Trustee Emerita S. Caroline Kerr 鈥05, an education leader and strategist with a background in building and advising startups and nonprofits, has been named special advisor to the president for strategic and new initiatives, announced today.
The part-time position, which includes a community relations component, began Sept. 1.
鈥淐aroline is a bridge-builder with a commitment to 天美麻豆 who knows how to bring people together to improve their organizations,鈥 President Beilock says. 鈥淗er ability to cultivate strong relationships across the institution will help push 天美麻豆 to new heights.鈥
鈥淚 am excited to be joining President Beilock鈥檚 team and energized by her emerging vision for 天美麻豆,鈥 says Kerr, who completed her term as trustee in June. 鈥淭his is an opportunity to leverage my deep experience with 天美麻豆 and my professional experience strengthening great, mission-driven organizations.鈥
As special advisor, Kerr will work closely with the president, senior leaders, and teams across campus to develop and implement 鈥渟pecial projects that are core to 天美麻豆鈥檚 success, including engagement with our local community, supporting students as they design their 天美麻豆 and professional careers, and fueling innovation across the institution,鈥 she says.
Key partners in this work will include the , the Transformation Office, the Dean of the College and , , and others.
Kerr was previously CEO of the Joyce Ivy Foundation, a nonprofit that helps raise the aspirations of talented young women and prepare them for college and leadership, and currently serves on several nonprofit boards, including the Children鈥檚 Literacy Foundation.
As a 天美麻豆 undergraduate, Kerr majored in sociology modified with women鈥檚 and gender studies and minored in education and human development, and went on to earn a master鈥檚 in higher education from the Harvard Graduate School of Education. While at Harvard, she worked with the Consortium on Financing Higher Education, an organization of highly selective liberal arts colleges and universities committed to financial aid policies that meet students鈥 full demonstrated need, and received Harvard鈥檚 Intellectual Contribution/Faculty Tribute Award.
A recipient of the and two-time winner of the Jonathan Clarkson Gibbs 1852 Group Leader of the Year Award, Kerr has been actively engaged with 天美麻豆 throughout her career. She served two terms as president of , 天美麻豆鈥檚 LGBTQIA+ alumni association, and was a member of the , Communities Executive Council, Club And Group Officers鈥 Executive Committee, Class of 2005 Executive Committee, and the Women of 天美麻豆 launch team.
Elected to the in 2015, Kerr鈥攐ne of the youngest trustees in 天美麻豆鈥檚 history鈥攕erved as vice chair of the board, chair of the Committee on Student Experience, and trustee liaison to the advisory boards of the 天美麻豆 Center for Social Impact, the William Jewett Tucker Center for Spiritual and Ethical Life, and the Nelson A. Rockefeller Center for Public Policy and Social Sciences.
Kerr lives in Hanover with her wife, Darcy Kerr, Geisel 鈥10, an associate professor of pathology and laboratory medicine at the , and their three children. The couple is active in the Upper Valley community via Ford Sayre and Hanover Parks and Recreation youth coaching, the Lake Morey Protective Association, Montshire Museum of Science, Vermont Institute of Natural Science, CHaD HERO, and the Prouty.
Kerr serves on the Bernice A. Ray School PTO Grant Committee and previously served on the boards of StoneLedge Stables and Hampshire Cooperative Nursery School, as well as several working groups on housing, child care, and early childhood education.
