In Memoriam: Dort Cameron ’67
Dort A. Cameron III, a member of the Class of 1967 and a trustee emeritus, died on May 28, 2026, in Bedford, New York. He was 81. Cameron served on Middlebury’s Board of Trustees for 15 years and as a trustee emeritus for 27 years. His important contributions, particularly on the Investment Committee, are still being felt today.
“Dort, as head of the Investment Committee from 1993 to 1998, is the reason the College’s endowment is the size it is,” said Churchill Franklin ’71, fellow trustee emeritus. “His close ties and friendships with some of the emerging, innovative, and most successful investment managers of the 1980s and 1990s made Middlebury financially competitive. Dort’s firm hand on the tiller in those early days guided the growth of our endowment.”
Cameron was born in Batavia, New York, on January 28, 1945. He matriculated at Middlebury in 1963 and was a member of the Yacht Club, Ski Patrol, and Delta Kappa Epsilon. He graduated with a degree in political science and went on to earn an MBA from Boston University in 1969. He did brief stints at U.S. Trust Company of New York and Salomon Brothers before joining Drexel Burnham Lambert in 1971. He was at Drexel from 1971 to 1984, where he helped launch the High Yield Bond Department.
In 1984 he cofounded Investment Limited Partnership (ILP) to manage a large pool of capital for 10 years on behalf of the Equitable Life Insurance Company and the Bass Brothers, and the Airlie Group was formed in 1988 to manage a successor fund to ILP. In 1993, he purchased and restructured Entex Information Services, becoming a majority owner and chairman before selling to Siemens in 2000. He founded Airlie Opportunity Capital Management, where he oversaw investments in various credit-related funds from 2003 to 2017, and after that continued to invest his own capital, but mostly advised and helped others to grow their businesses. From 1986 to 2026, he kept the same office. The office had no door, and he welcomed a visit from anyone at any time.
Cameron joined Middlebury’s Board of Trustees in 1983 as an alumni trustee, serving five years. In 1988 he became a term trustee, then in 1993, he signed on as a charter trustee. “Dort was a man of keen intelligence and insight, of clear and direct talk, and had a deep, genuine, and abiding love for Middlebury College. In his board work, he posed penetrating, and more than occasionally challenging, questions and rightly expected informed responses,” said John McCardell, former president of the College.
“Though I knew him far too briefly it was so clear to me what a remarkable man he was,” said Middlebury’s current president Ian Baucom. “A force for the good of Middlebury and his loving family, he has left a powerful legacy.”
Cameron’s service to the board was extensive and exhibited his commitment to education and to the students. “Dort always put the students’ interests first and was outspoken and vociferous if the administration ever got confused about that,” said Franklin. Besides serving on committees such as College Advancement, Budget and Finance, Prudential, Building and Grounds, Trustee and Governance, and the Investment Committee, he also served on Student Affairs and Athletics.
After retiring from the board, Cameron was elected as a trustee emeritus and continued to add his wisdom and perspective to various committees, including Strategy, Resources, and the Schools Board of Advisors. His was a welcome and respected voice at the table.
“Dort’s service to his alma mater prompts all who knew him to mourn his passing and express deep gratitude for his dedication, to the very end of his life, to the walls and paths—and above all the Midd Kids—he knew and loved so well,” said McCardell.
Cameron was devoted to his family and will be deeply missed. He is survived by wife Betsy (Connors) ’67; children Sarah ’92 and husband Peter Sturn, Seth ’95 and wife Kirtley (Horton) ’95, Miles ’00 and wife Brett (Mosely), and Eliza ’05.5 and husband Chris Eaton ’99; and 12 grandchildren, including Hazel Cameron ’30.