Fairfield University appointed four distinguished leaders to the institution's Board of Trustees at its annual meeting on Oct. 6. The new board members are William C. Crager '86, president and co-founder of Envestnet, Inc.; William P. Egan '67, P'99, founder and general partner of Alta Communications and Marion Equity Partners LLC; Biff J. O'Reilly '80, P'11, president of PBS Capital; and the Rev. Stephen A. Privett, S.J., president of the University of San Francisco. Each will serve a six-year term beginning this month.

William C. Crager '86 is the president and co-founder of Envestnet, Inc. a New York-based firm that serves financial advisors and is a recognized innovator in the financial services industry. He is responsible for Envestnet's strategic development and client development as well as the firm's platform and product initiatives.

Prior to joining Envestnet, Crager served as managing director of Nuveen Investments and Rittenhouse Financial Services. While at Nuveen/Rittenhouse, he led the firm's strategic development efforts.

Crager received his B.A. from Fairfield University in 1986 with a major in economics. He and his wife, Kathy, have four children, ages 11 to 15, and live in the Philadelphia suburb of Berwyn, Penn.

William P. Egan '67, P'99 previously served for 18 years on Fairfield's board, which has benefited from his breadth of experience. He graduated Fairfield in 1967 with a degree in economics, and received his MBA from the University of Pennsylvania's Wharton School of Finance in 1969. He and his wife, Jacalyn are the parents of four children including Mark, class of 1999.

Egan is a founder and general partner of Alta Communications and Marion Equity Partners LLC, both Massachusetts-based venture capital firms. He founded Alta's predecessor firm, Burr, Egan, Deleage & Co. in 1979 and has identified and backed several of America's leading growth companies in the information technology, life sciences and communications industries. As a venture capitalist, Egan advises numerous companies regarding business challenges and opportunities in a dynamic business and economic environment.

Egan is past president and chairman of the National Venture Capital Association and serves on several boards of directors of communications, cable, information technology, and biopharmaceutical companies. He was honored for his contributions to Fairfield University with the Alumni Service Award in 1995 and the Alumni Professional Achievement Award in 2011.

Biff J. O'Reilly '80, P'11 graduated from Fairfield in 1980 with a degree in economics, and went on to receive an MBA from Babson College in 1984. He describes his background as an amalgam of experiences in financial services, real estate, mass transit operations and labor and government relations, primarily in New York at both the city and state levels.

O'Reilly worked for financial services broker Moseley, Hallgarten, Estabrook and Weedon before joining New York Bus Service. There he served for 14 years as executive vice president, then president. New York Bus Service was sold to the City of New York in 2005, and the bus transportation facility was leased to the city.

O'Reilly is now president of PBS Capital, where his focus is on real estate development and property management. He is also the president of an outdoor advertising company that has billboards along I-95 in the Bronx. Most recently he founded Clover Leaf Power, an early start up company that seeks to develop a 200 megawatt gas-fired electric power plant in the New York City area.

Originally from Kensington, Conn., O'Reilly now resides in Greenwich with his wife, Jeanne '82. They have two sons: Christopher a recent graduate with Fairfield's class of 2011, and Edward, a college sophomore.

The Rev. Stephen A Privett, S.J. is a native of San Francisco and has served as president of the University of San Francisco since 2000. He entered the Society of Jesus in 1960 and is a graduate of The Catholic University of America, the Jesuit School of Theology in Berkeley and Gonzaga University. His doctorate is in Catechetics and his particular expertise focuses on the Hispanic community in the Catholic Church.

Prior to his appointment at the University of San Francisco, Fr. Privett served as provost and academic vice president at Santa Clara University. While teaching at Santa Clara, he was recognized for "Teaching Excellence and Campus Leadership" with the Sears Roebuck Foundation Award. Early in his career, Fr. Privett was an instructor at Jesuit High School in Sacramento and principal of Bellarmine College Preparatory in San Jose.

Fr. Privett's numerous board directorships and memberships include the American Council on Education, the Association of Catholic Colleges and Universities, and the accrediting commission of the Western Association of Schools and Colleges.

The Board of Trustees of Fairfield University is a group of individuals empowered to act as a body to make policy decisions and to govern the affairs of the institution. The Board of Trustees is composed of members who are nominated because of their stature and influence in their community and their respective expertise. While Board members are not involved in the day-to-day operation of the university, they are responsible for seeing that the beliefs and mission of the university and its goals and objectives are carried out in the operations of the institution.

Posted On: 10-11-2011 11:10 AM

Volume: 44 Number: 62