Pace University Announces New Members To The Board Of Trustees

Leaders in tech, media, and the nonprofit sector join board

NEW YORK (February 26, 2020) – Pace University’s Board of Trustees announced the election of three new board members. They include Peta-Gay Clarke (Seidenberg School of Computer Science and Information Systems)’15 of Google, Michael A. Clinton (Pace’s Lubin School of Business) ’83 of Hearst Magazines, and Eugene M. Tobin, PhD, of The Andrew W. Mellon Foundation.

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About the new board members

Peta-Gay Clarke is a Diversity Manager and the Program lead for Code Next at Google, where she works to improve diversity and inclusion in tech. She joined Google in July 2015 first as a community manager before moving to her current role in September 2018. In addition to her work at Google, Peta serves as an Adjunct Professor at Pace University, teaching courses in the Seidenberg School of Computer Science and Information Systems.  Clarke has been a volunteer with Black Girls CODE (New York Chapter) and the New York City Department of Education where she worked with the city’s mentoring program. Clarke received her master’s from Pace University’s Seidenberg School of Computer Science in 2015.

“Peta-Gay earned her master of science at Pace only a few years ago, but she has accomplished great things since her graduation, now working at Google to lead a computer science education program for black and Latinx high schoolers,” said Mark Besca, chairman of Pace’s Board of Trustees. “We’re happy that she wants to give back to Pace and bring her expertise in computer programming, education, and advocacy to our board.”

Clarke said, “When I came to Pace I was a single parent, working full-time looking for a flexible learning environment and Pace offered that and so much more. I found the community at Pace to be supportive and exceptional. I was always presented with growth opportunities and given the agency to explore them. I’m honored and excited to give back in my new role as a member of the Board of Trustees.”

Michael A. Clinton is senior media advisor at Hearst Corporation. He spent 40 years in the publishing industry, serving in leadership roles at Hearst and Conde Nast. Clinton retired from his role as president of marketing and publishing director of Hearst Magazines in December 2019. Prior to this, he was the executive vice president, chief marketing officer, and publishing director of Hearst Magazines, a position he held since October 1997. Clinton is the founder and president of Circle of Generosity, a nonprofit organization that delivers random acts of kindness to individuals and families in need. He earned his bachelor’s degree from University of Pittsburgh, received his master of business administration from Pace’s Lubin School of Business in 1983 and received an honorary doctorate from Pace University.  Clinton is working on another master’s degree from Columbia University in nonprofit management.

“Michael is a proud Pace alumnus, a seasoned media executive, and has long been devoted to serving the University,” said Mark Besca, chairman of Pace’s Board of Trustees. “As he turns his primary focus to philanthropy, including the Circle of Generosity that he founded, we’re pleased that the Pace board will be a recipient of his time and wisdom.”

Clinton said, “As a firm believer in the power of education to transform lives, I’m thrilled to be joining Pace University’s Board of Trustees. My MBA from Pace provided me with an important toolkit that helped propel my career. I look forward to giving back and guiding the institution, because education is a lifelong journey and Pace has so much to offer.”

Eugene M. Tobin, PhD, is a retired senior program officer at The Andrew W. Mellon Foundation in the program for Higher Education and Scholarship in the Humanities. Prior to his work at the foundation, Tobin spent 23 years at Hamilton College as a faculty member, department chair, dean of faculty, and as president. Tobin serves as a Trustee on the Board of The Swedish Program in Organizational Studies and Public Policy at Stockholm School of Economics. He received his bachelor’s degree from Rutgers University and his master’s and PhD in the History of American Civilization from Brandeis University.

“Gene’s expertise in guiding higher education institutions is nearly unmatched,” said Mark Besca, chairman of Pace’s Board of Trustees. “He brings a wide range of perspectives to our board, from his work as a scholar, at the Mellon Foundation, and at Hamilton College, where he served as president, and we’re very lucky to be able to benefit from his experience.”

Tobin said, “I am honored to join a thriving university community that embraces access, diversity, and inclusion as the keys to intergenerational mobility. Pace has a distinguished history of expanding opportunity and ensuring financial affordability for generations of traditional and returning students. I look forward to working to assure that Pace has the resources to maintain academic quality, increase educational attainment, shorten time to degree completion, and continue to reduce disparities in outcomes by race and socioeconomic status.”

About Pace University

Pace University has a proud history of preparing its diverse student body for a lifetime of professional success as a result of its unique program that combines rigorous academics and real-world experiences. Pace is ranked the #1 private, four-year college in the nation for upward economic mobility by Harvard University’s Opportunity Insights, evidence of the transformative education the University provides.

From its beginnings as an accounting school in 1906, Pace has grown to three campuses, enrolling 13,000 students in bachelor’s, master’s, and doctoral programs in more than 150 majors and programs, across a range of disciplines: arts, sciences, business, health care, technology, law, education, and more. The university also has one of the most competitive performing arts programs in the country. Pace has a signature, newly renovated campus in New York City, located in the heart of vibrant Lower Manhattan, next to Wall Street and City Hall, and two campuses in Westchester County, New York: a 200-acre picturesque Pleasantville Campus and the Elisabeth Haub School of Law in White Plains.