Jeffrey Greenhawt elected chair of Emerson’s Board of Trustees

Emerson College announced May 13 that Jeffrey Greenhawt ’68 has been elected chair of its Board of Trustees. He succeeds Peter Meade ’70, who recently became director of the Boston Redevelopment Authority and is stepping down to avoid any potential conflict of interest. Meade had been chair since May 2007.

“Jeff is a talented entrepreneur with a profound understanding of the communications industry,” said Jacqueline Liebergott, president of Emerson College. “He has more than a decade of experience as a member of our Board of Trustees, including, most recently, as treasurer. His depth of knowledge regarding Emerson College’s affairs will prove invaluable in the months and years ahead,” she said.

“On behalf of the Emerson community, I want to express my gratitude and appreciation to Peter Meade for all that he has done,” Liebergott said.

Greenhawt was first appointed to the Emerson Board of Trustees in December 1995. Before that, he had served as chair of Emerson College’s Board of Overseers. He is vice president and a managing partner of Sunshine Wireless Company. Sunshine owns and operates media companies, which has included radio stations, radio networks, broadcast transmission towers, and Studio Center, which operates audio-video production facilities across the country.

“Emerson attracts many of the current generation’s most gifted students,” Greenhawt said. “The Board is committed to doing whatever we can to ensure that they receive the highest caliber of instruction to endow them with the intellectual ability and industry-related knowledge that they will need to lead the professions of their choice,” he said.

Asked what differentiates Emerson from its peers, Greenhawt said: “Other institutions seem to spend a lot of time going in circles, endlessly planning. Emerson is a place where plans are developed and put into action, making great things happen.”

A resident of Boca Raton, Florida, Greenhawt is married to Jan Jacobs Greenhawt ’69, who is a member of the Dean’s Advisory Council for Emerson’s School of Communication, a former chair of the Emerson Board of Overseers, and an active member of the College’s Alumni Association. The Greenhawts have two married children and three grandchildren.