Chemical Heritage Foundation

Thomas R. Tritton, president of Haverford College, will become president of the Chemical Heritage Foundation (CHF) on Jan. 1, 2008. He will succeed Arnold Thackray, 68, who will continue in an advisory role at the organization he founded and headed for 25 years.

CHF chose Tritton after a search for someone with both scholarly and entrepreneurial talents. Vincent Calarco, chairman of the CHF board of directors, says Tritton's "passion for chemistry, his energy, and his leadership" will serve CHF's science history and education mandate well.

Tritton, 59, has a chemistry degree from Ohio Wesleyan University and a Ph.D. in biophysical chemistry from Boston University. An expert in cancer chemotherapy, he spent 12 years each at Yale University and the University of Vermont. In 1997, Tritton became president of Haverford, a small 174-year-old liberal arts institution on the outskirts of Philadelphia. Fondly known as "Tommy T," he helped to double the school's endowment to $500 million during his tenure.

Tritton says that as a child, he always knew he wanted to be a scientist. Now, he is "enormously excited to be returning to my roots as a scientist." He looks forward to heading a unique organization that is a museum of chemistry-related art and artifacts, a think tank on contemporary technical matters, and an educational institution serving both scholars and the general public.