for
MARC C. CONNER
as the Eighth President of Skidmore College Saturday, the Sixteenth of October Two Thousand Twenty-One Ten Forty-Five in the Morning Helen Filene Ladd Concert Hall, Arthur Zankel Music Center
ORDER OF EXERCISES PRELUDE The Schenectady Pipe Band
PROCESSIONAL The audience is requested to stand when the academic procession enters the auditorium and to remain standing until after the singing of the national anthem. Grand Marshal Roy J. Rotheim, Professor of Economics Order of Academic Procession: Grand Marshal Current Trustees and Life Trustees Alumni Board Members Faculty Representatives President’s Cabinet Platform Party
NATIONAL ANTHEM The Star-Spangled Banner Words by Francis Scott Key Arranged and conducted by Floydd Ricketts Performed by the Skidmore College Vocal Chamber Ensemble: Soloist Julia Gagnon, Sabrina Alper ’23, Maggie Besthoff ’24, Sophia Delohery ’25, Rhea Fitzpatrick ’24, Willa Flink ’25, Talia Gordon ’25, Arielle Lam ’24, Kate Landino ’24, Johnny Mulcahy ’24, Ruskin Nohe-Moren ’25, Maddie Redpath ’22, and Mary Timmons ’25
INVOCATION Parker Diggory, Director of Religious and Spiritual Life
CALL TO CELEBRATION Welcome by Nancy W. Hamilton ’77, Chair of the Board of Trustees
INTERLUDE Celebration Original music by Carl Landa, choreographed by Erika Pujič Performed by: Annabelle Aber ’24, Eliza Abrams ’22, Leonie Aksyonov ’22, Caleb Ballantine ’25, Eliza Barba-Wheelock ’24, Julia Bresee ’23, Samantha Claussen ’23, Christina Convertito ’22, Ava D’Eon ’24, Libby Danielson ’23, Hannah Danziger ’23, Sydney Dietz ’22, Jacque Forman ’25, Elizabeth Frischling ’24, Olivia Furlong ’23, Sophia Grant ’22, Francesca Griffin ’23, Grace Horwitz ’25, Taylor Johnson ’22, Jaden Nemetz ’22, Isabella Pedulla ’23, Samantha Retell ’22, Valeria Santangelo ’22, Olivia Swink ’24, Dare Wedgeworth ’23, Kate Whatley ’23, Anabelle Williams ’22, and Xenia Zimmerman ’23 SKIDMORE COLLEGE, OCTOBER 16, 2021 | 3
ORDER OF EXERCISES (continued)
GREETINGS Jason Ohlberg, Associate Professor and Associate Chair, Dance Department, and Chair of the Faculty Executive Committee Issy Mejia ’23, Student Representative Amelia C. Clarke, Academic Administrative Assistant, Departments of Economics and Classics
REMARKS Lena Hill, Provost, Washington and Lee University Charles Johnson, Professor Emeritus of English, University of Washington Barbara Reyes-Conner
INVESTITURE OF THE PRESIDENT Nancy W. Hamilton
INAUGURAL ADDRESS Marc C. Conner
INTERLUDE Lift Ev’ry Voice and Sing Words by James Weldon Johnson Performed by Garland Nelson ’96
CHARGE TO THE COMMUNITY Nancy W. Hamilton
ALMA MATER The audience is requested to stand and join in singing the Alma Mater. Lyrics are presented on page 19. Words and music by Henry T. Moore, arranged by Evan Mack Conducted by Floydd Ricketts, coached by Michael Emery Performed by the Vocal Chamber Ensemble and the String Quartet: Joey Dugan ’22, Emma Lin ’22, Adam Warner ’22, and Zack Barnett ’24 RECESSIONAL The Schenectady Pipe Band The audience is requested to remain seated until the recession has left the auditorium.
