A Changing of the Guard on TC’s Board of Trustees

Four new trustees have joined the Teachers College Board, while two long-time members have concluded their service. Outgoing Trustee Marjorie Hart was named Trustee Emeritus.The Board now numbers 36 members.

The four new trustees are:

Nancy Rauch Douzinas, a former psychologist and family therapist who is President of the Rauch Foundation. Dr. Douzinas is best known for pioneering role in sustainable development through her creation of the Long Island Index, a status report on the quality of life on Long Island that has received wide acclaim for being a catalyst for the development of regional awareness and understanding.

The focus of the Rauch Foundation, a family foundation created by Dr. Douzinas’ father and uncle in 1961, is on supporting organizations and programs on Long Island and in Maryland working in the areas of children and families, the environment and the development of civic and non-profit leadership. Through the Rauch Foundation, Dr. Douzinas has supported TC Professor of Education and Sociology Amy Wells’ research on the impact of school segregation on Long Island. Dr. Douzinas’ monthly column, “What Every Long Islander Should Know,” appears in a number of Long Island business and community newspapers.

Dr. Douzinas graduated from Smith College in 1970 and received a master’s degree and doctorate in Community Psychology from New York University, where she wrote her dissertation on how young children cope with the birth of a sibling. Dr. Douzinas serves on the boards of WLIW, WNET, the Society for the Preservation of Long Island Antiquities, North Shore Land Alliance, and the Energeia Partnership on Long Island.

Martha Berman Lipp, the former owner and operator of Merchants Travel Inc., a full-service travel agency, and the author of a guidebook to the five countries of Scandinavia. Ms. Lipp, who has had a life-long interest in education, previously taught English for  eight years at Butler University in Indianapolis, where she also earned a master’s degree. She also attended Wellesley College and received her bachelor of arts from the University of Michigan at Ann Arbor.

Ms. Lipp serves as a trustee of the Sterling and Francine Clark Art Institute in Williamstown, Massachusetts and the Children’s Aid Society in New York City. She is also active in the New York City Ballet. Ms. Lipp served on the board of Planned Parenthood of Indianapolis for 10 years and as a member of the Executive Committee of the International Violin Competition of Indianapolis.

Leslie Morse Nelson, the President of Nelson-Giroux, Inc., an interior design and consulting firm based in New York. 

Mrs. Nelson has served on the board of directors of Girls Quest, Inc. since 2008.  Based in New York City, Girls Quest provides girls from low-income families with a summer camp experience and year-round enrichment programs. Mrs. Nelson is also a member of the Juilliard Council, an advisory body of the Juilliard School, and serves on the Education Committee of PBS. She has also been President of the Parents Association at the Collegiate and Chapin schools in New York City and served on the Board of Trustees of both schools. In addition, Mrs. Nelson is  a Learning Leaders volunteer in a New York City public school as a fourth grade teaching assistant.

Mrs. Nelson received her undergraduate degree from Smith College. Her mother, Enid (“Dinny”) Morse, served as a Teachers College Trustee from 1988 to 2009, and as Board Co-Chair from 1998 to 2001.  Mrs. Morse was elected trustee emeritus in May 2009.

Milbrey “Missie” Rennie Taylor, a strategic and media consultant who has spent over 30 years in the television news business, including 25 years at CBS News in New York. Ms. Taylor was the executive producer of CBS News Sunday Morning and the CBS Weekend News for 10 years. She was also Vice President of ThirdAge Media, an internet company partly owned by CBS, Inc. She has won eight Emmys and a George Foster Peabody Award.  Prior to CBS, Ms. Taylor worked at PBS, ABC News and for New York City Mayor John Lindsay and Illinois Senator Charles Percy. She was a recipient of the Luce Scholarship and worked for NMPC (Channel 2) in Manila, The Philippines.

Ms. Taylor is a graduate of Miss Porter's School and earned her bachelor’s degree in political science from Vassar College. She serves on the boards of The Asia Foundation (of which she is Vice Chair), USTA Serves and Common Good, and is a member of the President's Advisory Committee at Vassar and Co-Chair of Vassar’s Capital Campaign. Ms. Taylor also serves on the advisory board of the International Rescue Committee, is a Selector of the Luce Scholars and is a member of The Council of Foreign Relations.  In February 2008, she was elected to the Board of Directors of The First of Long Island Corporation, the parent company of The First National Bank of Long Island.

Ms. Taylor has previously served as Board Chair at Miss Porter's School, as well as on the Boards of Vassar, The Nightingale-Bamford School (where she chaired the school’s capital campaign), and The Breakthrough Collaborative. She was also an advisor to The New York Times Foundation’s 9/11 Fund and served on the Advisory Committee for the Breast Cancer Research Foundation.

Stepping down from TC’s Board in May were Marjorie Hart and Jan Krukowski, both of whom had served since 2001.

Ms. Hart, who was named Trustee Emeritus, worked for Exxon for many years and then as an independent consultant for environmental and education businesses. She served with distinction on the TC Board’s Academic Affairs Committee, Business and Finance Committee, and Committee on Facilities. She was particularly active in serving on the  Strategic Planning Committee from 2003 – 2006. Prior to her Board service, she was a member of TC’s President’s Advisory Council from 1997-2006. Her gifts have supported both the TC Fund and the Cahn Fellows Program for Distinguished New York City Principals.

Mr. Krukowski who attended the TC-operated Horace Mann-Lincoln School in his youth, is the founder and president of Jan Krukowsi & Co., a marketing and communications firm that works exclusively with educational, cultural, research and public policy clients. Mr. Krukowski served on the TC Board’s Strategic Planning Committee and the Campaign for Educational Equity Advisory Council, and more recently on the Academic Affairs Committee and the Library Committee. He contributed generously to the TC Annual Fund, and as treasurer of the Winston Foundation, was instrumental in Winston’s grants to TC, which have supported The Heritage School and The Campaign for Educational Equity.

Published Monday, Jul. 19, 2010