A trustee tradition ends

When Charles V. Wait stepped down from Skidmore’s board of trustees in June, it was not just the end of a distinguished eighteen-year term of service. For the first time since Skidmore was chartered as a baccalaureate-granting college in 1922, the board would be without a member of the Wait family.
The tradition dates to Luther Wait, who served until 1932. His brother Newman E. Wait Sr., president of the Adirondack Trust bank in Saratoga Springs, then served on Skidmore’s board until 1964. He was succeeded, both at Skidmore and at Adirondack Trust, by his son Newman E. “Pete” Wait Jr.
Pete’s son Charles joined the Skidmore board in 1984. Like his father and grandfather, he brought an important perspective: Wait feels he was perhaps most helpful as a “voice for fiscal conservatism” and as a representative of “local roots, local connections—something a college must always keep in mind.” With new local trustees joining the board recently, he felt he could step down.
Wait says, “Any business person who has the opportunity to serve as trustee of a college should take it.” One cross-cultural revelation: in contrast to the business world’s quick decision-making, he says, it was “eye-opening to experience such a collaborative environment.”
Skidmore’s historic relationship with Adirondack Trust remains. “The bank and the college will always be close,” says Wait. And while the Wait era on the board may have ended, the family’s legacy is indelibly etched on the façade of Wait Hall and throughout the college’s history. —KG