4 | INAUGURAL CEREMONIES, PRESIDENT MARC C. CONNER
SKIDMORE FOUNDER AND PRESIDENTS
There would be no Skidmore College were it not for Lucy Skidmore Scribner, a frail lady with a will of iron who came to Saratoga Springs in 1900 to take the healing waters, fell in love with the charms of the unique resort town, and decided to remain. The daughter of a wealthy coal merchant and widow of publishing scion J. Blair Scribner, Lucy Scribner was almost 50 when she came to Saratoga. Deeply religious, inordinately shy, and physically restricted, she disliked frivolous parties and frowned on two of the most popular local entertainments and industries: horse racing and gambling. She decided to invest her inheritance in something more worthwhile: She would start a school where young women of the town could learn skills that would make them self-supporting. With the help of other civic-minded neighbors, Lucy Scribner created the Young Women’s Industrial Club of Saratoga Springs, whose first curriculum was a blend of practical courses in typewriting, bookkeeping, textile arts, physical education, and music and dance. Today we may snicker at the courses in sewing, shirtwaist making, and millinery, but these were among the few fields in which women could manage businesses, and those courses were embedded in a broader context of creative expression and aesthetic appreciation. By 1908, the industrial club had 436 students, male and female, many commuting from the surrounding towns and countryside.
Adapted from Such Growth Bespeaks the Work of Many Hands by Joseph C. Palamountain Jr., 1976.
SKIDMORE COLLEGE, OCTOBER 16, 2021 | 5
6 | INAUGURAL CEREMONIES, PRESIDENT MARC C. CONNER
A
n innovative leader of interdisciplinary academic programs, longtime advocate of diversity and inclusion initiatives, and a widely published professor of English, President Marc C. Conner joined Skidmore College after more than 24 years at Washington and Lee University in Virginia. From 2016 to 2020, he was the longest-serving provost and chief academic officer in Washington and Lee’s history. Conner led the university in reaffirmation of its accreditation, co-chaired its strategic planning process, and oversaw the revitalization of its law school. In 2007, he co-founded Washington and Lee’s African American studies program and was the program’s director until 2012. He also established Washington and Lee’s Office of Community-Based Learning and its Center for Teaching and Learning, created interdisciplinary programs in data science and law, and steered the university’s faculty recruitment, hiring, and retention diversity initiatives. Conner served as associate provost from 2013 to 2015, was chair of the English department, and held the Ballengee Chair of English. He joined Washington and Lee in 1996 as an assistant professor of English with specializations in American and African American literature. He has published extensively on modern American, African American, and Irish literature, and has also produced three lecture series for The Great Courses on Shakespeare and on Irish Literature. On July 1, 2020, Marc Conner became Skidmore’s eighth president. His first year in office coincided with the COVID-19 pandemic, and he successfully navigated Skidmore through the many educational, logistical, financial, and health-related challenges that the pandemic presented. Through his leadership, Skidmore opened the 2021-22 academic year with all faculty, staff, and students back on campus, and with Skidmore well poised for the future. In addition to presiding over the opening of the first phase of the Center for Integrated Sciences and the successful conclusion of the Creating Our Future campaign, President Conner has launched major initiatives for the College’s future, including the Campus Master Planning process, and Skidmore’s Racial Justice Initiative, a series of bold measures to ensure all members of the campus community feel welcome, represented, challenged, and supported in what he calls a Community of Trust. Conner attended the University of Washington, where he earned a B.A. in philosophy and a B.A. in English literature in 1989. He earned an M.A. and a Ph.D. in English literature in 1994 from Princeton University. Conner’s wife, Barbara Reyes-Conner, is an experienced professional in the field of special education with substantial experience working with individuals with intellectual disabilities. She has worked in multiple public schools and community organizations in the states of New Jersey, Indiana, and Virginia. Reyes-Conner holds a degree in sociology from Western Washington University, with a minor in psychology. For many years she worked for the community service board in Lexington, Virginia, where she managed group homes for adults with intellectual disabilities. Reyes-Conner played college softball and taught mixed martial arts fitness classes at the YMCA in Lexington in recent years. At Skidmore, she is particularly eager to explore ways to connect students with the community through volunteer and community service projects. President Conner and his wife have three sons, Matthew, Noah, and Isaac. Together, the family has all earned black belts in American freestyle karate.
