Dartmouth's board of trustees has elected T.J. Rodgers '70, chief executive officer of Cypress Semiconductor in San Jose, Calif., an alumni trustee following a vote by Dartmouth's alumni nominating him from a list of four candidates.
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After graduating from Dartmouth in 1970 as salutatorian, with majors in chemistry and physics, Rodgers earned MS and PhD degrees from Stanford University in 1973 and 1975 respectively. He founded Cypress Semiconductor in 1982. Since then, Cypress has become a billion-dollar company with 4,100 employees and has been recognized as one of the nation's leading entrepreneurial firms. Chief Executive magazine honored Rodgers two years ago as one of its "Top 100 Chief Executives."
"Dartmouth's alumni nominated T.J. Rodgers from a very strong list of candidates," notes board chair Susan Dentzer '77. "We value the full range of perspectives and experiences that all of our trustees bring to the board and that inform their deliberations. T.J.'s background as a successful businessman and entrepreneur will benefit our discussions considerably. He is a dedicated alumnus ... and we're delighted that he'll now be working as a trustee to preserve Dartmouth's preeminence in higher education."
"I am an expert on management process development and a tireless champion of the Bill of Rights," Rodgers says. "I hope to contribute to the school I love."
Rodgers serves on the boards of the Semiconductor Industry Association and seven Silicon Valley technology companies. He has testified before Congress five times on business-related topics. His civic interests include the Santa Clara County Second Harvest Food Bank and the Healing Institute's Carver Scholars Program, and he has established computer facilities for economically disadvantaged student and church groups in northern California.
He joins the board this month, occupying a seat vacated by Peter M. Fahey '68, who is stepping down after 10 years of service.
The election of Rodgers and, in March, Charles E. Haldeman Jr. '70, president and CEO of Putnam Investments, and Albert G. Mulley Jr., chief of the General Medicine Division of Massachusetts General Hospital, brings the size of the board to 17. The trustees adopted a plan last fall to expand the size of the group from 16 to 22 over the next several years, and to shift the term length from five years to four. One charter seat has been added during the 2003–04 process, and the first new alumni trustee position will be added next year.
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