Seven new trustees elected during SU Board of Trustees annual meeting; Chapple named chair elect

Seven new trustees elected during SU Board of Trustees annual meeting; Chapple named chair electMay 23, 2007SU News ServicesSUnews@syr.edu

Seven individuals were elected voting members of the Syracuse University Board of Trustees during the board’s annual meeting May 12, and John H. Chapple ’75 was named chair-elect of the board. Additionally, four trustees were granted emeritus status.

The new trustees are Robert E. Dineen, Jr. L’66; James D. Kuhn 70, G’72; Arthur Liu G’66; the Hon. Theodore A. McKee L’75, Judith C. Mower ’66, G’73, G’80, G’84; Howard G. Phanstiel ’70, G’71 and Thomas C. Wilmot Sr. ’70.

Chapple, president of Hawkeye Investments and former chairman, CEO and president of Nextel Partners Inc., is board chair-elect. Chapple joins the board officers after serving on the board’s Executive, Budget and Institutional Advancement committees; he will succeed John A. Couri ’63 upon completion of Couri’s term as board chair.

Additionally, Charles W. Beach ’58, G’68; Wendy H. Cohen ’70, H’02; and Susan C. Penny ’70 — all of whom completed their four-year terms as voting members of the board — were elected emeritus trustees, and H. Douglas Barclay L’61, a member of the board from 1979-2003 and chair of the board from 1992-98, was also elected an emeritus trustee.

Outgoing Alumni Association President Neil Gold ’70 completed his ex officio term as a voting member. He will be replaced by Alumni Association President-elect Walter J. Bobkiewicz G’89.

Dineen, one of two new alumni trustees, is a senior partner at Shearman and Sterling LLC in New York City. For more than 30 years, Dineen has focused his expertise on domestic and international private banking and financial transactions, including equipment and project financing. In addition to his professional commitments, Dineen continues to remain active with the College of Law, serving on its board of advisors.

Kuhn, the second new alumni trustee, is principal and president of Newmark Knight Frank (formerly Newmark & Co.), where he founded Newmark Knight Frank’s Capital Group, a division providing management and advisory services for corporate and institutional clients. In addition to serving on the Whitman School of Management’s Board of Advisors, he established the James D. Kuhn Real Estate Center at the Whitman School, as well as the Leo and Sunnie Kuhn Scholarship for Entrepreneurial Studies.

Liu is president and CEO of Multicultural Radio Broadcasting Inc. based in New York. A native of China and longtime resident of Taiwan, Liu graduated from the S.I. Newhouse School of Public Communications with a master’s degree in television-radio. He then built a media company that today includes more than 30 radio stations, three cable networks and a weekly publication. In 2001, the American Advertising Federation named Liu an inaugural honoree of its Mosaic Awards. The awards were created to recognize industry trailblazers who have contributed significantly to the evolution of multicultural marketing and advertising, as well as celebrating extraordinary achievements in diversity. In New York, Liu is a trustee with the Asia Society and director of the Liu Foundation; at SU, he serves on the Newhouse Advisory Board.

McKee, a graduate of the Syracuse University College of Law, is a judge on the U.S. Court of Appeals for the Third Circuit in Philadelphia. Previous to his appointment to the federal bench by President Bill Clinton, McKee was a judge for more than 10 years with Pennsylvania’s trial and orphans’ court divisions. McKee taught a trial advocacy course at Rutgers College of Law from 1980-91. From Rutgers, he received the May Philbrook Public Interest Award in 2005, and he has also received an honorary doctorate from the State University of New York. Since 2004, McKee has served as an honorary member of the College of Law’s Board of Advisors; in 2000, he delivered the College of Law Commencement address. In Philadelphia, McKee serves as a trustee for Temple University and the Vera Institute of Justice, and he is on the board of advisors for City Year Greater Philadelphia and the Edna McConnell Clark Foundation.

