M. Lee Pelton

Marvin Lee Pelton (born September 27, 1950) is an academic administrator and college president. A native of Wichita, Kansas, Lee studied English literature at Wichita State University and Harvard University. He then held various deanship positions at Colgate University and Dartmouth College before becoming president of Willamette University (1998-2011) and Emerson College (2011-2021).[1] In June of 2021, Pelton will take the helm as the President and CEO of the Boston Foundation.[2]

Lee Pelton

Early life

Marvin Lee Pelton was born on September 27, 1950, to Clarence and Rosa Lee Pelton. He has three sisters. He grew up in Wichita, Kansas, where he graduated from Wichita North High School.[3][4] His father worked as a laborer and later as a manager for the police department for the city of Wichita while his mother acted as a homemaker.[3] In 1974, Pelton graduated from Wichita State University.[5] There he earned a degree in English and psychology, while graduating magna cum laude with a focus in 19th century British literature.[5] He earned a doctorate in English and American literature from Harvard University in 1984.[6]

Career

From 1974 to 1983, while working on his doctorate at Harvard, Pelton served as an instructor and teaching fellow in the English Department. After receiving his PhD in 1983,[5] he became Senior Tutor of Winthrop House, one of Harvard's undergraduate colleges.[5] He left Harvard in 1986, to become Dean of Students at Colgate University in Hamilton, N.Y. He served in that capacity until being named Dean of the College in 1988.[6] Pelton left Colgate in 1991, when he was named dean of Dartmouth College in Hanover, New Hampshire.[7] While at Dartmouth he was responsible for the largest administrative body of the school, and held an academic appointment in the Department of English.[5]

In July 1998, Pelton was appointed as the 22nd president of Willamette University in Salem, Oregon, the first university in the western United States.[5] He expanded the faculty with 26 new tenured-track professorships and increased minority enrollment to 24 percent, up from 11 percent when he started.[1] The school built two new buildings, Ford Hall and Kaneko Commons, and purchased several others adjacent to the campus in downtown Salem, and raised $131 million in a fund-raising campaign.[1] At the end of the 2010 academic year Pelton left to take the same position at Emerson College in Massachusetts,[1] replaced at Willamette by Stephen E. Thorsett.[8]

Under Pelton’s leadership since 2011, Emerson College adopted a strategic plan that outlines five guiding strategies for the institution: Academic Excellence, Civic Engagement, Internationalization and Global Engagement, Innovation, and Financial Strength.[9]

During Pelton’s tenure at Emerson, the College enhanced its Emerson Los Angeles program when it established a new physical presence in Hollywood in 2014 by opening a building for learning and living on Sunset Boulevard in West Hollywood.[10]

Emerson College played a leading role in the revival of Boston’s theatre district when it purchased and renovated two leading theatres; the Cutler Majestic Theatre and Paramount Center theatres. The purchase and recent renovation of the historic Emerson Colonial Theatre, which hosted the first performances of Porgy and Bess (1935) and Oklahoma! (1943), among other major productions, cemented Emerson’s role in the revival of that section of the city. The theatre is now managed in partnership with Ambassador Theatre Group (ATG). [11] [12]

In 2018, the College established its Global Portals program on several continents, opening doors for students from around the world to gain an Emerson College degree. [13]

An alliance with Marlboro College in Marlboro, VT, a private liberal arts college founded in 1946, was announced in November 2019, with the intention of keeping the legacy of the small liberal arts alive on Emerson’s Boston campus. [14]

Finalized in July 2020, the alliance moved Marlboro’s academic program, known for its self-directed nature, to Emerson and renamed Emerson’s liberal arts and interdisciplinary studies program to the Marlboro Institute for Liberal Arts and Interdisciplinary Studies. Existing Marlboro students were invited to matriculate and tenured and tenure-track faculty had the option to teach at Emerson. [15]

Emerson College has acquired or redeveloped several buildings to expand the institution’s footprint as outlined in Pelton's vision. [16]

• In 2019, it reopened the 1,035-bed,13-story Little Building residence hall.[17][18] During the building’s renovation, the College also initiated a digitally projected public art display – the Uncommon Project – on the face of the building. [19]
• Opened a new 18,000 square foot, 550-seat dining hall [20]
• Opened a new residence hall at 2 Boylston Place, featuring 18 stories and 375 beds [21]
• Purchased 172 Tremont Street to house student life and services [22]
• Began the expansion of the sidewalk along Boylston Street in front of the recently renovated Little Building and created new retail food eatery spaces on Little Building street level. [23]
• Created a new student dining facility, the Lion’s Den [24]
• Opened a new Visitor Center at 104 Boylston Street [25]
• Created the Urban Arts: Media Art Gallery [26]

On December 1, 2020, Dr. Pelton announced his resignation as president of Emerson College to students and staff via email. [27]

On June 1, 2021, Pelton will join the Boston Foundation as President and CEO.[2]

Other

Pelton holds or has held positions on several educational boards and committees including the American Council on Education, the Harvard University Board of Overseers, the Oregon Shakespeare Festival, the Oregon Symphony, Oregon Health & Science University Foundation, American Association for Higher Education, National Association of Independent Colleges and Universities, and National Collegiate Athletic Association.[5][6] Pelton serves on the board of directors of Portland General Electric, the local publicly traded electric utility.[28] He was married to Kristen Wilson from 1981 to 2005, and to Carol (Leslie) Pelton, manager of the Oregon Cultural Trust from 2006 to 2008. He has three children Clare, Eli, and Sophia.[29]

