Elise: Ms. Welling, I wanted to thank you on behalf of the Apollos and Paul Smith’s College for doing this interview. The first question I would like to ask is where are you from originally? Where did your childhood take place?

Trustee Katharine Welling: I was born in Hanover, NH. We then moved to my  parents’ hometown in Rochester, New York, where I grew up and where my mom still resides today.

Elise: What are some things that you enjoy doing? Do you have any hobbies?

Welling: Lots of things! I am a runner, I really enjoy that. I have run for a long time – marathons, etcetera.  The last marathon I ran was maybe about four years ago. But, I do lots of sports: skiing cross-country, tennis, and a lot of golf. Recently, in the last four or five years, I have also done a lot of oil painting.

Elise: What are some jobs that you’ve done in your life?

Welling: I started out doing a lot of career counseling, and worked for Harvard University and also for Vanderbilt University, as well as Dartmouth College. Then I got into fundraising.  After that I became a fundraising and strategic planning consultant for a firm that was run by a Dartmouth alum.

Elise: Where did you go to college?

Welling: I went to Wells College, in Aurora, NY, which is where my mom went school as well. It was a wonderful education at the time, when it was important for women to find their own voices. It was a small women’s institution and I felt that I got a wonderful education, one that really bordered on good leadership skills. Then I went to Columbia University for a master’s in counseling.

Elise: What was hardest part for you in college?

Welling: I think, probably, initially it was writing because I never felt that I was a really good writer. I think it was just a lack of confidence, in my young age. I really enjoy writing now; I do quite a bit of it. As a fundraising consultant I would have to do a lot of case statements and that sort of thing.

Elise: What made you become a trustee? What sparked your interest in Paul Smith’s College?

Welling: Well, my family has always gone to Lake Clear; we went there for family vacations before it was all sold off. Then my family bought a couple little cabins and my sisters and their families continue to go there – it really is a family magnet for us. Lake Clear is very important to our children and their cousins. My dad served on the Board of Paul Smith’s College for a number of years and as his term was winding down he asked if I would be interested in serving on the board… He persuaded me that Paul Smith’s was such a special place and I had seen that through the events we attended with him, and so I did become a trustee. I am so glad I did, it is such a wonderful place.

Elise: How long have you been involved in the college?

Welling: I was going to look that up! Time has gone by so fast! I think that it has been about ten years.

Elise: What are your hopes for the college in maybe five to 10 years or so?

Welling: Well, a number of things. I did serve on the presidential search committee when we found Cathy Dove, and I hope you feel as I do, that she has done an incredible job. I think that the kinds of hopes and dreams that she has are similar to the ones that I have. I think that it was too bad, all that has happened surrounding the Weils’ gifts, because I think that they were trying to make a very kind and generous offer, and I know that Joan had been a very thoughtful and involved trustee and Chair of the Board, and that her beginning at Brooklyn College, when she didn’t have much, really related to a lot of the students feelings. She really wanted to give her time and be involved. I think that it was too bad that it was seen that she just wanted her name on the college as opposed to her giving a gift that would have set the college up for years to come.

I think my hope is that the alumni, especially those dissatisfied about Joan’s gift, will come forward and make as generous gifts as they can over the next few years because I think that we do need to find the money that the Weils would have given. And not that I am completely dismissing the fact that Joan may not give, but there are others who can and will step up, and I think that is going to be important for Paul Smith’s future.

I think that the kinds of things that Paul Smith’s really stands for are the kinds of things that will resonate with younger families. It’s just that it is expensive, and we and the whole country need to take a look at the expense of a college education. At the trustee level, and at the administrative leadership level, they are looking at finding ways to make it not so expensive. We are fundraising and looking for a lot more scholarship help and this is one of the reasons that my mother wished to make a gift in my dad’s name – because Paul Smith’s meant so much to him…it was the largest scholarship gift that the college ever received. I really feel good about that, as does my whole family. We feel it will help Paul Smith’s College stand out for what it does best and for the education it provides in such an incredible environment.

I do have to say that one of the things I am hoping for is the finding of a way for the college to really use the summer months in a better way. Perhaps it will be possible at some point to go for a year-round operation, as some colleges do, so people who don’t like the winter so much can go in the summer. And I hope we’ll be able to create some other ideas that really resonate with students that are not at Paul Smith’s, and show them what the school really has to offer, and open their eyes to this wonderful college.

Elise: You have mentioned your dad a couple of time, and he was a trustee of the school as well?”

Welling: He was. He died three years ago, but he was really involved, almost until his death. He was so happy that I had joined the board and my mom and dad spent their summers at Lake Clear, especially during the summer board meetings. I would always bring my dad; he couldn’t hear that well, but he just enjoyed sitting in the meetings with me. He had given his all, he worked I think under three different presidents, and he was a fundraiser par excellence. I really learned a lot from him. The college had a special place in his heart.

Elise: I believe he also had a large part in the Hutchinson Study Café that we have here on campus.

Welling: Yes, I think that was a gift that they wanted to make when the library was being built and they needed donations, so they asked the trustees and others for gifts that would round out that library building. So the café I think is terrific and I loved hearing about the open mic nights that Curt Stager and students have. I think that would make my dad really happy.