SKIDMORE COLLEGE, OCTOBER 16, 2021 | 7
CHARLES HENRY KEYES 1912-1925 A well-known educator from Teachers College, Columbia University, Charles Henry Keyes became Skidmore’s first president in 1912. His vision and energy gave the school the momentum it needed to grow into something more than a hybrid college and vocational school. In 1922, Keyes fulfilled his avowed ambition of having the Skidmore School of Arts chartered as Skidmore College, a four-year degreegranting institution. In addition to developing a liberal arts curriculum that became the basis for Skidmore’s present curriculum, Keyes also pioneered the formation of a baccalaureate nursing program and began the more active shaping of a campus. By the time of his death in 1925, he had played a key role in acquiring several of the large Victorian homes overlooking Congress Park, which began to give the College a recognizable physical identity. The Keyes Quadrangle (Howe, Rounds, and Wait halls and Jonsson Tower) is named for him.
HENRY T. MOORE 1925-1957 Henry T. Moore became Skidmore’s second president in 1925, ready to take on the challenge of developing the young college, both academically and physically. Moore’s 32-year presidency brought Skidmore College to a position of leadership in women’s education. Under his tenure, academic programs were developed and refined, and an excellent faculty recruited. A library, an infirmary, residence halls, and dining halls were built, and other acquisitions allowed the College to grow further. Even more significant than his administrative and financial abilities was his influence on a generation of Skidmore students whom he inspired to intellectual and creative achievement. By his retirement in 1957, the young college had grown to an enrollment of more than 1,100. Moore Quadrangle (Kimball, Penfield, Wilmarth, and McClellan halls) is named in his honor, as was the six-story Moore Hall dormitory on Skidmore’s former downtown campus that was completed in 1957.
8 | INAUGURAL CEREMONIES, PRESIDENT MARC C. CONNER
VAL H. WILSON 1957-1964 Val H. Wilson became Skidmore’s third president in 1957. He concentrated on strengthening the faculty and academic programs, initiated inroads in the creation of interdepartmental offerings, and encouraged more and more students to enter graduate school. Under Wilson, Skidmore’s growth strained its campus at the seams. Enrollment had risen to 1,300, and many of the turn-of-the-century buildings were growing obsolete, requiring increased maintenance and renovation. The adequacy of the physical plant also was threatened by the loss of 50 acres of athletic fields as Interstate 87 worked its way northward. It was at this critical time in Skidmore’s history that the Board of Trustees decided to build a completely new campus on a 650-acre tract of land on North Broadway. By the time his tenure was cut short by his sudden death in 1964, Wilson saw construction begin on the Lucy Scribner Library and on the first residential and dining complex. Wilson Chapel, at the edge of North Woods, is named in his honor.
JOSEPH C. PALAMOUNTAIN JR. 1965-1987 Joseph C. Palamountain Jr., Skidmore’s fourth president, took office in 1965. A political scientist with a doctorate from Harvard, Palamountain came to Skidmore from Wesleyan University, where he was provost. He guided Skidmore through a period of dynamic growth and change. Under his leadership, the development of the College’s new physical plant progressed rapidly. Palamountain’s 22-year presidency was characterized by impressive growth in the academic and financial areas of the College. Skidmore experienced the doubling of the student body and major increases in applications; the near doubling of the faculty; the transition from a women’s college to a coeducational institution; and the creation of one of the first external degree programs in New York state, the University Without Walls. There were also two innovative curriculum changes and the chartering of a Phi Beta Kappa chapter during Palamountain’s presidency. The financial health of Skidmore was bolstered by growth in the endowment and in the College’s net worth, due in part to the launching of the $25 million Celebration Campaign in 1985. Palamountain Hall is named in his honor.
