Scripps College recognizes Mark Herron, outgoing chair of the Board of Trustees, for his service in the role. Herron completed his term in June, following four years of steadfast leadership.
Herron was elected to the Board in 1997, inspired by his mother’s devotion to Scripps. Jeannette “Jan” Pierson Herron ’45 majored in mathematics and was one of the College’s earliest proponents of the inclusion of mathematics and science as an integral part of a liberal arts education. She later served as an alumna trustee from 1968 until 1973.
Lynne Thompson ’72, incoming chair, praises Herron’s contributions: “Mark’s unwavering commitment to Scripps is evident from his more than 20 years of service on the Board. I look forward to continuing his example of exceptional leadership at the College and to benefiting from his guidance and support.
During his time on the Board, Herron has assumed various roles, including vice chair (2004-14) and chair of the Executive, Audit, Finance, and Compensation Committees. He has been a member of every standing Board committee and has served on many ad hoc and special committees. Herron proudly served with President Lori Bettison-Varga, Interim President Amy Marcus-Newhall, and was on the Presidential Search Committee which led to the appointment of the College’s ninth president, Lara Tiedens.
Herron led the Board during times of continuous growth and change for the College: The More Scripps Campaign, the largest and most ambitious in Scripps’ history, is near completion thanks to the leadership of many Board members and loyal supporters; a new admission policy was approved which expanded the College’s consideration of applicants to those who self-identify as women; the College’s 10th residence hall, NEW Hall, was constructed, ushering in a new era of sustainable building; and, alongside President Tiedens, Herron coordinated the community-wide development and creation of the College’s new strategic plan, which will be shared later this year.
Herron also represented the other Claremont undergraduate colleges on a two-year long special strategic planning committee which recommended substantive restructuring of the Claremont consortium. This work culminated in the adoption of a new constitution for the consortium that became effective January 1, 2018 and the renaming of the Claremont University Consortium to The Claremont Colleges.
Herron received his BSE in civil engineering from Princeton University and his MBA in finance and operations management from the Anderson School of Management at the University of California, Los Angeles. An accomplished businessman, Herron serves as president and chief executive officer of the Davidson Group, the investment management and philanthropic office for educational software entrepreneurs Bob and Jan Davidson, based in Incline Village, Nevada.
Herron will continue his service on the Scripps Board as immediate past chair. He is also a member of the board of trustees of Channel 5 Public Broadcasting, the PBS station serving Reno and northern Nevada, and is a member of the governing board of the Davidson Academy, a school serving highly-gifted middle and high school students online and on campus at the University of Nevada Reno.
“It has been a privilege and an honor to work alongside Mark in my first two years as president,” says Scripps President Lara Tiedens. “As Board chair, he has provided wise counsel and strategic oversight to the Board and to me, and his leadership has ensured the College is in a strong position as we move forward with a new strategic plan.”
Anticipating the completion of his tenure as chair, the Board of Trustees honored Herron’s service and leadership by establishing the Mark Herron Endowed Scholarship Fund earlier this spring.
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