New members of the Alfred University Board of Trustees, from left: Bruce Chamberlin, Patricia Nilsen ’88, and Nannette Stangle-Castor ’94
From Alfred University,
Alfred University announces the addition of Andrew “Bruce” Chamberlin, Patricia H. Nilsen ’88, and Nannette C. Stangle-Castor ’94 to the Board of Trustees. The Board elected the three new trustees at its May meeting; their terms commence on July 1.
The Board of Trustees also elected Steve Heine ’81 as Chair of the Board and Bill Giles ’81 as Vice Chair. Carolyn Clark ’90, whose service as Chair concludes on June 30, was elected Chair Emeritus. The Board also elected Thomas Hinman ’79 as Life Trustee.
Bruce Chamberlin is the son of late Alfred University alumna Betsy (Stockton) Potter Chamberlin ’57 and Robert Chamberlin. He serves as senior associate director of admissions at Georgetown University. Chamberlin earned a bachelor’s degree in economics from Gettysburg College and master’s and doctoral degrees in education from the College of William and Mary and the University of Pennsylvania, respectively.
Chamberlin served as a Trustee of Gettysburg College (2013-2025) and was recently named Trustee Emeritus. Bruce also serves on the Eisenhower Institute National Advisory Council.
Patricia Nilsen earned a bachelor’s degree in English from Alfred University and was an AU Scholar. She went on to earn a master’s degree in English from Syracuse University and a master’s degree in adult education from Elmira College. Nilsen currently serves as CEO of AVANGRID companies New York State Electric & Gas (NYSEG) and Rochester Gas and Electric (RG&E),; she is the first woman to lead the company in its 175-year history. As president and CEO, Nilsen leads the NYSEG and RG&E teams who serve more than 1.2 million electric and 579,000 natural gas customers across more than 40 percent of Upstate New York.
Nannette Stangle-Castor earned a bachelor’s degree in biology from Alfred and a PhD in molecular pharmacology and cancer therapeutics from the State University of New York at Buffalo, Roswell Park Division. She is founder and president of IVT, a team of innovation commercialization specialists based in Raleigh, NC, supporting government and university laboratories to build businesses from their innovations. Nannette also serves as Board Advisor and mentor to numerous startups. Nannette’s husband — Jeffrey G. Castor ’95 — is also an Alfred University alumnus.
Steve Heine joined the Board of Trustees in 2008—after previously serving as an alumni elected trustee from 1995-98—and was elected Vice Chair in 2022. He is a past member of the Alfred University College of Business Executive Advisory Council. He earned a bachelor’s degree in management and health care administration from Alfred and went on to earn an MBA from SUNY Albany. He currently serves as president and CEO of Woodsboro Bank, Woodsboro, MD.
Bill Giles earned a bachelor’s degree in accounting from Alfred University and was elected to the Board of Trustees in 2020. A certified public accountant, he currently serves on the Board of Directors of Constellation Brands. He is former chief financial officer and executive vice president, Finance, Information Technology, and Store Development for Autozone. His wife, Jill (Peperone) Giles ’81, is an Alfred University alumna and former member of the university’s Board of Trustees
Carolyn Clark joined the Board in 2011 and was elected Board Chair in 2022, becoming the first woman ever to lead the Alfred University Board of Trustees. She earned a bachelor’s degree in communications from Alfred University and also has an MBA from Seton Hall University. She enjoyed a successful career in the field of medical communications, co-founding a medical communications company, Peloton Advantage, LLC, in 2005 and serving as chair of OPEN Health Communications before retiring in 2021.
Tom Hinman’s distinguished service to the Board of Trustees spans 24 years. As Chair of the Strategic Planning Committee, he has been instrumental in guiding and supporting Alfred University’s long-range goals. His service also includes membership on the Academic Affairs, Executive, Governance, Student Experience, and University Advancement committees. He previously served on the Statutory Affairs and Government Relations Committee, as well as Presidential Search Committee (2015-16), the Provost Search Advisory Council (2018-19), and the task force to advise the president on Korean and Turkish initiatives.
Hinman earned a bachelor’s degree in ceramic engineering from Alfred University and went on to earn an MBA from the Amos Tuck School of Business Administration at Dartmouth College. Now retired, Tom completed a distinguished career with Corning International as senior vice president, having previously served Corning Incorporated as senior vice president of Environmental Technologies, senior vice president and general manager of Diesel Technologies, and division vice president and general manager of Corning Microarray Technologies.
