Saint Anselm College welcomed seven new members of the Board of Trustees on Oct. 14, including two who previously served on the board, five who are alumni, and one who is the parent of a graduate and longtime supporter of the college.
President Joseph A. Favazza, Ph.D. welcomed the new Trustees, who join the board at a pivotal time for Saint Anselm, as several initiatives are under way and the strategic plan enters its second year.
“We are so fortunate to have these extraordinary individuals sharing their talents with the college,” Dr. Favazza said. “As we make big strides with our excellent nursing program, expand our athletic opportunities with track and field, and look to make curricular and co-curricular advancements that will benefit the mission of Saint Anselm, it is critical to have people who are at the top of their fields helping lead the way.”
New Trustees include:
David G. Collins, class of 1977: David G. Collins is the Retired President of RYP Granite Strategies, a leading state government affairs firm. Prior to RYP, David was the Director of Government Relations for Public Service Company of New Hampshire and in an earlier life, a Biologist for New Hampshire Fish & Game. He is a veteran lobbyist with more than 25 years of experience assisting clients through the development and implementation of successful public-policy strategies before state legislative and executive branches. Collins earned a B.A. in natural sciences from Saint Anselm College in 1977. He is the son of Saint Anselm’s first executive vice president, the late Robert J. “Bob” Collins, class of 1937.
Robert E. “Bob” Dunn, Jr.: Dunn, Jr. is the Director of the Office of Public Policy for the Roman Catholic Diocese of Manchester. Previously, he served as the Director of Legislative and Governmental Affairs for Devine Millimet, as the assistant commissioner of the N.H. Department of Safety, and as an assistant attorney general in the N.H. Department of Justice. A 1983 graduate of the College of the Holy Cross with a degree in classics, Dunn received his J.D. from Georgetown University Law Center in 1986. Currently, he is a member of the Board of Directors of New Hampshire Humanities, the Bishop’s Charitable Assistance Fund, and the N.H. Catholic Lawyers Guild, and he also serves as a member of the State of New Hampshire Commission on Holocaust and Genocide Education.
Roger L. Jean, class of 1970, HD ’06: Jean retired in 2006 as Executive Vice President at Liberty Mutual Group, and President of its Regional Agency Markets (RAM), having worked in the insurance industry for more than 35 years. Previously, he served as president of Commercial Insurance at Liberty Mutual, joining when the company acquired the former U.S. operations of Guardian Royal Exchange, where Jean had been president and COO of the GRE Group. Prior to that, he was president and CEO of the ING Property & Casualty Corp. Jean earned a B.A. in history from Saint Anselm in 1970 and was awarded an honorary doctorate in 2006. He previously served as a Trustee from 1998 to 2020 and more recently as a member of the Presidential Commission on Nursing.
Elizabeth J. (LaMalfa) Kelly, class of 1983: Kelly is a lead assessor for the Mercy Learning Center in Bridgeport, CT. She earned her B.A. in English from Saint Anselm College in 1983, followed by a master’s degree in Reading and Language Arts from Central Connecticut State University. She was a member of the Trustees from 2012 to 2021 and served as chair of the facilities and technology committee. Currently she is tri-chair of the Gregory J. Grappone ’04 Humanities Institute campaign steering committee.
Dr. Kara A. Pitt, class of 1988: Dr. Pitt is an obstetrician/gynecologist at the Women’s Health Center of Vermont and Attending Physician for Gynecology at Springfield (VT) Hospital. After graduating from Saint Anselm in 1988, she received an M.S. from Yale University and a medical degree from the University of Illinois. Her husband is John D. Polcari, a member of the Class of 1986. Kara and John are both long-time members of the Saint Anselm College President’s Society.
Beverly D. Grappone, P’04, HD’21: Since retiring from active involvement as a registered nurse, Grappone has been highly involved as a volunteer and philanthropist with numerous causes. She has been a major supporter of Easter Seals of New Hampshire and has served on the Concord (N.H.) Hospital Board of Trustees and the New Hampshire Institute of Technology (NHTI) College Advisory Board. Grappone is the mother of the late alumnus Greg Grappone, who graduated from Saint Anselm College in 2004 and passed away in 2015. The Gregory J. Grappone ‘04 Humanities Institute is named in recognition of their philanthropy and in memory of their son.
Fr. Stephen (Brian) Lawson O.S.B., class of 2008: Fr. Stephen was born and raised in Holyoke, Massachusetts. He graduated from Saint Anselm College in 2008 with a B.A. in politics. After graduation he worked as a journalist for PolitickerNH.com and for the civic engagement group Citizens Count. In 2010, he joined Saint Anselm Abbey and professed solemn vows in 2014. Fr. Stephen earned a M.Div. from Saint Meinrad Seminary and School of Theology and was ordained a priest in 2017. While at Saint Anslem College, Fr. Stephen has served in the Office of Campus Ministry and taught in the Conversatio program. He currently works in the finance office and is a student in the Executive MBA program at the University of Notre Dame.
Six Trustees departed the board this fall at the expiration of their term, including Linda Kennedy Sheldon ’78, Dr. Joseph Pepe ’83, Frank Pfeffer ’76, Susan Cabana ‘89, Christine “Dixie” Douville ’86, and Robert Connor.
