New College President Is Appointed

By Cheryl Keffer, Kent County News Staff Writer

Kent County News, February 26, 2004 — As the snow melted on the historic brick sidewalks of Washington College, a new season began that will change not only the campus vegetation, but also the administration. Baird Tipson, president of Wittenberg University in Springfield, Ohio, was appointed Feb. 21 by the Board of Visitors and Governors to be Washington College's 26th president. Tipson, 60, was chosen from four finalists who visited the college in January and February, hold-ing open forums, speaking and meeting with various members of the college community.

A self-proclaimed “obsessive gardener,” Tipson first visited the campus on Feb. 4, while the grounds were still covered with a layer of wintry precipitation.

“It's a bit slushy right now,” Tipson said with a laugh, when asked what he thought of the college grounds at an all-campus forum that day.

He went on to speak favorably of the “attractive location” of Washington College and the suc-cessful blending of the college's buildings within the Chestertown community, which he saw both on tours with college officials and during his daily jog.

During his eight years as president and professor of religion at Wittenberg, Tipson and his wife, Sarah were involved extensively in the Springfield community, something they plan to do upon moving to Chestertown.

“We have a lot to learn about Chestertown,” he said. “With the size of the town, we can only imagine the impact Washington College has on the community.”

His presidential accomplishments at the liberal arts college of approximately 2,000 students, comparable to Washington College's current enrollment of approximately 1,400, included significant investments in information technology, the construction of a humanities complex and a major addition to the science center.

Under Tipson's direction, Wittenberg completed a $75 million campaign, which quadrupled the school's previous campaign record.

Before Wittenberg, Tipson served as provost at Gettysburg College for eight years and was associate dean at Central Michigan University for nine years.

Tipson earned his Bachelor's Degree in religion and history at Princeton University and his Ph.D. in religious studies at Yale University, “two very old, well-respected private research” colleges, he said.

“Almost 40 years later I am still drawing on what I learned there,” Tipson said.

His college experience, combined with his career in academia, made Tipson an excellent choice for the position of president at Washington College according to Tuck Maddux, trustee and chair of the presidential screening committee, which reviewed 135 nominees during the eight-month presidential search.

“In Baird Tipson we found a proven leader and true champion of the liberal arts,” said Maddux in a Feb. 21 press release.

Tipson was “overjoyed” when he got the call, he said in a candid phone interview from Baltimore-Washington International Airport, Saturday.

“Before I left on Feb. 6, I had a final interview with Tuck Maddux and Jack Griswold. I explained that we couldn't let ourselves get too attached (to the college), since there were other candidates, but we had a really hard time doing that,” said Tipson.

He and his wife loved Chestertown and the small-town environment and have made the “right decision,” he said. “It feels really good to be coming to Chestertown – part of me would like to start tomorrow,” Tipson said with a laugh. “But we do have strong feelings and emotional ties at Wittenberg. It will be difficult saying goodbye, but I think it's better to leave when people are sorry to see you go, not when they're relieved.”

The Tipsons have family up and down the East Coast, including two grown children, so the move to Maryland “makes us closer to our families, which is very important to us,” said Tipson. “We're very happy. We loved our time in Ohio and even in Michigan, but we felt the same kind of pull to the east.”

Tipson said he didn't see the need to make dramatic changes from what was happening at the college, but was ready for one more challenge before he retired.

“I feel in good physical health and I hope I still have the mental capacity,” he said with a laugh. “I am willing to make a commitment to (Washington College) – I hope to give nine years at the same energy level and dedication that I gave Wittenberg.

“When I was in Chestertown, I felt a new surge of energy – I'm pumped.”

Potential goals for the college were discussed at the all-campus forum Feb. 4, including increasing diversity, the future of the school library, arts facilities upgrades, and differentiating Washington College from other schools in the Centennial Conference.

Chair of the Board of Visitors and Governors Jack S. Griswold said in a letter to the Washington College community, that Tipson “will build upon the unparalleled success the college has enjoyed during John Toll's presidency and will provide leadership for the college as we move to define and secure our future.”

Tipson will begin his job as president July 1, with inauguration in October. John S. Toll's presi-dency will end June 30, but he will be on hand as president emeritus for another year.

Toll, 80, announced his retirement last June, after nine years as president of Washington College.

“I am pleased to hand the leadership of Washington College over to such an eminently qualified individual,” Toll stated in the college press release. “I applaud the extraordinary efforts of the search committee and stand ready to ensure a smooth transition for Baird Tipson.”

Cheryl McDaniel Keffer is a 2001 graduate of Washington College.

Three Alumni Join Washington College Board

Chestertown, MD, February 11, 2004 — Washington College's Board of Visitors and Governors has announced the appointment of three new alumni trustees: Thomas Crouse, Class of 1959, appointed through the Alumni Council; Edward Nordberg, Class of 1982, appointed by Maryland Governor Robert Ehrlich in accordance with the College charter; and H. Lawrence Culp, Jr., Class of 1985, appointed by the Board. Nordberg will serve a full six-year term, and Crouse and Culp will serve five years, replacing outgoing Trustees John Flato '69 and Libby Cater Halaby H'90.

Thomas C. Crouse '59, is chairman and founder of CIG International, LLC, a venture capital and investment firm headquartered in Washington, DC, with regional offices in New York, Chicago and Orlando. Prior to establishing CIG in 1985, Crouse worked for Citibank for 15 years, 10 of which he spent in Tokyo, Hong Kong and Jakarta. After an additional six years with a West Coast Bank and DC-based trading company, Crouse launched the venture that became CIG. He holds an MBA from Columbia University.

For Crouse, Washington College is a family affair, the college of his father, sister and several aunts and uncles. As an undergraduate, he was a member of Kappa Alpha Order, ODK, a track star, and the Clark-Porter Medal winner his senior year. Over the past several years, he has played increasingly important leadership roles. Serving as 40th Reunion Chair with classmate Ellen Reilly, he generated record levels of class giving that paid for the restoration of Norman James Theatre. He served as the first Chair of the Visiting Committee, is a member of the Milestone Council and the Greater Washington, DC, Campaign Cabinet, and this year serves on his 45th Reunion Committee. He and his wife, Kay, reside in Washington, DC.

After graduating from Washington College in 1982, Ed Nordberg continued his education and received an MBA from Loyola College in 1985 and a J.D. from Georgetown University in 1989. Formerly an attorney with the Washington, DC, firm of Williams & Connolly, he co-founded Health Care Financial Partners in 1993, serving as Executive Vice President, Chief Financial Officer, and a Corporate Director. In 1999, Health Care Financial Partners was sold and Nordberg went on to co-found Medical Office Properties, Inc., a real estate investment trust, where he currently serves as the Chief Executive Officer.

During his career at Washington College, Nordberg was a member of the lacrosse team and president of the senior class. Before joining the College's Board, he served on the College's Visiting Committee. He is also a member of the 1782 Society and Milestone Council and has made a leadership gift to the lacrosse endowment and established a scholarship that honors his grandmother, Helen Adams.

Nordberg is active in community service and is currently Chairman of the Board of Directors of the National Advisory Board for Rebuilding Together, a non-profit organization dedicated to improving the living conditions of low-income, elderly and disabled individuals. He also is a supporter of the Tewaaraton Trophy, which is given each year by the University Club of Washington, DC, to the most accomplished men's and women's collegiate lacrosse players. He and his wife, Carolyn, and daughter Charlotte, reside in Washington, DC, and in Easton, MD.

Larry Culp is a 1985 graduate of Washington College and received his MBA from Harvard Business School in 1990. While at Washington College, Culp was a member of the Kappa Alpha Order. Since May 2001, Culp has served as President and CEO of Danaher, a Fortune 500 company with a $14 billion market capitalization that is a world leader in the development and manufacture of process and environmental instrumentation, electronic test equipment, precision motion controls, product identification systems and medical technology. Culp is credited with developing the successful Danaher Business System (DBS) philosophy and management process that guides the Danaher group of companies.

In 1990, Culp joined Danaher subsidiary Veeder-Root and progressed to Vice President-Marketing and Sales before being appointed President in April 1993. In 1995, he was appointed Danaher Group Executive and Corporate Officer, overseeing Danaher's Environmental and Electronic Test and Measurement divisions. In 1999, he was appointed Executive Vice President of Danaher and in 2001 CEO. Culp is also a member of the Board of Directors of GlaxoSmithKline. He and his wife, Wendy, have three children and live in McLean, VA. “Tom, Ed, and Larry are highly talented, highly motivated individuals whose energy and ideas will be essential as we guide this College into the twenty-first century,” said Jay Griswold, Chairman of the Board of Visitors and Governors. “I welcome them back to their alma mater and greatly look forward to working with them.”

Development and Alumni Relations Welcome New Director Of Major Gifts & Assistant Director of Alumni Relations

Chestertown, MD, December 22, 2003 — The Washington College Office of Development and Alumni and Parent Relations has announced the appointment of two new staffers this December. E. Deal Tompkins will join the department as Director of Major Gifts and alumnus Gehrett W. Ellis '93 assumes the position of Assistant Director of Alumni & Parent Relations.

Tompkins is a graduate of Randolph-Macon College in Ashland, VA, and has done extensive masters program work at the University of Virginia in Charlottesville. He currently resides in Roanoke, VA, and will relocate to the Chestertown area.

Bill MacIntosh, Vice President for Development and Alumni and Parent Relations, noted that Tompkins' 30 years of experience in higher education, especially his extensive development activities at small liberal arts colleges, will boost the College's advancement efforts in the area of major gifts.

