After serving for seven years as chair of the Barnard Board of Trustees, Anna Quindlen, BC ’74 and a Pulitzer Prize-winning journalist, is stepping down.
The board voted Tuesday evening to replace her with Jolyne Caruso-FitzGerald, BC ’81. Caruso-FitzGerald has been a trustee since 2000.
Quindlen worked for 18 years at the New York Times, and now writes for Newsweek. Her sixth novel will also be released this month.
Caruso-FitzGerald previously served as vice chair of the board and chair of the Budget and Finance Committee. Her election is effective at the end of the 2009-2010 academic year.
In an interview with Spectator, Quindlen said she thought now was an opportune time to leave, since she has seen Barnard through two major initiatives: the search for a new president and the construction and funding of the Diana Center.
“As soon as I realized that the Diana was going to open in February, it seemed to me the end of this year was a perfect moment to hand off leadership to a new chair,” Quindlen said.
Quindlen has led the board since 2003, and is about two years into her second five-year term, which she will be ending early.
While it had been rumored for several months that Quindlen would be stepping aside, when asked in February, she said she had no succession plans. When asked what she would be doing next, she said, “I will continue to serve the College in whatever way the administration and trustees see fit for the rest of my life.”
Caruso-FitzGerald said in an interview that her experiences as a trustee—which have also included a stint as co-chair of the Development Committee and a member of the Committee on Governance—have helped her better understand the inner workings of Barnard, though she added, “Anna has given me coaching.”
“She [Caruso-FitzGerald] just was uniquely positioned to be the right person to chair the board. So I had no anxiety about any transfer of leadership,” Quindlen said.
Caruso-FitzGerald said she anticipated working with Barnard President Debora Spar on three particular projects: developing Barnard’s Athena Center for Leadership Studies, globalizing the college, and expanding the endowment.
Given her career experience, she may be particularly suited for that last initiative. Caruso-FitzGerald founded two firms on Wall Street and is the president of the global investment company Platinum Gate Capital Management. She was also previously a managing director and global head of Absolute Return strategies at Lehman Brothers.
“I know that both the College and the Board greatly look forward to her [Caruso-FitzGerald's] ongoing leadership and support as Board Chair,” Spar wrote in an email to Barnard students. She added, “There are simply no words to describe what Anna’s leadership has meant to the College—our students, our campus, and our entire community.”
The main lobby of the Diana Center is named in Caruso-FitzGerald’s honor.
“I have very big shoes to fill,” Caruso-FitzGerald said. “Anna is such a name and a celebrity and a role model.”
During her time as chair, Quindlen remained visible to students, who said they appreciated her for attending the twice-yearly Midnight Breakfast. “Her dedication cannot be underscored enough,” Verna Patti, BC ’11 and Student Government Association junior representative to the Board of Trustees, said in an email.
“I will definitely be sad to see Anna go from this position,” said Daphne Larose, BC '10 and SGA senior representative to the Board of Trustees. Though she is graduating, Larose said that she was looking forward to seeing what Caruso-FitzGerald would accomplish. “I think she [Quindlen] did a wonderful job as chair. … At the same time, I’m excited to see what the future will bring.”
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