SKIDMORE COLLEGE, OCTOBER 16, 2021 | 9
DAVID H. PORTER 1987-1998 David H. Porter, the College’s fifth president, came to Skidmore in 1987 from Carleton College, where he taught classics and music. Early in his presidency, he established the Commission on the ’90s to help chart Skidmore’s course to the 21st century. The commission recommended new institutional priorities, with emphasis on enhancing the academic tone on campus, ensuring long-term financial stability, and promoting greater diversity within the campus community and curriculum. During the Porter presidency, Skidmore launched the Honors Forum, as well as a program of scholarships in science and mathematics, now named in his honor. The campus landscape changed dramatically during his tenure, as Skidmore renovated and expanded Scribner Library, constructed an outdoor athletic complex, built an addition to the Sports and Recreation Center, and expanded Dana Science Center. In 1993, Porter helped lead what was then the largest fundraising effort in Skidmore’s history, the Skidmore Journey: A Campaign for Our Second Century. The five-year campaign raised $86.5 million, substantially increasing the College endowment and providing funds for construction of the Tang Teaching Museum and Art Gallery. Following his term as president, he returned to the classroom, teaching at his alma mater, Princeton University, as well as Williams College, Indiana University, and Skidmore, where he served as the first Tisch Family Distinguished Professor. He retired in 2013 but remained an active scholar and contributor to the Skidmore community until his death in 2016. Porter Plaza, on the south side of Case Center, is named for him.
JAMIENNE S. STUDLEY 1999-2003 In 1999, Jamienne S. Studley became Skidmore’s sixth president and the first woman to hold that office. She was previously associate dean of Yale Law School and general counsel of the U.S. Department of Education. President Studley led a strategic planning process that established the College’s direction for the coming decade. The plan outlined three major goals: enhancing academic quality and faculty-student interaction; attracting and challenging an increasingly talented, motivated, and diverse student body; and strengthening the sense of community and citizenship across campus. During the Studley presidency, the College adopted a new core curriculum and expanded opportunities for international study. President Studley shepherded the renovation and expansion of Case Campus Center, the establishment of the Intercultural Center, and the completion of the Frances Young Tang Teaching Museum and Art Gallery.
10 | INAUGURAL CEREMONIES, PRESIDENT MARC C. CONNER
PHILIP A. GLOTZBACH 2003-2020 Philip A. Glotzbach served as the seventh president of Skidmore College from 2003 to 2020. During his 17-year tenure, he oversaw a wide range of initiatives that enhanced the College’s academic offerings and physical landscape. Major initiatives under his leadership included the transformation of Skidmore’s First-Year Experience program in 2005, the opening of new student housing options — Northwoods Village in 2006 and Sussman Village in 2013 — and the creation of the 54,000-square-foot Arthur Zankel Music Center in 2010. An articulate spokesperson on the issue of science literacy within a liberal arts education, he led the charge for exciting new initiatives in science education at Skidmore, most notably the construction of its Center for Integrated Sciences, the largest single academic project in the College’s history. In addition, significant investments in geothermal heating and cooling and solar energy have been tied to new construction and updates, adding to major strides in campus sustainability efforts. Glotzbach also made a strong commitment to improving access to a Skidmore education. During his tenure, the College’s financial aid budget quadrupled, growing from $15 million to more than $60 million, and admissions of domestic students of color, first-generation college students, and international students increased significantly. Glotzbach placed major emphasis on building and sustaining a campus educational community based on respect and a commitment to excellence. This work was guided by Engaged Liberal Learning: The Plan for Skidmore College 2005-2015 and Creating Pathways to Excellence: The Plan for Skidmore College 2015-2025. He also lectured on effective academic administration and the deep connection between liberal education and responsible citizenship. On the fundraising side, Glotzbach headed the two most ambitious fundraising campaigns in Skidmore’s history — Creative Thought, Bold Promise, which concluded in 2010 by raising $216.5 million, and Creating Our Future: The Campaign for Skidmore, which raised $229 million when it concluded on December 31, 2020.
