The Board of Trustees welcomed new members Robert Campbell ’66, Amy Falls ’82 and Steven Ho ’74 this past week. Campbell and Falls will serve six-year terms as Charter Trustees and Ho will serve a two-year term as an Alumni Trustee. Their terms will begin on July 1. Based on their interests, Oscar Tang ’56, President of the Board of Trustees, will appoint the three to various subcommittees of the Board of Trustees in August. Campell and Falls, the two new Charter Trustees, have both been involved with Andover in various capacities. Campbell has volunteered extensively, serving on the Alumni Council and Gelb Advisory Committee. Currently, he is a member of the Campaign Steering Committee and a co-chair of the Financial Aid Task Force. Before departing for a position at Rockefeller University, Falls served for six years as Phillips Academy’s first Chief Investment Officer (CIO). Falls has also been involved at Andover in other ways, serving on the Advisory Board of the Institute for the Recruitment of Teachers, the Board of Trustees’ Finance Committee and the Andover Development Board. Nancy Jeton, Special Assistant to the Head of School, said, “Falls has a deep and broad knowledge of the school’s finances, and members of the Board have worked very closely with her. They had a chance to see her in action.” Falls also currently chairs the investment committees of the Boards of the Brearley School and the Diller-Quaile School of Music, both in New York City. Charter Trustees are responsible for nominating and selecting new members. Generally, the Charter Trustees draft and vote on a list of potential candidates, some of whom may not even be aware that they are being considered. Like Campell and Falls, Ho has volunteered for the school in multiple capacities, having served on the Alumni Council, the Alumni Parent Committee and as the Co-Chair of the Alumni Parent Fund. There are a total of six Alumni Trustees, four of which are elected to four-year terms from all living alumni of Phillips Academy. Ho, who has served a year as Co-Chair of the Annual Giving Board (AGB), is due to spend his final two years as co-chair simultaneously serving as an Alumni Trustee. Ho said, “Getting involved as a volunteer was a natural consequence of becoming an Andover parent – albeit with prodding from peers from the Class of 1974.” “My wife and I owe a debt of gratitude to Andover for having our three children experience this wonderful place and receive the education that is offered here. When our eldest daughter first arrived at Nathan Hale, it brought back many memories of my time here of growing up and the friendships with students and faculty,” continued Ho. Ho believes that his volunteer activities for Andover have given him the opportunity to re-connect with his peers and to meet and make new friends with many alumni, faculty and administrators at PA. Ho is especially looking forward to working with other trustees. Ho said, “The trustees are a remarkable group of individuals from all over the world with diverse experiences and expertise who are very dedicated to the institution. To have the opportunity to be involved with these individuals for this great cause at this particular time will be an incredible experience.” Mary-Ann Somers ’82, the other Co-Chair of AGB, is finishing her term as trustee this year. The remaining two Alumni Trustees, a Co-Chair of AGB and the President of the Alumni Council, are named differently. The co-chair is usually selected from one of the volunteers who have worked very closely with AGB, and the Alumni Council elects its own president. According to Jeton, the Financial Aid Task Force defines the case statement for raising $60 million worth of financial aid endowment and helps other alumni understand the need for financial aid. The Board of Trustees will next convene at the beginning of November. Jeton said, “The trustees typically use their fall meeting to step back a little and evaluate how the school’s doing. As the stewards of this school, they really want to keep their fingers on the pulse and have a sense of how things are going and where they can be helpful.” The number of Charter Trustees on the Board is determined by the trustee by-laws, which the Board voted last year to change from 15 to 17. One of the two newly created seats went to Chien Lee ’71, who was named to the Board last year, leaving one vacant seat. The upcoming departure of Stanley Shuman ’52 will result in an additional Charter Trustee vacancy. According to Jeton, the Board waited to fill the newly created additional seat because the trustees wanted time to discuss in more depth the composition of the Board, hoping to better balance factors such as age, geography and professional skills.
