In Memoriam: Roxanne McCormick Leighton
Roxanne McCormick Leighton, a member of the Class of 1967 and a trustee emerita, died on August 4, 2026, at her home in Islesboro, Maine. She was 81 years old. Leighton served on Middlebury’s Board of Trustees from 1996 to 2011 and then served as a trustee emerita for 14 years. Her many contributions to the board during a time of unprecedented change in the history of the College were invaluable, particularly when she helped steer the institution as vice chair of the corporation from 2006 to 2009.
“Throughout her many years of service to Middlebury, Roxanne brought wisdom, clarity, and quiet but powerful leadership that shaped the institution in meaningful ways,” said Kirtley Horton Cameron ’95, who serves as the current board president. “She leaves a legacy of unwavering dedication and generous support, and deep personal connections that inspired those of us who were lucky enough to serve alongside her. She was truly a model trustee, and we will miss her dearly.”
Leighton was born on April 4, 1945, in Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania, and was raised in Manchester, Vermont. She graduated from Miss Porter’s School in Farmington, Connecticut, then entered Middlebury in 1963, where she was a member of the women’s ski team. When she graduated with a degree in American literature, she said she graduated with a minor in the Snowbowl. Her love of skiing led to her first entrepreneurial adventure, cofounding CB Sports, a ski apparel manufacturing company in Bennington, Vermont, which she ran from 1970 to 1979. She completed the Owner/President/Management Program at the Harvard Business School and continued her business career managing a clothing division for a ski company in Sun Valley, Idaho, and owning a golf course in Boise. Committed to philanthropy, conservation, and education, she volunteered with a number of nonprofits.
In 1996, Leighton joined the Middlebury Board of Trustees as a charter member. She brought her extensive business and management skills to bear on her work as a trustee, and she was greatly respected by those she served with. “Roxanne was always a warm, quiet, and incredibly insightful colleague,” said Churchill Franklin ’71, who was a board chair during Leighton’s tenure. “She could always see through the noise in the boardroom and put her finger exactly on the issue at hand. One could count on Roxanne to have a calm, student-centric response.”
Her career as an entrepreneur and successful businesswoman informed her contributions to many committees over the years, including Budget and Finance; the Prudential Committee, where she was vice chair for two years; the College Advancement Committee, where she served as co-chair from 2008 to 2012; and the Trustee and Governance Committee, where she served from 2001 to 2011 and guided the committee as the chair from 2008 to 2011. “Roxanne was unflappable and, despite her memorable quick smile, always returned to the specific challenge at hand with a savvy response. Her critical Trustee and Governance Committee leadership strengthened governance and brought on new extraordinary trustees,” said Rick Fritz ’68, board chair from 2004 to 2012.
In the minute honoring her term on the board at its completion, her contributions to her alma mater during a time of exciting changes for the College were noted. “Consider this: record fundraising efforts, the appointment and inauguration of a president, the affiliation and integration of a graduate institution, the growth and enrichment of the curriculum, the expansion of the faculty, the internationalization of the student body, the sustained excellence in athletics and cultural achievement in the arts … all coincide with Roxanne’s leadership on the Board of Trustees. Coincide? Yes. Coincidence? Not likely.”
After retiring from the board, Leighton was elected as a trustee emerita in 2012 and continued to add her wise counsel to various committees including Risk; Strategy; Schools Board of Advisors; and Strategy Programs. In addition, she continued to be a respected and beloved colleague to other members of the board. Anne Davis Peterson ’85, who joined the board in 2019, said “Roxanne loved Middlebury to the core, and this showed in everything she did and said as a trustee. She was an incredible role model for me personally on what it means to be a true philanthropist and steward of the College.” Franklin added, “Roxanne was an amazing friend and generous trustee for many years. She had a great sense of humor and a twinkle in her eye.”
Fritz’s relationship with Leighton started well before Middlebury. “My childhood memory of Roxanne, or ‘Roxie,’ whose family members were longstanding Manchester, Vermont, friends, was her skiing past me in a tuck at Bromley, while I was snowplowing. Years later, we reconnected at Middlebury as students and then trustees. We will miss her greatly and love her forever.”
Predeceased by her husband, Charles Leighton, Leighton is survived by her brother, Levering “TD” McCormick, and his wife, Judi; her stepdaughter, Julia Leighton, and Glo Powers; her nieces and nephews, Wynne McCormick, John and Meghan McCormick, Worthy McCormick, Suzanne “Topsy” and Andrew King, Charles and Alison Taylor; and her brother-in-law, Frederic Taylor.