Jim Dresser ’63 Named as Board Chair
The Board of Trustees has elected James van B. Dresser ’63 as its new chair, succeeding Alan Dachs ’70, who concluded eight years of service as chair this summer.
Dresser retired eight years ago as senior vice president and chief administrative officer of The Boston Consulting Group, where he had been associated since 1970. He had led the London, San Francisco, and Los Angeles offices of BCG.
In addition to his service on the Board of Trustees, where he has chaired both the University Relations and the Finance committees, Dresser has held temporary appointments in the Wesleyan administration. He became interim vice president for university relations in 1998 and later was interim vice president and treasurer.
Dresser is a recipient of Wesleyan’s Outstanding Service Award (1993), chaired the Wesleyan Annual Fund (1984?87), and was chair of the Alumni Association (1989?90).
His military service included four years as a captain with U.S. Air Force Intelligence in Japan and Vietnam.
He also serves on the board of Merrimack Pharmaceuticals.
After his retirement, Dresser moved back to Salisbury, Conn., where he had grown up, and began to participate in the life of the town. He has been vice chair of the Salisbury School board of trustees and currently serves on the Planning and Zoning Commission, the Land Trust, and the Volunteer Ambulance Service. He won election to Selectman in November. His wife, Evan, is an avid artist. He also enjoys carpentry, chain-sawing, playing with his tractor and backhoe, a variety of sports, and, especially, spending time with his 5- year-old granddaughter, Ellie.
