A Changing of the Guard: A Chat with Washington College Outgoing Board Chair Steve Golding and Incoming Rick Wheeler

Six years ago, Steve Golding took up the mantle of chair of the Washington College Board of Visitors and Governors. With impeccable credentials as a chief financial officer of some of the country’s most prestigious schools, including the University of Pennsylvania, Cornell, the University of Colorado, and Ohio University, he stepped into a leadership role at Washington at a time when liberal arts colleges in the country faced unprecedented financial challenges. The school’s leadership saw the significant benefit of having someone with Golding’s skills and temperament to serve as a mature and steady hand supporting a college president. And it didn’t hurt that he was proud member of the class of 1972.

During his tenure as Chair, the College has survived not only those financial minefields but also the unprecedented economic impact of a health pandemic. And under the leadership of new college president Mike Sosulski, student enrollment has increased, faculty co-governance relations have improved, and the school’s endowment has moved from $200 million to approximately $325 million. More recently, the College received a $15 million donation this spring from a young alum to seed a new undergraduate business school.

Not bad.

However, after two decades of service to Washington College, Steve Golding is stepping down to make room for a new generation to take over the critical role of stewardship of this 242-year-old Eastern Shore institution. Now, the torch will be passed to Rick Wheeler, class of 1986, the CFO of Oakland Consulting Group based in Lanham, MD.

In their Spy interview from a few weeks ago, Steve and Rick traded thoughts on where Washington College has been and where the country’s 10th oldest liberal arts college is going in the 21st century.

This video is approximately 12 minutes in length. For more information about Washington College please go here.