Awards: Boston Chamber of Commerce as Distinguished Bostonian 2020, June 2020, Racial Justice Grant in Honor of Lee Pelton, $100,000 grant to be distributed to selected non-profits, EOS Foundation, 2020, The Governor's Awards in the Humanities, 2020, in Boston Business Journal, 50 Most Powerful Leaders in Boston, October, 2018 and October, 2020; Boston Magazine Power Issue, One of The 100 Most Influential People in Boston, April 2018, Boston Magazine’s May 2017 Power Issue: The 21 Most Powerful People in Boston Business and May 2014 Power Issue: The Power of Ideas: 75 Bold Thinkers Who Are Shaping Our City and the World, Boston’s 100 Most Influential People of Color (Get Konnected!, 2016), the Rosoff Award 20/20 (The Ad Club, April 2016), the Diversity Leadership Award (The National Diversity Council, October 2015), the Sabra Award (Israeli Stage, November 2014), Boston 50 on Fire, recognizing 50 leading innovators in Boston (BostInno, November 2014), Speak the Truth Award (Student Immigrant Movement, December 2014), and the Champion of Freedom Award (Freedom House, March 2012).[30]

References

1. Graves, Bill (September 8, 2010). "Willamette University President M. Lee Pelton will be next president of Emerson College in Boston". The Oregonian. Retrieved 9 September 2010.
2. Dumcius, Gintautas (December 1, 2020). "Pelton leaving Emerson to take helm of Boston Foundation". Boston Business Journal.
3. Haynes, Dana. "Willamette president feels at home here", Statesman Journal, February 14, 1999.
4. Guerrero-Huston, Thelma (May 15, 2011). "Graduates look toward the future". Statesman Journal. Retrieved 18 May 2011.
5. College: "Biography of M. Lee Pelton", The New York Times. Retrieved on December 6, 2007.
6. Carter, Steve. "The Monday Profile: M. Lee Pelton, Job: 22nd President of Willamette University", The Oregonian, February 17, 2003.
7. "Top Dartmouth Official Is Quitting, the Fourth in Six Months", The New York Times, January 7, 1998, p. B7.
8. Much, Justin (May 14, 2011). "New Willamette U. president returns to deep roots in Salem". Statesman Journal. Retrieved May 14, 2011.
9. "The Five Strategies". Emerson College. Retrieved 2020-01-23.
10. "Emerson College opens futuristic outpost in Hollywood". Los Angeles Times. 2014-03-01. Retrieved 2020-01-23.
11. Desk, BWW News. "ATG Selected to Operate Emerson Colonial Theatre in a Partnership with Emerson College". BroadwayWorld.com. Retrieved 2020-01-23.
12. "Historic Colonial Theatre Reopens This Week After Major Renovation". www.wbur.org. Retrieved 2020-01-23.
13. "Emerson College expanding with 'global portals' in Europe, Asia, Australia". Boston Herald. 2018-07-17. Retrieved 2020-01-23.
14. "What's Next for Marlboro". www.marlboro.edu. Retrieved 2020-10-15.
15. "Emerson College and Marlboro College Alliance Completed". Emerson College Today. 2020-07-23. Retrieved 2020-10-15.
16. "2017 State of the College". Emerson College. Retrieved 2020-01-23.
17. "Is Emerson College the Smartest Developer in Town?". Boston Magazine. 2019-11-12. Retrieved 2020-01-23.
18. "Behind the Little Building's Huge Transformation". Emerson College Today. 2019-09-18. Retrieved 2020-01-23.
19. Reporter, Laura Krantz-. "Emerson has big plans for its little corner of the Common - The Boston Globe". BostonGlobe.com. Retrieved 2020-01-23.
20. "Emerson Dining Hall, the Colonial Theatre, and related matters". Emerson College. Retrieved 2020-01-23.
21. "Emerson College gives time frames for dormitory projects on Boylston Street". www.bizjournals.com. Retrieved 2020-01-23.
22. "172 Tremont". Emerson College. Retrieved 2020-01-23.
23. "Another Tatte Bakery comes to downtown, at Emerson - The Boston Globe". BostonGlobe.com. Retrieved 2020-01-23.
24. "What's New in Dining Services". Emerson College Today. 2019-09-16. Retrieved 2020-01-23.
25. "New Emerson Visitor Center Says "Come on In"". Emerson College Today. 2016-03-29. Retrieved 2020-01-23.
26. "Media Art Gallery". Emerson College. Retrieved 2020-01-23.
27. Bravo, Diana; McKenna, Charlie; Brinker, Andrew; Gerber, Dana; Conte, Domenic; Gonzalez, Tomas; Kohli, Diti. "President Lee Pelton to resign in June, lead Boston Foundation". berkeleybeacon.com. The Berkeley Beacon. Retrieved 4 December 2020.
28. Dr.M. Lee Pelton, Ph. D. Portfolio.com. Retrieved on December 6, 2007.
29. New manager chosen at Oregon Cultural Trust. topix. Retrieved on January 25, 2008.
30. "Biography". Emerson College. Retrieved 2020-10-15.

External links

• The Black Perspective Online
• American Council on Education
• The First Five Years - The Scene Magazine
• M. Lee Pelton named 12th President of Emerson College
• Lee Pelton biography