SKIDMORE COLLEGE, OCTOBER 16, 2021 | 11
SKIDMORE INTERIM PRESIDENTS
At the Helm in a Time of Need SARAH GRIDLEY ROSS | 1925 Sarah Gridley Ross was Skidmore’s dean from 1915 to 1929. She taught sociology, helped shape academic policy, and oversaw social discipline. She organized a Red Cross branch on campus during the First World War and took a maternal interest in many students’ lives. When President Charles Henry Keyes died in January 1925, Dean Ross assumed the president’s duties for the rest of the academic year, including discussions with a representative of the Middle States Association, which would grant Skidmore accreditation that November. Ross left Skidmore for a position at the University of Wisconsin, but she visited the College many times, attending reunions up until her death in 1962. A residence hall on the downtown campus was named in her honor, and one of the apartments in the former Scribner Village bore her name.
JOSEPHINE YOUNG CASE | 1964-65 Josephine Young Case, novelist, poet, and educator, joined the Skidmore College Board of Trustees in 1938 and was its chair from 1960 to 1971. At Case’s first meeting as chair, new Trustee J. Erik Jonsson offered to buy the Woodlawn Estate as a site for a new campus. After considerable study and debate, the board decided to take the leap. In April 1964, before the first building on the new campus was completed, President Val Wilson suddenly died. “Jo” Case assumed the president’s duties until Joseph C. Palamountain Jr. took the helm in 1965. Case helped guide Skidmore through some of its most difficult times and major decisions. During the 15 months that she led the College and her many years on the Board of Trustees, she helped keep together the Skidmore of the past, build the Skidmore of today, and set high standards for the Skidmore of the future. The Case College Center was dedicated in her honor in 1974.
EDWIN M. MOSELEY | 1972 Edwin M. Moseley began his teaching career in 1937. He came to Skidmore in 1961 to assume the dual posts of professor of English and dean of the faculty. Moseley became the College’s first provost when that position was created in 1967. In the fall of 1972, President Palamountain suffered a heart attack; Dean Moseley stepped in as acting president. Palamountain would later say, “It is difficult to conceive of what Skidmore would have been without [Moseley’s] unique contributions.” Moseley “gave his all to the strengthening and support of the faculty,” Palamountain continued, viewing it “never as a collective noun but rather as a complex and potentially unstable mix of highly talented individuals requiring individual, sensitive, and creative concern and support.” Moseley relinquished his administrative duties in 1976 to teach full time. He died in December 1978. In 1979, the annual faculty research lecture (established in 1957) was named in his honor. 12 | INAUGURAL CEREMONIES, PRESIDENT MARC C. CONNER
DAVID W. MARCELL | 1983-84 David W. Marcell began his long association with Skidmore in 1964, when he joined the faculty as director of the American Studies Program. He led the program’s transition to department status in 1967 and remained its chair until 1977, when he assumed the office of college provost and vice president for academic affairs. Marcell served as acting president from November 1983 to April 1984, while President Joseph C. Palamountain took a sabbatical leave. During Marcell’s tenure, Skidmore completed the transitions to a new campus and to coeducation, underwent two major curricular overhauls, and weathered social tumult and a major financial crisis. He left in 1991 to become provost at Rollins College in Winter Park, Florida. He returned to Skidmore in 2001 as leadership gifts officer.
PHYLLIS A. ROTH | 1993, 1999 Phyllis A. Roth had a long and distinguished career at Skidmore. After joining the faculty in 1976, she served as coordinator of the Women’s Studies Program from 1983 to 1985, English Department chair from 1985 to 1989, and dean of the faculty from 1990 to 2000. While President Porter was on sabbatical in 1993, Dean Roth held the reins as acting president from January to August. During that time, she oversaw a $41.5 million bond issue that funded the renovation and expansion of the Lucy Scribner Library, Dana Science Center, and the Sports and Recreation Center. “It was a heady time,” Roth recalled, “especially to the end of enhancing the intellectual tone on campus and intellectual visibility of the College nationally, and of getting some necessary projects done, but it was tight times financially.” The College again turned to Roth in 1999, when President Porter retired and incoming president, Jamienne S. Studley, was still six months away from assuming office. As interim president from January to June, Roth and her staff worked to ease the transition for the incoming Studley, “husbanding our resources” and wrapping up ongoing projects. She died in 2012.
