RWU diversifies trustees, electing 13 new members

BRISTOL – Roger Williams University has announced the election of 13 new members to the university’s board of trustees.
“The process of broadening and enhancing the board of trustees has been in the works for several years,” RWU President Roy J. Nirschel said in a statement. “Along with a larger and much more diverse board, I am pleased that the trustees have embraced term limits, a conflict of interest policy and an even stronger committee structure.”
The new board members are:
• Timothy E. Baxter, executive vice president of sales and marketing at Samsung Electronics America
• Rodney A. Butler, tribal council treasurer for the Mashantucket Pequot Tribal Nation
• Luis F. Gomez, president of Promarisco S.A.
• Denise M. Jenkins, a philanthropy officer at The Rhode Island Foundation
• Karen Johnson, general partner at Dunlop Investments, Hedge Fund
• Jerrold L. Lavine, president of The Freeman Group
• Suzanne Magaziner, a civic leader and philanthropist
• Sami Nacaroglu, president of Bayraktar Holding
• Helen Ostrowski, CEO of Porter Novelli International
• Marc Spiegel, president and CEO of Academic Centers Abroad LLC
• Walter R. Stone, Esq., senior partner at Adler, Pollock & Sheehan
• Hala Taweel, president of the University of the Middle East Project
• Arlene Violet, the talk-radio host and former R.I. attorney general
“Our new board is nearly one-third female, 25-percent diverse and includes alumni, parents and representatives from the local, national and international communities, as befitting a university committed to outreach and inclusiveness,” noted Chairman Richard L. Bready, the chairman and CEO of Providence-based manufacturer Nortek Inc.
Rounding out the 20-member panel are David J. Calabro, Gary R. Chapman, Bradley P. Dorman, Mario J. Gabelli, J. Lynn Singleton and Robert F. Stoico, who were reappointed as trustees in May, at the same time as Bready was elected to chair the board.
“We are moving ahead in creating what I know will be a board of trustees that is a model for good governance and best practices for the decade ahead,” Bready said. Nirschel added that he was “thrilled that so many extraordinary individuals have agreed to serve in this important capacity.”
Roger Williams University, ranked by U.S. News & World Report as 9th among comprehensive colleges in the North, is accredited by the New England Association of Schools and Colleges. It enrolls more than 5,000 students at its main campus in Bristol, its School of Law and its Providence Metropolitan Center for Education and Law. For more information, visit rwu.edu .