“Deal brings a broad professional background to our Development Office, ranging from admissions to planned giving and major gifts,” said MacIntosh. “We very much look forward to working with him and to his future successes here.”

After earning his B.A. in psychology from Randolph-Macon College, Tompkins started his academic career as a teacher in Roanoke, VA, followed by positions in admissions at Randolph-Macon. Following a five-year stint as owner and president of the family's hardware business, he began in earnest his higher education fundraising experience with planned giving and capital and planned gifts positions at Randolph-Macon and later at Sweet Briar College. His responsibilities at Washington College will include the identification, cultivation and solicitation of major gifts prospects, providing stewardship to this constituency, managing a significant portfolio of major donors, devising development strategies for prospects and current major donors, and working closely with the other senior members of the Development Office. He starts in February 2004.

In addition to Tompkins, alumnus Gehrett W. Ellis '93 has been welcomed to the WC Development team as the Assistant Director of Alumni & Parent Relations.

“I know he is very eager to work for Washington College at this time and he will be a welcomed addition to our office,” said Eleanor Shriver Magee '93, Director of Alumni & Parent Relations.

Ellis earned a B.A. in humanities from Washington College in 1993, graduating with departmental honors and achieving honors on his thesis. At graduation, he received the Clark-Porter Medal, awarded annually by the faculty to the senior whose character and personal integrity have most clearly enhanced the quality of campus life. As a student-leader, he served on the Student Conduct Council, the Senior Class Gift Committee, and was a member of The Elm staff. Upon completing graduate work at the University of East Anglia in Norwich, England, Ellis began a successful career in the technology/internet industry and served as project and product manager for companies in Washington, DC, and Philadelphia, where he worked for CDNow, the former number one online music retailer. In addition, Ellis has done considerable volunteer work, fundraising and publicity for the creative and fine arts community of Philadelphia. Most recently, Ellis lived in England pursuing interests outside of the technology/internet industry. Ellis' duties will include organizing and managing the College's phonathon, overseeing the matching gift program, event planning, and constituent relations. He assumes his duties in January 2004.

“I welcome both Deal and Gehrett to our team,” said MacIntosh. “They join Washington College at a very exciting time, and their energy and efforts will greatly contribute to the unprecedented growth we are experiencing.”

Eleanor Shriver Magee '93 Appointed To Head Alumni Office

Chestertown, MD, July 8, 2003 —Washington College's Office of Development and Alumni and Parent Relations announced Wednesday, July 2, the appointment of Eleanor Shriver Magee as the new Alumni Director for the College. Magee, a 1993 graduate of Washington College, has served as the Head Women's Lacrosse and Soccer Coach since 1997. She will begin her new position July 17, 2003.
“Eleanor brings her love of this school to the position, as well as energy, enthusiasm, creativity and fundraising experience,” said Bill MacIntosh, Vice President for Development and Alumni and Parent Relations. “We look forward to working and brainstorming with her as we develop new programs to reach out to our alumni and reaffirm their connections to Washington College.”
Magee, who holds a Masters in Education from Goucher College and is a 2005 candidate for a Doctor of Education from Wilmington College (DE), has been deeply involved in women's athletics over the past decade. She has served as a director at Camp Four Winds for girls in Sargentville, ME; assistant coach for women's field hockey and lacrosse at Kenyon College (1993-1994); head women's lacrosse and volleyball coach at Alfred University (1994-1996); and assistant women's lacrosse coach at Loyola College (1996-1997). In the fall of 1997, Magee returned to her alma mater to coach women's lacrosse and the fledgling varsity women's soccer team. In six seasons of coaching lacrosse, Magee posted a record of 60-43; her 60 wins stand as the most ever by a women's lacrosse coach at the College. Under her guidance, the Shorewomen have reached each of the first three Centennial Conference Playoffs in 2001, 2002 and 2003, and in 2000 and 2003, she led them to the ECAC South Championship Game.
Magee also has been instrumental in raising funds for the College's lacrosse endowment and has served on the Executive Committee of the 1782 Society, the College's signature giving club, for the past three years.
“Working for your alma mater is simply the tops,” she said. “It is very easy for me to convey to a future student—and now to alumni—all the great aspects of Washington College because I lived the experience.”
Magee credits Washington College's small, intimate setting with encouraging the spirit of involvement she loved as a student and wants to continue to foster as Alumni Director.
“What I loved about WC as a student was being able to do many things in addition to academics, such as student government and sports. The way the College was always supportive of my interests is something I have never forgotten.” Although she will miss her days of coaching, she looks forward to the challenges and opportunities of her new position.
“First I want to say thank you to Athletic Director Bryan Matthews for giving me the chance to come back and coach here. It has been a blessing for me to work with all the staff of the Athletic Department to develop two teams. Additionally, I hope to remain interactive with current students. Coaching allowed that and I feel that remaining involved with current students will help develop the student-to-college relationship that will last a lifetime.”
Magee and her husband, Jack, live in Centreville, MD.