SUSAN KRESS | 2010-11 The long and impactful career of Susan Kress at Skidmore began in 1975, when she joined the College’s faculty. A distinguished teacher, literary scholar, and feminist, she was the first Skidmore professor appointed to the Class of 1948 Chair for Excellence in Teaching. She served as Skidmore’s vice president for academic affairs from 2006 to 2012. From November 1, 2010, to May 1, 2011, Kress was called upon to serve as acting president during the sabbatical of President Philip A. Glotzbach. During those six months, Kress kept the College’s key objectives and programs moving forward. In describing her role then, she said, “It is very important to keep our momentum going. When the president comes back from his leave, I want to report real progress on the initiatives of the strategic plan.” Throughout her time at Skidmore, she devoted her time and expertise to many College committees and new initiatives. Glotzbach described her as an exemplary “teacher-scholar-citizen.” Kress retired from Skidmore in spring 2012. Today, the Kress Family Fund for Creative Pedagogy, established by the colleagues, students, friends, and family of Susan Kress, now supports an annual award of $2,000 to a faculty member who proposes a new teaching venture. SKIDMORE COLLEGE, OCTOBER 16, 2021 | 13
THE PRESIDENTIAL MEDALLION
At its Commencement for 1987, Skidmore introduced a new element to its academic regalia — a presidential medallion and chain created in honor of then-retiring President Joseph C. Palamountain Jr. The piece was designed and fashioned by Earl Pardon, a world-renowned jeweler, who retired from the Skidmore faculty in 1989 after 38 years in the College’s Art Department.
In describing the piece, Pardon said he consciously departed from the more traditional and somber design of such medallions to create a work of “opulence, color, and richness” to complement the festivity of academic occasions. Each of the 52 rectangles of the chain is individually designed, using a variety of materials to make a “statement of color” — gold of various hues, silver with enamel, abalone shell, ebony, ivory, and semi-precious stones. Hanging from the chain is the presidential medallion, which bears an abstract “S.”
14 | INAUGURAL CEREMONIES, PRESIDENT MARC C. CONNER
ACADEMIC REGALIA Caps and Gowns The origins of the present-day cap, gown, and hood lie in traditions dating back 600 years. In the early years of European universities, the everyday dress of students and teachers was the garb of the cleric, academic pursuits being then the province of the church. Over the centuries, students at particular colleges came to adopt special colors to distinguish themselves, and gradually different colors came to be associated with certain ranks, degrees, and faculties. In 1895, a degree of standardization in academic costuming was reached in the United States by the Intercollegiate Commission, though many European universities continue to use distinctive caps and gowns differing from those worn in this country. Gowns are now customarily black, with a few noteworthy exceptions. Holders of the doctorate from Harvard may wear crimson gowns; Cornell, Princeton, Radcliffe, and Yale have distinct combinations of colors incorporated into their gowns. Skidmore’s trustees, in honor of the College colors, wear green gowns with yellow trim. Bachelor’s gowns, designed to be worn closed, have long, pointed sleeves and no adornment. Master’s gowns, also unadorned, may be worn open or closed and have oblong sleeves, open at the wrist. Doctor’s gowns have bell-shaped sleeves, may be worn open or closed, and are faced on the front with black velvet, which also appears in three bars on each sleeve. A President’s gown features four bars on each sleeve. The bachelor’s hood is three feet long, the master’s three and one-half feet, and the doctor’s four feet; the width of the velvet trimming on these hoods is two, three, and five inches. The color of the trim indicates the discipline in which the wearer’s highest degree was awarded, while the color combination in the lining indicates the institution from which the degree was earned. Skidmore graduates receiving the Bachelor of Arts degree wear hoods trimmed on the outside in white, the color signifying the arts. Those earning the Bachelor of Science degree have hoods with golden-yellow trim, representing the sciences. All graduates’ hoods are lined in yellow and white, Skidmore’s traditional colors; the hoods of trustees are also yellow and white. Caps are generally black and of the mortarboard type. Regalia of all degree levels may include black tassels, but holders of the doctorate and governing officials of colleges and universities may wear gold tassels. The Skidmore Honor Post The Skidmore Honor Post, upon which are inscribed the names of all the College’s presidents, serves as a symbolic link not only to Skidmore’s past, but also to the history of the land upon which the campus sits. One of the original four gateposts at the Third Street entrance to Judge Hilton’s grand Woodlawn Estate, this post was still standing as Skidmore began construction of its new campus in the early 1960’s. Through the combined efforts of College administrators, student-government leaders, and alumni supporters, the gatepost was restored and relocated to its current site near the Williamson Sports Center. In 1965, in a ceremony conducted by student officers of the College Government Association, the post was dedicated in honor of the presidents of Skidmore College. The dedication immediately followed the inauguration of Joseph C. Palamountain Jr. as Skidmore’s fourth president. Following the inauguration, which took place downtown, in the Convention Hall, near the old campus, President Palamountain, Trustee Josephine Young Case, and a group of students, alumni, and friends walked up Broadway to the site of the new campus for the dedication and unveiling of the Honor Post.
