Board Welcomes New Chair: Harry G. Austin, III '75

The Randolph-Macon Academy Board of Trustees recognized an outgoing trustee and welcomed a new chairman at their meeting in June 2021.

Outgoing was former chair Rear Admiral John D. Stufflebeem, USN, Retired ’70. Serving on the Board since 2011 and in the chairman role since 2016, Admiral Stufflebeem oversaw tremendous change at the Academy, including the development of the strategic plan, Vision 2024; the rebranding process that brought us The Power of Rise, and the successful navigation of the COVID-19 pandemic.

Moving into the Chairman role is Mr. Harry G. Austin, III ‘75. Part of an R-MA legacy family, his uncles Jim and Jack both attended the Academy, graduating in the mid-1940s. His brother Douglas graduated with the Class of 1979; their father Harry Jr. was an Academy trustee, serving on the Board for several years.

Austin served on the Board from 1984-1990, including as Finance Chairman 1987-1990, and rejoined in 2008. He became Secretary of the Board in 2018 and retained that role until his elevation to Chairman this summer.

Following his graduation from the Academy in 1975, he earned a BSBA from Bucknell University, where he also participated in United States Army ROTC; he went on to serve as an officer in the US Army Reserve from 1979 – 1993. Austin also joined the family business, the James Austin Company, in 1979 and worked his way up from Regional Sales Manager to President and retired in 2020.

“R-MA provided the courage to take on new challenges, to be confident in what I did, to develop my personality to be able to meet people, find a common ground for meaningful conversation and eventually cultivate heartfelt friendships,” said Austin. “I truly believe R-MA and The Power of Rise provides a foundation for students to find themselves, to mature faster in this changing world, and to succeed in whatever adventure they choose after R-MA.”

The Board of Trustees voluntarily serves the Academy by providing requisite governance in the core responsibilities of mission, strategy, policy and planning of one of the Nation’s top private, independent military college-prep schools. According to their Bylaws, Trustees serve out their limited terms then must step down for at least a year before being considered to rejoin the Board.

For more information about the Board of Trustees, visit www.RMA.edu/about/board.