Mower, who received degrees from SU’s College of Arts and Sciences, School of Education and Maxwell School of Citizenship and Public Affairs, is president of J.C. Mower Consultants in Syracuse and also serves as an adjunct professor at SU. At SU, Mower served as a member of the Library Associates Board for 14 years. In Syracuse, she actively serves on the boards of the Rosamond Gifford Foundation (chair), Parks and Trails New York, the Women’s Fund of CNY, FOCUS Greater Syracuse, 20/20 and Success by Six. She is a former board member of Leadership Greater Syracuse and Syracuse Stage. In 1989, Mower was honored by the Syracuse Post-Standard with a Woman of Achievement Award. She has also received the Fundraiser of the Year Award from the National Society of Fundraising Executives and leadership awards from Girls Inc., the InterReligious Council, the Central New York Girl Scouts and the Vera House Foundation.

Phanstiel is CEO of Phanstiel Enterprises LLC in Los Angeles and is the retired chair, CEO and president of PacifiCare Health Systems. Prior to joining PacifiCare, Phanstiel was chairman and CEO of ARV Assisted Living Inc. of Costa Mesa, Calif., and has also held various executive and management positions with Prudential Bache International Bank and Prudential Bache Securities, Marine Midland Bank, Sallie Mae, Citibank and WellPoint Health Networks Inc.

In Los Angeles, Phanstiel serves on the advisory board for the I Have a Dream Foundation and is active with the Wellness Community Valley/Ventura. In 2001, Phanstiel was recognized for significant achievements and contributions to the managed care sector by Who’s Who in Managed Health Care. In 2003, he was recognized as a Patriotic Employer by the National Committee for Employer Support of the Guard and Reserve for PacifiCare’s generous support of its employees in the military reserve and their families. Also in fall 2003, Phanstiel was honored at the third annual American Heart Association’s Corazones Unidos/Hearts United gala for his dedication and support provided to the Latino community. At SU, he endowed the Howard and S. Louise Phanstiel Chair in Strategic Management and Leadership, serves as a member of the Maxwell School Advisory Board, and is co-chair of the University’s capital campaign.

Wilmot, a graduate of the L.C. Smith College of Engineering and Computer Science, is chair of Wilmorite Inc. in Rochester, a real estate development business. In 1980, Wilmot was named president of Wilmorite, the company his father founded, and has served as chair of the board since 1998. Under Wilmot’s direction, Wilmorite acted as the construction manager for numerous third-party projects in Rochester, including the Riverside Convention Center, the Hyatt Regency and the Greater Rochester International Airport. Wilmot is also involved in many civic organizations, including the Advisory Board of M&T Bank, the Rochester Institute of Technology Board of Trustees, the Greater Rochester Metro Chamber of Commerce, the James P. Wilmot Foundation and the St. Bernard Institute. He also dedicates time and support to the James P. Wilmot Cancer Center at the University of Rochester. At SU, he served as a member of the SU Alumni Association’s Board from 1980-84.

Bobkiewicz, who received a master’s degree in public administration from the Maxwell School, is city manager of Santa Paula, Calif. Since the early 1990s, he has served in management positions for the California cities of Novato and Long Beach, and has served on the City Managers Department Executive Committee for the League of Cities, among other numerous professional advisory boards, task forces and committees. At SU, Bobkiewicz has been a member of SU’s National Alumni Association Board of Directors since 2001 and chaired its finance and resources committee from 2002-04. He also served as the National Annual Giving chair and chaired the Orange Grove Committee, overseeing its planning, fundraising and development.

Several new committee chairs were also elected at the board meeting. They are:

• Kenneth E. Goodman ’70 (Budget), replacing Bernard R. Kossar ’53, G’55;
• Michael A. Dritz ’59 (co-chair, Investment and Endowment);
• Judith G. Seinfeld ’56 (co-chair, Academic Affairs);
• Richard L. Thompson ’67 (Administrative Operations) replacing Dritz; and
• H. John Riley ’61 (Student Affairs), replacing Richard L. Haydon ’66.