SKIDMORE COLLEGE, OCTOBER 16, 2021 | 15
SKIDMORE COLLEGE LEADERSHIP Board of Trustees
Life Trustees
Nancy W. Hamilton ’77, Chair
Barbara McIlveen Baldwin ’61 Rosemary Bourne ’60 Jean Bernhard Buttner Dale Owen Coxe ’64 Samuel W. Croll, III ’73 William P. Dake Joan Layng Dayton ’63 Judith Pick Eissner ’64 Penelope Dammann Foote ’63 Terry Thomas Fulmer ’76 Irving Harris John Humphrey Penelope Kaniclides ’59 Pauline Skogsberg Kisiel ’62 Elliott Masie W. Scott McGraw Levi Perry Sara Lubin Schupf ’62 Inez Zagoreos Scribner ’62 Oscar Tang Suzanne Corbet Thomas ’62 Wilma Stein Tisch ’48 Linda Toohey Edgar Wachenheim III Charles V. Wait Janet Lucas Whitman ’59
Jonathan P. Achenbaum ’77 Daniel M. Allen ’90 Harry L. Alverson ’73 Susan Gottlieb Beckerman ’67 Jonathan R. Brestoff Parker ’08 Bill Caleo ’99 M.L. Graeme Campbell ’98 Marc C. Conner Kalyan Das Alan E. Gilbert Katherine M. Gross Andrew Hughes ’92 Maxine Isaacs ’69 Linda Jackson-Chalmers ’73 William L. Ladd ’83 Maria P. Markowitz Jeffrey Maron ’84 Scott M. Martin ’79 Katherine McMillan ’13 John Melligon ’81 Barbara Kahn Moller ’78 Amy O’Leary ’92 Diana Perry ’89 Robert Resnick ’88 Kim Roy Tofalli ’80 Ann Schapps Schaffer ’62 Nigel Smith ’19 Millie Tan ’77 Julianne Cartwright Traylor ’68 Margaret K. Valentine Kim Wachenheim Wagman ’88 Tom Wilmot ’99 James Zankel ’92
Administrative Officers and Deans Mary Lou W. Bates, B.A. Vice President and Dean of Admissions and Financial Aid Adrian Bautista, Ph.D. Dean of Students and Vice President for Student Affairs Donna Ng, M.B.A. Vice President for Finance and Administration and Treasurer Diane C. O’Connor, B.A. Interim Vice President for Communications and Marketing Michael T. Orr, Ph.D. Dean of the Faculty and Vice President for Academic Affairs Joshua C. Woodfork, Ph.D. Vice President for Strategic Planning and Institutional Diversity Carey Anne Zucca, M.P.P.M. Collyer Vice President for Advancement
16 | INAUGURAL CEREMONIES, PRESIDENT MARC C. CONNER
Alumni Association Board of Directors
Presidential Search Committee
Robert Resnick ’88 President and Alumnus Trustee
Jonathan P. Achenbaum ’77, Co-chair Maxine Isaacs ’69, Co-chair
Angela Botiba ’15 Chair of Young Alumni and Undergraduate Outreach
Susan Gottlieb Beckerman ’67 Barbara Black Michael Forbes ’12 Sibyl Waterman Haley ’71 Nancy Hamilton ’77 Malchijah Hoskins ’22 David Howson Linda Jackson-Chalmers ’73 Scott Martin ’79 W. Scott McGraw Barbara Kahn Moller ’78 Corinne Moss-Racusin Bernardo Ramirez Rios Alicia Sandoval Vadillo ’20 Joshua Woodfork
M.L. Graeme Campbell ’98, Alumna Trustee Michael DeCarlen-Bumiller ’23, Student Representative Angela R. Foss ’82, Chair of Class Council Jennifer Hart ’82, Chair of Reunions Harold Herz ’89, Vice President for Strategic Communications Jennifer Cummings Hillery ’00, Chair of Nominating Katherine Horoschak ’84, Chair of Admissions Colleen Barber Hursh ’04, Chair of Regional Programming Jane Feinberg Karlin ’72, Chair of Presidents Society Romy Kushnick ’13, Chair of Young Alumni Giving Melvis N. Langyintuo ’12, Chair of Friends of Athletics
