Excerpts from Vol. 140, No. 2; September 7, 2007

Susan L. Hopp replaces Gerald Commerford as Dean of Students

By Ahmed Kodouda
Writer

Over the summer, the University welcomed new administrative officials, including Dean of Students Susan Hopp, Chief Investment Officer Chris Brown ‘81 and Director of Media Relations Tom Evelyn.

The University created the Chief Investment Officer position in order to manage endowments alongside the Board of Trustees’ Investment Committee.

“[What my job] entails is to make sure that we have the right investment policies in place, that we have the appropriate asset allocation in place, and once we have allocated those assets appropriately, to then find the right external managers for those assets,” Brown said.

Due to the fact that the investments have almost doubled in the last five years, the University has “decided that it was important to have a full-time focus on the endowment fund, especially as we enter a comprehensive campaign,” Brown said.

His position is a component of the “Securing Our Financial Future” piece of the Strategic Plan.

“It is imperative for Bucknell to have a solid financial future,” Brown said.

Prior to his position at the University, Brown was a senior vice president at GE Asset Management in Stanford, Conn.

“I ran U.S. equity portfolios for the GE pension fund,” Brown said.

“The opportunity here for me is exciting because it broadens my experience  beyond the U.S. equity focus that I’ve had and expands to broader asset allocation,” Brown said.

The University also welcomes Hopp. Her duties as a member of the administration will include supervision of the professional staff, programs, and budgets for campus activities, community health promotion, housing and residential life, fraternity and sorority affairs, judicial affairs, leadership programs, new student orientation, student health services and volunteer services. (read full article)