Claire L. Gaudiani

Under Gaudiani’s leadership, Connecticut College nearly quintupled its endowment and rose in the influential U.S. News and World Report survey from No. 41 to the top 25. She was president of the non-profit New London Development Corporation which is dedicated to creating greater economic opportunities and quality of life for all citizens of New London. After 12 years at the College, Gaudiani spent 3 years as Senior Research Fellow at Yale Law School where she wrote The Greater Good, How Philanthropy Built the American Economy. She held 10 honorary doctorates. She served on numerous public and non-profit boards including the Luce Foundation, MBIA Inc., the Lyman Allyn Museum of Art, Citizens Bank, and the national Charities Information Bureau. She authored more than ten books and monographs including Daughters of the Declaration: How Women Entrepreneurs Built the American Dream, and more than 80 articles.