?and thanks?to seven trustees
Board says farewell-and thanks-to seven trustees
Susan Kettering Williamson '59
Commencement is always a time of transition for Skidmore students. This year, it also was a time of transition for the Board of Trustees as terms neared the end for seven trustees, including Board Chair Janet Lucas Whitman '59 and two co-chairs of the Creative Thought Bold Promise campaign, and Sara Lee Schupf'62.
Janet Lucas Whitman '59Collectively, these three trustees alone represent 82 years of board service.
Sara Lee Schupf '62 Whitman who joined the board in 1994 and was named chair in October 2008 - is succeeded
by Vice Chair Linda Toohey, former executive vice president of the Saratoga County Chamber of Commerce and a
member of the Skidmore College Board of Trustees since 2001.
As chair of the Buildings and Grounds Committee, Whitman played a key role in developing
the plan for the Frances Young Tang Teaching Museum and Art Gallery and shepherding
the selection of Antoine Predock as architect. An accomplished painter in her own
right, Whitman subsequently served for eight years as the first chair of the Tang
National Advisory Council, helping to enlist a strong group of advisors and donors
and playing a key role in the museum's advocacy, outreach and fund-raising efforts.
During her term as council chair and chair of the Board of Trustees, the Tang's dedicated
endowment has grown to nearly $13 million.
Whitman was a member of the search committee that brought Philip A. Glotzbach to
Skidmore. At a luncheon in her honor, he described her as "one of the most authentic
human beings I know."
"She does not play games and always tells it to you straight, but always with a characteristic
twinkle in her eye," he said. "Her success as chair came from her enormous capacity
to connect with others and the clear understanding that she always sought the best
for them, with no interest in calling attention to herself."
Williamson is Skidmore's longest-serving trustee, having joined the board in 1971.
As co-chair of the Creative Thought Bold Promise campaign, which raised $216 million,
she made a major personal commitment by offering to increase her gift to the College
by $1 million if 10,000 alumni, parents, and friends made a gift of any size. In all,
11,215 responded.
At the dedication in 2010 of the Williamson Sports Center, Glotzbach pointed at the
facility as a natural choice to honor Williamson, who "has long championed the importance
of educating students to live a full life, one that addresses the needs of the mind,
the spirit, and the body."
Also a co-chair of the Creative Thought Bold Promise campaign, Schupf has served on the board for 24 years, first from 1978 to 1982 and
again from 1992 onward. Through her generosity and that of her family, she established
the Charles and Tillie Lubin Scholarship Fund, the Charles Lubin Family Professorship
for Women in Science, and the Schupf Scholars Program, a fund for collaborative research
with a preference for students interested in pursuing the STEM areas.
"Sara has put her heart and soul into every project put before her, but we know her
real passion is science, and, in particular, advocating for the role of women in science,"
said Polly Kisiel, fellow trustee and member of the Class of '62, in tribute at a
recent dinner.
The other four trustees to step down also have made major contributions to the College. They are:
S. Donald Sussman
Michele A. Dunkerley '80
Bernard H. Kastory
Emily Rover Grace '99
