MEET THE TRUSTEES Patrick W. Dennis ’98
Virginia S. Bauer P’03 ’05
Patrick Dennis is a partner and member of the management committee at Davidson Kempner Capital Management, a global investment management firm headquartered in New York City. He was previously a financial analyst at Barclays Capital, Credit Suisse and Financial Securities Assurance.
Virginia “Ginny” Samaras Bauer is chief executive officer at GTBM Inc., a company specializing in software security technology for law enforcement and corporate facilities.
He is an active golfer and runner and has served as a member of the Friends of Hudson River Park host committee. Dennis came to Peddie from Toledo, Ohio, proving himself to be an exceptional athlete and scholar. An All-American swimmer, he was part of Peddie’s 1995 national championship team. He was a campus tour guide, prefect, two-time captain of the boys’ swimming team and president of the student body. He won the Langford Scholarship Award at Convocation in 1997 and was presented with the Walter H. Annenberg Award at graduation in 1998. Dennis continued his swimming career at Yale, where he was captain of the Yale mens’ swim team and earned his bachelor’s degree in 2002. He and his wife, Kara Nesburg Dennis, have two daughters. Dennis has served Peddie as class agent, past reunion gift chair, member of the former Young Alumni Leadership Group and member of the Peddie Leadership Council. He funded an endowed scholarship in memory of his close friend and teammate Nicholas R. Kaschik ’98, who died in 2011.
“My relationship with Peddie has changed over the years from a humbled student to proud graduate — and now from active alumnus to appreciative board member. I will forever be indebted to Peddie’s many teachers, administrators, alumni and trustees for having the vision and commitment to supporting and fostering an ‘aristocracy of achievement,’ as Peter Quinn once called it. Put simply — Peddie is special. And being able to contribute to the enduring tradition of achievement as a member of the board is an honor.”
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She is a past Peddie parent. A graduate of Rosemont College in Pennsylvania, Bauer had a career as a financial planning executive for Merrill Lynch before she was appointed director of the New Jersey State Lottery in 2003. A year later she was tapped to serve as state secretary of commerce and became an effective advocate for New Jersey business. In 2007 Governor Corzine appointed her to the Board of Commissioners for the Port Authority of New York and New Jersey, overseeing the management and infrastructure of the bridges, tunnels, airports and ports of both states, as well as the redevelopment of the World Trade Center. Service is central to Bauer’s life. She is a director of the National September 11 Memorial and Museum, a trustee of Monmouth University, and a member of the boards of the Monmouth Medical Center and the Business School of Rutgers University. She was previously senior vice president of development of Covenant House, the nation’s largest privately funded nonprofit agency for homeless youth. In 2005, Bauer was Baccalaureate speaker for Peddie’s graduating class, which included her son Stephen; she was introduced on stage by her son David ’03. She also has a daughter, Jackie. Bauer is the widow of W. David Bauer, a victim of the September 11, 2001 attack on the World Trade Center. She lives in Red Bank, N.J., and is married to Donald Steckroth, a retired federal bankruptcy judge.
“Peddie is special for one reason — the people. You can find many of the physical assets in other communities, but the uniqueness of Peddle is the solid commitment to the students from every person in contact with our students. Peddie is and always will be an integral part of the Bauer family; I am delighted to give back to an institution that has given my family so much.”