Fall 2012 Issue - Colby-Sawyer College

Alumna, Trustee Emerita, Legend
Susan Morrison Mayer ’50, P’75
by Kimberly Swick Slover
S
usan Morrison
Mayer of Newbury,
N.H., a member
of the Class of 1950,
died on April 16,
2012 at the age of
81. She earned an associate
of arts degree from
Colby Junior College and a
bachelor’s degree in education
at Tufts University
in 1953.
Mayer joined the Board
of Trustees in 1981, serving
until 1990, and again from
1997 to 2006. Over the
years, she was active on
many board committees,
including as chair of
Academic Affairs. Mayer
also volunteered as a
Susan Morrison Mayer was deeply involved in
college life as an alumna, trustee and benefactor.
class agent, as co-chair of
her 30th, 40th, 45th and
50th class reunions, as a
member and president
of the Alumni Association
board, and as a regional
chair for The Campaign for
Colby-Sawyer.
The college also benefited
from Susan and her
husband Gerald Mayer’s
generous philanthropy.
The couple established
two endowments, the
George A. Giles
Presidential Initiatives
Fund in 2000 and
The Gerald and Susan
Mayer Faculty and Staff
Development Fund in
1992. Named in honor
of Susan’s
grandfather,
the Giles Fund
supports the
president’s
highest
priorities.
The Mayer
Fund enables
faculty and
staff to pursue
their professional
interests
and deepen
their expertise
through
conferences,
sabbatical
research,
advanced
course work and travel.
Susan and Gerry were also
involved in and financially
supported the college’s
effort to move the
Colbytown Lodge (now
Lethbridge Lodge) to campus
for students’ social
and recreational use.
In recognition of their
extraordinary service and
philanthropy, Susan and
Gerry received the college’s
highest award—the
Susan Colgate Cleveland
Medal for Distinguished
Service—at Commencement
1995. They were also
named as members of the
Legends Society, the highest
recognition level for
benefactors. For service to
her class and the college,
Susan received the Alumni
Service Award in 1990.
Former Chair of the
Board of Trustees Anne
Winton Black ’73, ’75
first met Susan Mayer
when she was a young
alumna. They shared a
love of the college, and as
Black took on volunteer
positions and advanced to
the Board of Trustees,
Mayer became a mentor
and role model to her.
“I saw in Sue the epitome
of a Colby-Sawyer graduate:
A person of integrity,
good humor, devotion
to her college, boundless
generosity and endless
curiosity,” Black says. “Sue
never took herself seriously,
but took very seriously
her service to Colby-Sawyer
College, its faculty, staff
and students. With her
marriage to Gerry, she
found a perfect partner, for
their outlooks on life were
so similar. They embraced
fully their ability to leave
behind something better
for their care.”
Black believes Mayer’s
legacy will continue to
exude a powerful presence
at the college. “I will
always remember Sue for
her tender heart, her
boundless energy, and the
care with which she
attended to all the people
and places which were
meaningful to her,”
Black says.
Mayer’s daughter, Robin
McNutt, graduated from
Colby-Sawyer in 1975,
followed by Robin’s
daughter, Katelin McNutt,
in 2010. She is survived by
her and Gerry’s eight
children and their many
grandchildren.
Fall 2012
111
In Memoriam