Summer 2003

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Glotzbach named president of Skidmore

In late May Skidmore College named Philip A. Glotzbach its seventh president. A philosopher, he was vice president for academic affairs at the University of Redlands in California.
     “A thoughtful and charismatic teacher-scholar…and a keen listener with a good sense of humor,” is how Suzanne Corbet Thomas ’62, chair of Skidmore’s board of trustees, describes him. “Phil quickly grasped the values at the core of Skidmore. He brings the kind of leadership and creative thinking necessary to take the college to the next level.” Adds trustee John Howley ’80, who chaired the search committee, from “an extraordinary group of highly qualified applicants, Phil Glotzbach is the best of the best and a great match for Skidmore.”

Phil Glotzbach enjoys a stylish welcome from trustees, faculty, and staff.

     Officially assuming the presidency in July, Glotzbach replaces Jamienne S. Studley, who has taken a position as scholar-in-residence at the Carnegie Foundation for the Advancement of Teaching in Menlo Park, Calif.
     In accepting the presidency, Glotzbach said he was impressed with “Skidmore’s attention to the arts and its affirmation of the centrality of creativity and aesthetic values within a fulfilling human existence.” He added, “With the deep commitment to academic excellence and a determination to educate students as whole persons capable of becoming leading citizens in all walks of life, Skidmore has earned its place as one of the nation’s exemplary liberal arts colleges.” At a large campuswide forum to announce his appointment, he was welcomed by Studley, President Emeritus David Porter, and former Skidmore first ladies Anne Palamountain and Ruth Wilson—and by a standing ovation from the crowd. Glotzbach quipped, “I’m sorry, that’s just too much pressure.” But he promised, “No one will work harder for this college than I will. It’s going to be a great ride and a fun time, so thank you.”
     Glotzbach spent the past eleven years at Redlands, beginning as dean of the College of Arts and Sciences and becoming vice president for academic affairs in 1998. His priorities included refining the school’s mission as a liberal arts university, strengthening the faculty, enhancing the curriculum (especially interdisciplinary programs), supporting faculty governance, and increasing the diversity of the faculty and student body. For fifteen years before that, he was a faculty member at Denison University in Ohio, where he chaired the philosophy department for six years and also chaired the faculty senate. He helped launch Denison’s Greek studies program, an interdisciplinary summer seminar involving travel and study in Greece, and spearheaded a new interdisciplinary major in philosophy, politics, and economics. His own academic specialties include the philosophy of psychology and the philosophy of language. A Phi Beta Kappa and summa cum laude graduate of the University of Notre Dame, he has a Ph.D. from Yale.
     In his writings and speeches, Glotzbach has addressed such issues as the shaping of institutional mission, the importance of science in the liberal arts, faculty workloads, collaborative leadership, and the role of an academic dean. In chairing the executive board of the American Conference of Academic Deans, he has worked on national conferences dealing with issues of campus governance.
     Among Glotzbach’s personal interests are theater and film; skiing, running, tennis, and golf; and folk guitar. His wife, Marie Glotzbach, is a theater director/producer, teacher, and administrator. The Glotzbachs have two children: Jason, a 1999 Princeton graduate who is a medical student at Tulane University, and Elizabeth, a 2003 graduate of Santa Clara University. —RK