Peter Currie ’74 will replace Oscar Tang ’56 as Phillips Academy’s 28th President of the Board of Trustees in July 2012 after being elected this past weekend. Because of the self-imposed age limit on the Board of Trustees, Tang will leave the presidency when he turns 75. Currie will spend the next months meeting with authority figures on campus in preparation for his tenure as Board President. “Currie will work closely with Tang and Barbara Landis Chase, Head of School, to prepare for his new role,” said a press release from the Office of Communications. Nancy Jeton, Special Assistant to the Head of School, said, “He’s the face of the academy to many people. The person who serves as president of the board has a larger ambassadorial role than most trustees. He goes on the road with Mrs. Chase to alumni events, they do a webcast together [and] this week after the board meeting, he’ll write a letter to the faculty.” Currie has served as Chair of the Finance Committee and as a member of the Andover Development Board and the Gelb Science Center Advisory Committee. Currie has also volunteered on the Campaign for Andover and the Capital Campaign and has contributed to the Gelb Science Center, the Addison Gallery, student scholarships and the Andover Fund. As chair of the Finance Committee, Currie worked closely with Steve Carter, Chief Operating and Financial Officer, and other senior Phillips Academy administrators to manage the budget. According to the press release, Currie’s work included creating protocols for “financial reporting and modeling, and components such as tuition, compensation, annual renewal and capital projects.” “His advice and counsel was particularly important as Andover skillfully and strategically navigated the 2008-2009 global economic crisis and subsequent recovery,” the press release said. Beyond his responsibilities as Chair of the Finance Committee and member of various organizations, Currie also had basic responsibilities as a Charter Trustee. Charter trustees are the set of trustees who elect the Head of School and the President of the Board of Trustees. They serve six-year terms but can serve multiple terms on the Board. As president, Currie will continue with his responsibilities as a Charter Trustee and will take on new ones. Formally, he will be able to grant a three-year extension to six-year charter trustee terms. As President of the Board, Currie will serve as voice of the board, communicate with Head of School Barbara Chase and help lead fundraisers. He will also oversee the Board of Trustees as it makes the financial decisions for the school and decides how to distribute Phillips Academy’s resources between different initiatives. He will be responsible for appointing committee heads and developing new leadership on the board. Jeton said, “Like all good boards, there’s something called succession planning so that people have chance to serve as chairs of important committees and see them in action.”
