Lawrence Today magazine, Spring 2005
William O. Hochkammer, Jr., ’66, was elected chair of the Lawrence University
Board of Trustees, effective January 1, succeeding Jeffrey D. Riester, who
had served as chair since 2002 and continues as a trustee.
Hochkammer is an attorney and partner in the Detroit law firm of Honigman Miller
Schwartz and Cohn LLP and has been a Lawrence trustee since 1993, serving as
an alumnus trustee from 1993 to 1996 and as a term trustee since 1997. Most
recently, he has been vice chair and chair of the academic affairs committee
and also has served on the development committee, the committee on trustees,
and the audit subcommittee.
Succeeding Hochkammer as vice chair is Cyndy
Stiehl, C’89, a member of
the Board since 1992, who has been chair of the student affairs committee and
a member of the committee on trustees and of the academic affairs committee
and its subcommittee on the conservatory.
Both Hochkammer and Stiehl have been members of the executive committee of
the Board and will continue on it, by virtue of their new offices.
New
trustees who attended their first meeting in January are Peter R. Betzer, ’64 (left), a chemical oceanographer and dean of the College of Marine Science
at the University
of South Florida, and Cory L. Nettles, ’92 (right), a partner in the
Milwaukee law firm of Quarles & Brady LLP, who served from 2002 to 2004
as secretary of the Wisconsin Department of Commerce in the administration
of Governor Jim
Doyle.
The Board also elected Margaret Banta Humleker, ’41, and Harold
E. Jordan, ’72, as trustee emerita and emeritus, respectively.
Chairs of trustee committees for 2005 include Jeffrey Riester, committee on
trustees; Kim Hiett Jordan, ’58, development; Harry
M. Jansen Kraemer, Jr., ’77, academic affairs; Priscilla
Peterson Weaver, C’69, recruitment
and retention; Lewis C . Lofgren, student affairs; and Robert
C. Buchanan, ’62, finance. Richard L. Gunderson will be chair and J.
Terrence Frank, ’58, co-chair of the investment committee. William Hochkammer also chairs the executive
committee.
At its October meeting, the Board agreed to remove the distinction between
alumni trustees and term trustees. At the same time as the Board adopts this
bylaw amendment, it will also add a requirement that at least 60 percent of
the trustees must be alumni of Lawrence. Until this change, some trustees — who,
by definition, were required to be alumni — were elected to four-year
terms as alumni trustees. Alumni trustees are not eligible for re-election
for at least a year after term expiration. Term trustees are elected to three-year
terms and are immediately eligible for re-election.
“The effect,” says Hochkammer, “was to suggest distinctions
among trustees that were not beneficial; in addition, there was concern that
the
contributions of some trustees might be limited by the expectation of relatively
short service.
“The distinction among trustees was artificial and was not necessary
to assure alumni participation on the Board,” Hochkammer says. “In
fact, alumni membership on the Board currently stands at more than 80 percent.
Some
of those members are alumni trustees and some are term trustees, and it seemed
to make sense to erase the distinction.
“The goal,” he adds, “is to encourage all new trustees to
become effective and develop into leadership positions as quickly as possible.”
Current alumni trustees will serve out their terms, but no further alumni trustees
will be elected. Henceforth, all trustees will be term trustees.