Membership on the Whittier College Board of Trustees is an honor, a service, and a responsibility.
It is the trustees who - in consultation with others - determine, reaffirm, or change the College's purposes and mission. They approve all major institutional policies including decisions concerning the addition or discontinuation of major academic programs and major services, consistent with Whittier's mission and financial capacity.
The duties of the Board includes appointing, supporting, and assessing the president and other officers of the College, as well as approving procedures for the granting of tenure to faculty and earned and honorary degrees. Additionally, trustees must lead planning initiatives, assess outcomes, and monitor progress against goals. They ensure that the College has adequate resources to fulfill its mission by approving and monitoring the annual budget, protecting financial and capital assets, and prudently investing restricted and unrestricted funds.
Elected for up to five, three-year terms before a required hiatus year, Board members set an excellent collective example in personal philanthropy. They lead special fundraising initiatives for capital and endowment projects, and are typically the College's top donors to the Whittier Fund with their generous annual support for scholarships. Guaranteeing that Whittier serves as a good citizen in its relationships with other social, educational, and business enterprises through appropriate collaborations and partnerships, trustees are key ambassadors for the College in the United States and abroad.
Board Members
Chairman
Miguel Santana ’91
Secretary
Richard Lichtenstein P’16
Treasurer
James R. Parks
Harold E. Allen ’84
Fred D. Anderson ’66
Christopher T. Cross ’62
Barbara (Ondrasik) Groce ’57
Carey (Baker) Halio ’95
Helen Newton Hartung P’13
Yukiyasu Hayashi P’10
Jascha Kaykas-Wolff ’98
Matthew J. Knight
Meghan Morrissey P’16
Leda Muller '88
Anne O'Donnell
Bharat Patel P’16
Francisco C. Rodriguez
Yvonne Romero da Silva
Stephanie Wiggins ’92
Kenya L. Williams JD ’10
Tim Yamauchi
Robert Zemsky ’62
Trustees Pro Tem
John McCarthy ’77
Trustees Emeriti
Richard H. Deihl ’49, D.B.A. ’84
Richard I. Gilchrist ’68, P’06 ’07
Alfred J. Gobar ’53, M.A. ’55, L.H.D. ’05, P’88 ’96
Willard V. Harris, Jr. ’55 L.H.D. ’02, P’80 ’87
Donald J. Herrema ’74
Sharon (Ettinger) McLaughlin P’85 ’88 ’90
R. Chandler Myers, LL.D. ’88
Ruth B. Shannon, L.H.D. ’92
Elden L. Smith ’62
Donald E. Wood, L.H.D. ’98
Updated March 2021
