Georgia Yuan '75

Professional Background

• Over 20 years as General Counsel to the University of Idaho and Smith College

• Deputy General Counsel and Deputy Undersecretary for the U.S. Department of Education in the Obama administration

• Executive Search Consultant with the Association of Governing Boards of Colleges and Universities; Independent Executive Coach

Q&A

What elements of your personal and professional life would be helpful to you in your service as a trustee?

When I first sought election to the Board, I thought of this service as a way of giving back to Oberlin. Following 8 years of Board service I have a deeper understanding of what it means to support and imagine Oberlin’s future. Financial and enrollment challenges face all colleges like Oberlin, but the pandemic added increasing complexity to our role as an educational institution.  Helping Oberlin meet these challenges is, for me, a high calling.

What draws you to this service?

I have spent the largest part of my career in higher education administration at both public and private institutions and had the opportunity to serve in the Obama administration at the US Department of Education. From these very different vantage points I have learned a great deal about the external forces that affect and shape the decisions of colleges and the internal day-to-day work facing residential colleges. I know that the role of trustees is to have fiduciary responsibility for Oberlin to ensure its future, a responsibility that we must take seriously in the midst of events beyond our control. I have served on other non-profit boards and have been a consultant to other college governing boards. These experiences enrich the lens through which I do and see the work of the Oberlin Board of Trustees.

What else do you want your fellow alumni to know about you?

Oberlin continues to instill in its students a sense of purpose and meaning gained from academic pursuit and residential experiences. The current Board spans graduation years from the 1950s to the present, bringing together an understanding of what Oberlin has meant for trustees individually, for our country, and for the world. My years at Oberlin formed the foundation for how I approach learning. I was a geology major who studied piano and harpsichord in the Conservatory. I was among the Asian American students who started the Asian American Alliance, and I lived in Old Barrows when it was a co-op. These experiences guided me through graduate and law schools, environmental work at the Natural Resources Defense Council, college administration, federal policy development, and executive coaching and recruitment. I attribute the richness of my career to having found at Oberlin a safe and vibrant place to try new things and to learn about how to engage with others different from myself. I want to be part of securing that experience for future Oberlin students.