|
|
|
< Return
to Presidential Search Page
To: The St. Lawrence Community
From: Donald K. Rose '64, Chair of the Board of Trustees
Date: November 20, 2008
Subject: St. Lawrence’s 18th President
With pride and pleasure, shared unanimously by the Presidential Search Committee and the Board of Trustees, I announce the election of Dr. William L. Fox ’75 as St. Lawrence’s 18th president. Bill Fox is president and senior lecturer of Culver-Stockton College in Canton, Missouri, a position he’s held since May 2003.
The Board of Trustees met this morning, and listened carefully to the thoughtful feedback from members of the campus community, from members of the Alumni Council, from regional leaders and alumni volunteers, and from those trustees who met Bill and Lynn Fox. The Foxes’ visit November 17-18 to campus affirmed the Search Committee’s belief that Bill Fox brings the perspective and experience to lead this institution. He will deepen his understanding of our culture and aspirations and he will invite the participation of all Laurentians in the journey ahead.
Bill’s status as an involved graduate of St. Lawrence provides him with a considered understanding of St. Lawrence’s history and traditions as well as its contemporary successes and challenges. He has accomplished significant scholarly work during his career, which has included teaching, higher education administration, ministry, and community service. At Culver-Stockton, Bill has demonstrated leadership in successfully bringing his campus out of a major crisis, when a devastating tornado struck campus in the first days of his presidency. He and Lynn led the community to physically rebuild and financially remodel Culver-Stockton. He has led the faculty in a new and innovative vision of the curriculum and has helped attract the resources that have moved Culver-Stockton up significantly in the regional college rankings. Such fundamental transformation has occurred in an atmosphere of mutual respect and admiration between the Foxes and the Culver-Stockton community. Over the past five years, the Foxes have developed a solid bond with their current small town community, a bond they hope to establish quickly with the Canton, New York, community. Finally, but very importantly, Bill has a considerate style of management that will serve the St. Lawrence community very well.
Bill received a Bachelor of Arts degree in history from St. Lawrence, a Master of Divinity degree from Harvard University in 1978, and a Ph.D. in American religious history from George Washington University in 1989. He has written and published on a variety of topics, including two books on the history of American Freemasons, the award-winning Valley of the Craftsmen (2001) and Lodge of the Double-Headed Eagle: Two Centuries of Scottish Rite Freemasonry (1999). His first book was a study of the Harvard theologian Willard L. Sperry (1991). His faculty experience includes an appointment at Howard University School of Divinity, service as associate professor of philosophy and history at Montgomery College in Maryland, and teaching history at Goucher College. He is currently president and senior lecturer in philosophy, religion, and history at Culver-Stockton College. While leading a church in California, he was adjunct professor of church history at the Claremont School of Theology and president of the Clinebell Institute, a counseling and training center for eastern Los Angeles County.
Ordained to the ministry in 1978 (currently affiliated with both the Unitarian-Universalist Association and the United Church of Christ), Fox led churches in metropolitan Boston, Washington, D.C., and Los Angeles. He entered college administration from his dual careers as teacher and pastor; from 1999 to 2003, Bill was a senior administrator at Goucher College in Baltimore, Maryland. In addition to supporting three presidents as special assistant, Fox functioned as a senior advancement officer, worked in academic affairs as associate dean for graduate and professional programs, and led the enrollment management division to two record-setting years. During his years at Goucher, he coordinated college strategic planning, was the administrative liaison to the Board of Trustees, and established a 40-member national board of visitors.
He is married to Lynn Smith Fox, a graduate of Smith College, and currently senior adviser to the Federal Reserve Board of Governors, who works remotely and will continue in that professional role. Their daughter Hallie is a student at Middlebury College.
The Foxes will join our community on July 1, 2009. I’m confident that they will enjoy a warm welcome from all members of our community. I wish to thank, on behalf of the Board of Trustees, the students, faculty, staff and alumni who served on the Search Committee. Their tireless work created an atmosphere of trust and integrity throughout the last year. Search Committee Chair Barry Phelps ’69, P’96, deserves special commendation for his inspired leadership. Serving on the committee with distinction were Trustee Chair Emeritus Larry Winston ’60, Trustee Jeff Boyd ’78, Trustee Karen Bruett ’66, Trustee Jo Ann Campbell ’86, Trustee Shel Johnson ’68, Trustee Patrick Martin ’75, Trustee Elinor Tatum ’93, Professor of Government Alan Draper, Associate Professor of Gender and Sexuality Studies R. Danielle Egan, Hayward Associate Professor of Physics Catherine Jahncke, President of the Thelomathesian Society John Pontius ’10, Kristen Bednar ’09, Alumni Executive Council Member Steve Todd ’92 and Vice President and Dean of Admissions and Financial Aid Terry Cowdrey. I also want to recognize two individuals who offered outstanding and tireless support to the Search Committee: Lisa Cania, Associate Vice President for University Relations, and Judy Chittenden, Search Administrative Assistant. |
