Following Commencement on June 8, Trevor Rees-Jones ’73 retired from the College’s Board of Trustees, replaced by Gregory Maffei ’82.
Rees-Jones, elected to the Board by the trustees in 2010, served one of two possible four-year terms. Rees-Jones was unavailable for comment, but College spokesperson Justin Anderson said Rees-Jones’s decision not to stand for a second term was neither unusual nor unexpected.
“Obviously we hope service on the Board is fulfilling, but two terms is eight years and that is a long time,” he said. “Trustees are highly involved and busy people, and we are grateful for all of the time they give us.”
Rees-Jones, president and CEO of Chief Oil and Gas LLC, lives in Dallas with his family. He was one of three Board members on the Forbes 400.
Of the 51 emeritus trustees listed on the College’s website, only four — Rees-Jones, Marye Ann Fox Ph.D.’74, Stephen Smith ’88 and Todd Zywicki ’88 — have served four years or fewer on the Board. Former College President Jim Yong Kim, on the Board by nature of the College presidency, served fewer than four years.
Anderson said that Rees-Jones’ decision not to seek a second term on the Board was motivated by the difficulty of balancing his numerous professional obligations.
Anderson noted that Fox chose not to seek a second term on the Board in 2013 due in part to the travel distance between Hanover and California. Neither Zywicki nor Smith could be reached for comment by press time.
Under its current governance, the Board of Trustees consists of both alumni trustees and charter trustees, who are nominated and elected by the Board itself. Both Zywicki and Smith were alumni trustees, while Rees-Jones was a charter trustee.
Zywicki and Smith ran as petition candidates, defeating candidates backed officially by the alumni council in their respective 2005 and 2007 elections. In an interview with the New York Times the year of his election, Smith criticized proposed changes to the Board that increased the number of charter trustees to 13. The proposal passed in 2007.
Secretary to the Board of Trustees Marcia Kelly said that, in general, almost all trustees choose to serve a second term.
“It’s unusual for a trustee to step down,” Kelly said. “On the other hand, four years for the first term with a second four years for the second term is a long time. It is something that people give serious thought to.”
A religion major while at the College, Maffei is now the president and CEO of Liberty Media Corporation, which includes subsidiaries Sirius XM Radio and the Atlanta Braves, and Liberty Interactive Corporation, which owns stake in a number of commercial websites such as Expedia.
Maffei said that he would serve on the Board “as long as they’ll have me.”
“I’m looking forward to seeing students in action,” Maffei said. “I’m excited to do this.”
Steve Mandel ’78 also stepped down as chairman, but he will remain a trustee. Bill Helman ’80 will become chairman.
Amelia Rosch and Christopher Leech contributed reporting.
This article has been revised to reflect the following correction:
Correction appended (June 20, 2014):
The College's alumni council backs candidates to be alumni trustees, not the alumni association, as was previously reported. The story has been revised.