Parents Council Co-Chairs Alicia and Bob Wyckoff
Jeffrey Maron ’84, Alumnus Trustee
Student Government Association Officers
Neil I. McKinnon ’97, Chair of Diversity
Geraldine Santoso ’22, President
Dana Metes ’90, Chair of Awards
Nathaniel Lowell ’24, Executive Vice President
Justin Model ’91, Vice President for Programming
Claire Wang ’23, Vice President, Financial Affairs
Amy M. Munichiello ’94, Chair of Career Professional Development
Cresenciana Morales ’22, Vice President, Club Affairs
Amy O’Leary ’92, Alumna Trustee
Emilka Jansen ’24, Vice President, Academic Affairs
Olivia Rosenblum ’22, Student Representative
Melanie Nolan ’23 and Kimberly Nee ’23, Co-Vice Presidents, Inclusion and Outreach
Millie Tan ’77, Alumna Trustee
Mark Reyes ’22, Senior Class President
Anne Wargo ’89, Vice President for Alumni Giving and Chair of the Skidmore Fund
SKIDMORE COLLEGE, OCTOBER 16, 2021 | 17
INAUGURAL WORKING GROUPS Honorary Working Group
Operations Working Group
Marc C. Conner, President
Mike Sposili, Chair, Assistant Vice President for Alumni Relations and College Events
Mike Sposili, Chair, Assistant Vice President for Alumni Relations and College Events Jon Achenbaum ’77, Trustee Kate Grimes, Board Coordinator Nancy Hamilton ’77, Chair, Board of Trustees Maxine Isaacs ’69, Trustee Susan Koppi, Director of College Events Susan Kress, Professor Emerita and Former Vice President for Academic Affairs Issy Mejia ’23, Student Representative Jason Ohlberg, Associate Professor of Dance Michael Orr, Dean of Faculty and Vice President for Academic Affairs Austin Rook ’22, Student Representative Linda Toohey, Life Trustee and Former Board Chair Sarah Vero, Interim Director of Human Resources Winston Grady-Willis, Professor and Director, Black Studies Joshua Woodfork, Vice President for Strategic Planning and Institutional Diversity
18 | INAUGURAL CEREMONIES, PRESIDENT MARC C. CONNER
Ian Berry, Dayton Director and Professor of Liberal Studies, Tang Teaching Museum and Art Gallery Bonnie Bertrand, Manager, Catering and Special Events Shelley Joyce, Managing Director, Zankel Music Center Susan Koppi, Director of College Events Wendy LeBlanc, Director of Conferences and Events Megan Mercier, Director of Alumni and Volunteer Engagement Luke Meyers, Director of Marketing and Engagement Janis Petroski, Associate Director of Alumni Relations and College Events Jeanne Sisson, Special Assistant to the President
ALMA MATER Words and Music by Henry T. Moore President, Skidmore College 1925–57
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