The Newcombe Foundation Board of Trustees announces the retirement of Trustee Elizabeth T. “Betty” Frank as of December 31st, 2024, after 25 years of dedicated service to the Foundation. Betty Frank is a graduate of Vassar College and the retired senior vice president of Lazard Freres Asset Management in New York City. Her expertise informed much of the Newcombe Trustees’ approach to investment policy, portfolio management, and risk mitigation. She also took an active and high impact role in all Foundation activities, advising on governance, administrative best practices, and Scholarship grantmaking.

In addition to her service to the Newcombe Foundation, Betty has dedicated much of her life to philanthropic endeavors. She has worked with numerous community service organizations such as the Philadelphia regional YMCA, Visiting Nurse Association, Girl Scouts of America; and the HOPE Program of Brooklyn, New York. In 2008, Betty and her late husband Charles established the Student Philanthropy Council at The Hill School. The student-led organization was created to encourage students to learn about the value and processes of philanthropy; develop lifelong habits of volunteerism and “giving back;” and provide funds to nonprofits working to enhance the lives of Pottstown area residents.

Betty’s sharp insights, her collegiality as a Board member, and her contributions to the Newcombe Foundation will be deeply missed. Executive Director, Gianna Durso-Finley, notes, “Betty’s generosity and willingness to share her wisdom has benefitted me, the Foundation, her colleagues, the students we serve, and even future generations of philanthropists. She is an amazing role model.”

It is with great sadness that the Trustees and Staff of the Charlotte W. Newcombe Foundation announce the passing of retired legacy Trustee Emeritus Dr. Robert (Bob) Merrihew Adams on April 16, 2024. Dr. Adams was one of several people, including his sister Janet Fearon, whom Mrs. Newcombe put through college. Together, Bob and Janet were instrumental in creating the Foundation upon Mrs. Newcombe’s death in 1979. Bob served forty years on the Board before retiring at the end of 2020.

Read Obituary for Robert Adams

Upon his retirement from the Board, in recognition of his commitment to the goals and mission of the Foundation, Trustees approved a resolution detailing Dr. Adams’ creative and intentional support for doctoral students through the Newcombe Fellowship Program and for graduate and undergraduate students through the Newcombe Scholarship Programs. The Robert M. Adams Legacy Award for Student Research was established at Thomas Edison State University in 2021 with a gift of $100,000 from the Newcombe Foundation. In addition, Trustees designated one doctoral fellowship each year as the Robert M. Adams – Charlotte W. Newcombe Fellowship in Philosophy in honor of his distinguished contributions to scholarship, research, and teaching.

Trustee Elizabeth T. Frank notes, “Bob was in the unique position of having known Mrs. Newcombe and of having been an original Trustee of the Foundation. As such, he was very familiar with Mrs. Newcombe’s philanthropic interests.  For all these years Bob has helped to guide the Trustees in keeping to the mission of the Foundation. As a professor, he helped the Trustees understand the college/university world.  He was knowledgeable in all facets of the Foundation’s business…investments, accounting, IRS regulations to name a few.  Bob was an excellent listener, often being the last to speak and always was able to help us come to a consensus.”

Retired Trustee J. Barton Luedeke adds, “Bob Adams played an integral role in the creation of The Charlotte W. Newcombe Foundation in the early 1980s and his wisdom, insights, and unfailingly sound counsel have been invaluable to the work of the Foundation over the subsequent years. He will be greatly missed.”

The Newcombe Foundation is pleased to announce the appointment of Damián J. Fernández, Ph.D. to the Board of Trustees. He was named the 10th president of Warren Wilson College in 2023, believes in the power of education and interpersonal relations to transform lives. Born in Pinar del Rio, Cuba, and raised in San Juan, Puerto Rico, President Fernández is a first-generation college graduate. He earned a bachelor’s degree in International Relations and Latin American Studies, from Princeton University, a master’s degree in Latin American studies from the University of Florida and a doctorate in international relations from University of Miami.

Fernández began his career as an Assistant Professor of Political Science at Colorado College. Later he joined Florida International University, where over 20 years, he honed his teaching, research, financial management and strategic planning skills, earning the rank of tenured full professor, leading the Cuban Research Institute, launching the University’s Long-Range Planning Office, revitalizing the Biscayne Bay campus, and rising to the role of Vice Provost. He is widely published—notably as the author of Cuba and the Politics of Passion (Austin: University of Texas, 2000)—and is a National Science Foundation grant recipient.

As the Provost and Executive Vice President at SUNY Purchase, he framed a strategic planning process around broad involvement and community engagement. His reengineering of administrative structures at Purchase resulted in reduced costs and increased interdisciplinary
collaboration. He led another strategic planning process as Chief Executive Officer and Head of School at the Ethical Culture Fieldston School in New York, which resulted in re-centering the ethics curriculum and enhancing world languages and global education. He also advanced efforts to reduce the school’s carbon footprint.

Implementing programs that increase diversity, ensure equity, promote inclusion and facilitate access has been a priority throughout Fernández’s career—including his time as chancellor at The Pennsylvania State University, Abington College, where his leadership resulted in measurable increases in recruitment of students of color and the hiring of underrepresented faculty. In recognition of his commitment and success, he was honored in 2019 by the Greater Philadelphia Hispanic Chamber of Commerce as Hispanic Professional of the Year, and in 2018 with the Philadelphia Business Journal Minority Business Leaders Award.

He served as President of Eckerd College, a liberal arts college in St. Petersburg, Florida, from 2020 to 2022. While leading the College through the pandemic he developed a strategic plan, raised $38 million, inaugurated the Office of Inclusive Excellence, established the Nielsen Center for the Liberal Arts, welcomed the largest class of first-year students, and created the St. Petersburg Center for Civic Engagement and Social Impact.

At Warren Wilson College he is leading an effort to reinvent the liberal arts and sciences for our times through place-based and problem-centered experiential learning that integrates academics, service, and work: Our Progressive Promise for All: Education in Action for the
Common Good.

Fernández has served on the Board of the American Council on Education and the AGB President’s Council. He is a member of the Charlotte Newcombe Foundation Board and Academic Search Board.

At the Association of Fundraising Professionals – NJ Chapter 39th Annual Excellence in Philanthropy Awards Celebration on Thursday June 13, 2019, The Charlotte W. Newcombe Foundation was honored as the Outstanding Foundation of the Year. Foundation Staff and Trustees were so pleased to have been nominated for this award by Fairleigh Dickinson University.

To qualify, a private foundation must … demonstrate an outstanding commitment to philanthropy and community involvement in an effort to making New Jersey a better place to live.

Images from the June 13 event: