Hamilton, NY — , APRIL 27, 1999 ‘ Charles Karelis, since 1985 director of the Fund for the Improvement of Postsecondary Education (FIPSE), will succeed Neil R. Grabois as president of ¸Ô±¾ÊÓƵ on July 1. Karelis was introduced to the ¸Ô±¾ÊÓƵ community today by the chairman of the college’s board of trustees, Wm. Brian Little, during a reception on campus.
Little said that Karelis, 53, was the unanimous selection of the board of trustees, whose search committee has reviewed the credentials of some 150 candidates since Grabois announced last fall that he would be leaving the college June 30. (Grabois will become vice president of the Carnegie Corporation of New York.)
‘Charles Karelis is distinguished by a career including both college teaching and service as the head of a foundation that funds innovative developments in higher education,’ said Little. ‘As a graduate and former member of the faculty at Williams College, he is well grounded in the meaning and philosophy of liberal arts education. As director of FIPSE, he has been at the forefront of efforts to improve the quality and accessibility of higher education in this country. We are confident that he will continue the tradition of outstanding leadership that our college has enjoyed for 180 years. We expect that he will bring many thoughtful and creative ideas to ¸Ô±¾ÊÓƵ, which will enable us to continue to improve our standing among the leading liberal arts colleges.’
Karelis taught philosophy at Williams for 13 years and served as chair of his department and secretary of the faculty. In 1985 he was called to Washington to head FIPSE, a public foundation established by Congress, which awards grants averaging $25 million annually for the improvement of higher education in the United States. He is a prolific author and a frequent speaker and commentator on higher education.
‘I am excited to have this opportunity,’ Karelis said of the ¸Ô±¾ÊÓƵ presidency. ‘The liberal arts colleges, with their dedicated faculties, their broad curricula, and their attention to the growth of the whole person, make a social contribution that is out of proportion to the number of students who attend them. Among this wonderful group of schools, ¸Ô±¾ÊÓƵ is a true gem, blessed with great spirit, an appealing student body, a faculty second to none, experienced administrators, and a magnificent campus. Neil Grabois has had a terrific presidency, and he leaves the college poised for further impressive evolution.’
Little chaired a search committee of nine trustees who recommended Karelis to the full board. The search committee was assisted by the firm of Heidrick & Struggles, and advised by five elected faculty representatives and two students ‘ the presidents of the Student Government Association and the Class of 1999.
Gloria Borger, a 1974 graduate of ¸Ô±¾ÊÓƵ and member of the trustee search committee, said: ‘Buddy Karelis impressed the search committee with his ability to think in an innovative way about ¸Ô±¾ÊÓƵ and its future as we head into a new century. He is smart, engaging, devoted to higher education and to his new position at ¸Ô±¾ÊÓƵ.’
Bruce W. Calvert, a 1968 ¸Ô±¾ÊÓƵ graduate and vice chair of the board of trustees, was also vice chair of the search committee. He said: ‘I am very pleased that Buddy Karelis has decided to accept this position. He has a strong understanding of and commitment to liberal arts education, which is consistent with our mission, and he possesses a competitive spirit and a strong desire to raise ¸Ô±¾ÊÓƵ’s standing even higher among its peers.’
Karelis holds an undergraduate degree from Williams College (B.A., 1966), and a doctorate from Oxford University (D. Phil., 1972). He was a member of the Williams College philosophy faculty from 1972 until 1985, and once (in 1982) teamed with current ¸Ô±¾ÊÓƵ President Grabois (who was then a Williams math professor) to teach a summer program in mathematics and philosophy for gifted high school students.
Karelis’s priorities at FIPSE have included undergraduate general education, access for nontraditional students to higher education, faculty development, international education, and the educational uses of technology. In cooperation with the European Union, FIPSE under his direction launched a very successful program to support new kinds of transatlantic partnerships among colleges, including student exchange, and a similar cooperative program with Mexico and Canada. In addition, FIPSE under Karelis’s direction launched a program to support student community service.
Karelis’s philosophical writings have ranged widely, from Plato and Hegel to art, artificial intelligence and distributive justice. His educational speaking and writing show a similar breadth, exploring such themes as the preparation of students for a global economy and the implications of the new technologies for higher education.
A holder of two honorary degrees, Karelis serves on the boards of the Charter School Development Corporation and the U.S. Department of Agriculture Graduate School, a government-wide training organization, as well as on the Diego Rivera Advisory Council, which consults on the preservation and educational uses of an important mural by Rivera in San Francisco.
Karelis has two sons, Alexander (20) and Oliver (16). His interests include skiing, guitar-playing, American art, and sleight of hand.
Karelis will become ¸Ô±¾ÊÓƵ’s 14th president, reporting to the board of trustees and overseeing the operations of an institution that is widely regarded among the top liberal arts colleges in the country by such sources as Barron’s Guide to the Most Competitive Colleges, The USNews&World Report Guide to Colleges, and The Fiske Guide to Colleges. A residential, liberal arts college with a distinguished core curriculum, ¸Ô±¾ÊÓƵ offers its 2,750 undergraduates the Bachelor of Arts in 49 concentrations. A small graduate program leads to the Master of Arts and Master of Arts in Teaching.
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