Board elects Trustees, Thomas begins as chair
At its spring meeting the Cornell College Board of Trustees elected a Young Trustee and four Life Trustees. Trustee Jan Thomas ’80 also began her three-year term as chair of the Board of Trustees.
The Board elected Kimberly Maitland ’24 as a Young Trustee. They elected Peter Bryant, Linda Webb Koehn ’66, Robert McLennan ’65, and Jean Russell ’65 as Life Trustees.
Jan Thomas ’80, Board Chair
Jan Thomas, Professor Emerita of Sociology at Kenyon College, is the new chair of the Board. She grew up in Mount Vernon, Iowa, and graduated from Cornell College in 1980 with a major in sociology. She received her master of arts degree in social services administration from the University of Chicago in 1982 and worked for several years in women’s health and as a public health educator. She received her doctoral degree in sociology from the University of Colorado Boulder in 1995. She began teaching at Kenyon College in 2000 and recently retired as senior advisor for community relations at Kenyon. In 2011–12 and 2015–16, she taught on the Block Plan as a visiting professor at Colorado College. Thomas joined the Cornell Board of Trustees in 2015. She and her husband, Gary Doernhoefer, live in Gambier, Ohio. Their son, Eric, graduated from Cornell in 2013, and their daughter, Liz, graduated from Colorado College in 2016. Jan is also the daughter of the late Rev. Richard Thomas, Cornell chaplain and history professor emeritus.
Kimberly Maitland ’24, Young Trustee
Kimberly Maitland, from St. Catherine, Jamaica, received degrees in English-creative writing and diversity management (an individualized major). She is joining Oracle in Texas as a technology consultant and looks forward to helping clients with innovative HR solutions.
At Cornell she was vice president of Cornell College Financial Group, a writing consultant at the Dungy Writing Studio, a Cole Library circulation assistant, and led yoga classes for the Spiritual Life Office.
Her poetry and visual art were published in the campus literary magazine, Open Field, while her opinion pieces were published in The Cornellian. She presented her artwork at the Student Symposium.
Peter Bryant, Honorary Alumnus, Life Trustee
Peter Bryant served 27 years as a Cornell Trustee and is a past Cornell College vice president for enrollment and dean of admission. Bryant, who holds an undergraduate degree from Coe College and a master’s degree from the University of Iowa, is retired as senior vice president and principal of Ruffalo Noel Levitz, providing services for enrollment, student success, and fundraising in the higher education and nonprofit communities. In that role he conducted enrollment assessments and consulted with more than 750 institutions. In addition, he has more than 25 years of enrollment management experience at colleges and universities. He also served on the staff of a worldwide public relations firm, a Young & Rubicam affiliate based in Cedar Rapids, Iowa. He is an active civic leader and past national officer in several higher education organizations. Peter and his wife, JoAnn, have two adult children. Their daughter, Julie Lynn Bryant, earned a degree in English in 1988 from Cornell College.
Linda Webb Koehn ’66, Life Trustee
Linda Webb Koehn served as a Trustee for 12 years. She graduated from Cornell with a major in English and holds a master of arts degree from the University of Iowa and a master of science degree from Drake University. She taught for 20 years and then became a community leader and philanthropist. She has served in leadership capacities with many civic and cultural organizations in the Des Moines, Iowa, metro area, including the Des Moines Symphony, the Des Moines Metro Opera, the Community Foundation of Greater Des Moines, the Greater Des Moines Botanical Garden, the Science Center of Iowa, and Variety, The Children’s Charity. She is a board member of The Waldinger Corporation where her husband, Tom, is chairman of the board. She also serves as a trustee of the Naples Children and Education Foundation supporting children in Collier County, Florida, and is a member of the sustaining leadership council of The Naples Botanical Garden.
Robert McLennan ’65, Life Trustee
Robert McLennan served as a Cornell Trustee for nearly 17 years. Following graduation from Cornell he earned a law degree from the University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign and began his career as an attorney with Amoco Oil Company. In 1982 he and a partner formed McLennan & Thebault, Inc., a commercial-industrial construction and real estate development firm. In addition, from 1985 to 2002, he was chairman and majority shareholder of PlainsBank of Illinois. Bob’s volunteer experience is extensive, including as a board member of L3Organization (a group of global leaders committed to making the world a better place), the Chicago Shakespeare Theatre, and as a Trustee for the Village of Glenview, Illinois. Among the organizations he has chaired or served as president are the nonprofit Advocate Health Care Network, the World President’s Organization and its Chicago chapter, and the Glenview Community Church Executive Board. He and his wife, Becky Martin McLennan ’64, reside in Naples, Florida, and Snowmass Village, Colorado.
Jean Russell ’65, Life Trustee
Jean Russell served as a Cornell Trustee for 11 years. She was raised in Park Ridge, Illinois, and graduated from Cornell College with a biology major and chemistry minor. She then attended Rice University and graduated in 1971 with a doctoral degree in biology, with an endocrinology specialty. She was on the faculty of Washington University in St. Louis, Missouri, from 1970 to 1993, continuing her research and teaching in the vitamin, hormone, and calcium metabolism field. She contributed significant work to bone and calcium research and was able to extend many of the medical principles concerning growth and repair in the skeleton. She is now retired and residing in Pentwater, Michigan.
