Santa Clara University Elects Two New Trustees from Business, Nonprofit Sector
SANTA CLARA, Calif., March 16, 2015—At its winter meeting, Santa Clara University’s Board of Trustees elected two new trustees: Seattle nonprofit leader and Bronco parent Libby Gates Armintrout and SCU alumnus and Southern California car dealership owner Timothy Smith.
The elections bring to 46 the number of members of the governing body that helps steer strategies and priorities of the 164-year-old private University.
“We are extremely pleased to welcome Libby Armintrout and Tim Smith to the board of trustees.” said President Michael Engh, S.J. “Their strong community connections and breadth of experience in the business and nonprofit sectors will bring valuable perspectives to our board and to our SCU community.”
Libby Armintrout is a native of Seattle, who has focused her board service on educational organizations. She serves on the board of trustees of her alma mater Pomona College as well as the board of directors of her local community foundation, The Seattle Foundation.
“It is a distinct privilege to be joining Santa Clara’s board at a time when the University is committing to a bold new strategic plan,” said Armintrout. “Santa Clara is uniquely poised to take its place among leading universities, and I look forward to serving such a visionary institution.”
Armintrout graduated from Pomona with a bachelor of science degree in economics, and is the parent of Santa Clara University junior, Steve Armintrout, and two other young adult children, Emmy (Stanford ’14) and Mary (Vanderbilt ’18).
She is an active community volunteer and a nonprofit leader within the Seattle community. She was a founding member of the Washington Women’s Foundation, the mission of which is to increase philanthropy among women through collective giving circles and collaboration.
She previously served on the boards of numerous educational, health-care, and charitable organizations including:
*University of Washington’s Carlson Leadership and Public Service Center
*Lakeside School
*Make-A-Wish Foundation
*Seattle Children’s Hospital
*Seattle Schools Fund for Excellence (now the Alliance for Education)
*University Child Development School
*University of Washington Foundation
Smith, a 1968 economics graduate of Santa Clara University, is the president of Bob Smith BMW and Bob Smith MINI in Calabasas, California, which sells new and pre-owned BMW and MINI vehicles.
For decades, Smith has been an active ambassador for SCU, serving as co-chair of the 1968 reunion committee; as a regent from 1993 to 2005; a member of the National Alumni Association board, for which he served as president from 1984 to 1985; and on the Bannan Institute advisory board. He was awarded the Santa Claran of the Year award by the Los Angeles chapter in 1996.
He currently serves on the board of directors of the National Automobile Dealers Association and the Greater Los Angeles New Car Dealers Association, and is president of the Catholic Education Foundation, which helps to provide children of low-income families with access to a Catholic education. He previously served as a trustee of the Flintridge Sacred Heart Academy.
“It is truly an honor and a privilege to be a trustee of Santa Clara, a wonderful university and community that Judy and I have been part of for 50 years,” said Smith. “While totally unexpected, I am so excited to be an active participant in a great group of trustees who are helping shape our alma mater's future.”
In 1999, Smith and his wife Judith, also a member of the class of 1968, established the Timothy and Judith Smith Foundation, which supports Catholic schools and educational foundations, as well as medical research and human services.
The couple lives in La Canada Flintridge and has three grown children: Patrick, Anne, and Catherine.
About Santa Clara University
Santa Clara University, a comprehensive Jesuit, Catholic university located 40 miles south of San Francisco in California’s Silicon Valley, offers its more than 9,000 students rigorous undergraduate curricula in arts and sciences, business, and engineering; master’s degrees in business, education, counseling psychology, pastoral ministry, and theology; and law degrees and engineering Ph.D.s. Distinguished nationally by one of the highest graduation rates among all U.S. master’s universities, California’s oldest operating higher-education institution demonstrates faith-inspired values of ethics and social justice. For more information, see www.scu.edu.
Media Contact
Deborah Lohse | SCU Media Relations | dlohse@scu.edu | 408-554-5121