Washington College Welcomes New Faculty For The 2002-2003 Academic Year

Chestertown, MD, August 30, 2002 — As Washington College welcomes 390 incoming freshmen and transfer students, the College is joined by 18 new faculty members for the 2002-2003 academic year, including seven new faculty appointments for tenure-track professorships in economics and environmental studies, mathematics, foreign languages, political science and international studies, biology, and business management.

To tenure-track positions, the College welcomes the following professors this year: Robert Dawson (Ph.D. candidate at Virginia Polytechnic Institute and State University), instructor in economics and environmental studies; Michael McLendon (Ph.D., University of Iowa), assistant professor of mathematics; Lisa Noetzel (Ph D., The Pennsylvania State University), assistant professor of Spanish; Andrew Oros (Ph. D., Columbia University), assistant professor of political science and international studies; Scott Rawls (Ph.D., East Carolina University School of Medicine), assistant professor of biology; Karen Senecal (C.P.A., MBA from the University of Texas at Arlington), assistant professor of accounting; and Susan Vowels (MBA, University of Delaware), assistant professor of business management.

In the physics department, Dr. Karl Kehm (Ph.D., Washington University) has been appointed to a three-year position as assistant professor of earth and planetary science.

Our visiting professors for the 2002-2003 academic year are Sheila Barry, visiting assistant professor of psychology; Kathleen Guidroz, visiting assistant professor of sociology; Lynn Mahaffy, visiting assistant professor of biology; Jennifer O'Neill, visiting assistant professor of art; and Michael Ruscio, visiting assistant professor of psychology.

The College also welcomes the following lecturers: Susan Dorsey, education; Carolyn Becker, Spanish; Christopher Chlumsky and Michael Strauss, music; Renee Zhiyin Dong, Chinese; René Hayden, history; Barbara Romaine, Arabic; and Polly Kuulei Sommerfeld, drama.

The C. V. Starr Center for the Study of the American Experience is joined this year by its first visiting fellow, Adam Goodheart. Dr. Michelle Johnson also has joined the College as Field Experience Coordinator for Elementary Education.

"Adding to our faculty resources and maintaining teaching excellence are fundamental goals at Washington College," said Dr. Joachim Scholz, provost and dean of the College. "We continue to attract highly-motivated students, and bringing new faculty and new courses on-line—such as a foreign language course in Arabic and physics' courses in earth and planetary science—helps to expand our students' curricular choices."

Washington College Welcomes New Faculty and Second Largest Freshman Class

Chestertown, MD, September 5, 2001 — As Washington College welcomes its second largest class of incoming freshman and transfer students—numbering 384 students—the College is joined by 26 new faculty members for the Fall 2001 semester, including five new faculty hired for tenure-track professorships in psychology, business management, French, computer science and philosophy.

For tenure-track positions, the College welcomes the following professors this year: Katherine Cameron (Ph.D. University of California), assistant professor of psychology; James Falter (D.A.B., Nova Southeastern University), assistant professor of business management; Pamela Pears (Ph.D., University of Pittsburgh), assistant professor of French; Roseanne Tesoriero (Ph.D., University of Maryland), assistant professor of computer science; and Peter Weigel (Ph.D., Yale University), assistant professor of philosophy.

Visiting professors for the 2001-2002 academic year are Bonnie Ryan, Jessie Ball duPont Scholar in the department of sociology and anthropology; Hongyan Xiao, visiting assistant professor of political science; Jill MacDougall, visiting assistant professor of drama while Professor Timothy Maloney is on leave during Fall 2001; and John Doherty, visiting assistant professor of biology.

Washington College also welcomes Barbaranne Mocella and Scott Woolever, lecturers in art; Matthew Johnson and Joe Matanoski, lecturers in biology; Robb MacFarlane, lecturer in business management; Barbara Creegan, lecturer in chemistry; Michele Volansky, lecturer in drama; Andrew Hill, instructor in economics; Judith Goodman and Edward J. Silver, lecturers in education; Enid Larrimore and Kimberly Middleton, lecturers in foreign languages; George Vrtis, lecturer in history; Dr. Jean-Louis Marchand, lecturer in psychology; Kenneth Schweitzer, lecturer in music; Tara E. Kent, instructor in sociology; and Deborah Taub, lecturer in sociology and anthropology.

"With our second largest incoming class in the College's history, the demands on our faculty have never been greater," said Dr. John S. Toll, president of the College. "With new faculty adding to our resources, I have no doubt that our students will have the close attention and teaching excellence that is our fundamental value at Washington College."