Churchill Franklin to Head Middlebury College Board of Trustees

Churchill G. Franklin of Concord, Mass., has been elected chair of the Middlebury College board of trustees. He assumed the post on Jan. 1, 2000.

Franklin is executive vice president and co-founder of Acadian Asset Management, a five billion dollar Boston-based global investment management firm whose clients include Fortune 500 companies, large state retirement funds, foundations, and endowments in the United States and overseas. He is a 1971 graduate of Middlebury College, where he majored in American literature and lettered in football. First elected as a trustee in 1989, Franklin has served as vice chair of the Middlebury board, and as a member of several board committees.

Prior to joining Acadian Asset Management, Franklin was a commercial loan officer for the Bank of Boston from 1974-81, and assistant treasurer at Thermo Electron Corporation from 1981-86. As an alumnus of Middlebury College, he has been an active volunteer for many years. He chairs the leadership gifts committee for the College’s bicentennial campaign, and has served as chair of the reunion gift committees for his 15th and 25th reunions, as an admissions volunteer, class agent, and alumni career advisor. Franklin organized the first off-campus phonathan fundraiser for the College, and was the founding president of the Boston Middlebury College Alumni Association.

Franklin has also served as the vice chair of the board of directors of Winchester Hospital, and the chair of the board of Winchester Healthcare Investments, Inc. Both organizations are located in Winchester, Mass. He is an active member of the Trinitarian Congregational Church of Concord, Mass., where he has served on the stewardship committee. Franklin and his wife Janet, a 1972 graduate of Middlebury, have three children: Chip, 19, is a member of the Middlebury class of 2002, and Katie, 17, and Lindsey, 14, both attend Middlesex School in Concord, Mass.

Middlebury College president John M. McCardell, Jr., noting Franklin’s many past contributions to the College, expressed his pleasure in Franklin’s election as chair. “As Middlebury prepares to enter its third century, Churchill Franklin offers the bold leadership needed to guide the College into the very top ranks of liberal arts colleges in the nation,” said McCardell. “His dedication and loyalty, combined with his willingness to work hard on behalf of Middlebury, have prepared Churchill well for the responsibilities he now assumes,” said McCardell.

Franklin succeeds outgoing board chair Claire Gargalli, who remains a charter trustee of the College. Gargalli will serve as vice chair of the board.