News Release

Office of College and Alumni Relations Grinnell College Grinnell, Iowa 50112-1690

641-269-3404 fax 641-269-3412 www.grinnell.edu

June 18, 2007

For Immediate Release
For more information, contact: Kate Worster, 641-269-3400

Grinnell College Announces New Trustees

Grinnell, IA - Grinnell College is pleased to welcome three new members to the College's board of trustees: Joel Spiegel, Karen Shaff, and Paul Risser. Grinnell is also proud to announce the election of the College's first African American chair of the board: David White of Los Angeles, Calif., a 1990 graduate of Grinnell. He is joined by new vice-chairs Patricia Jipp Finkelman (class of 1980) of Granville, Ohio, and Clint Korver (class of 1989) of Mountain View, Calif.

Joel Spiegel of Woodinville, Wash., retired from Amazon.com as a vice-president. During his tenure at Amazon.com, he was responsible for all of the company's website technology development and launched Amazon.com's marketplace businesses. Previously, he held management and software development positions at Microsoft, Apple Computer, Hewlett Packard, and VisiCorp. Spiegel spent a year as a VISTA volunteer working with the Northern Cheyenne Tribe in Lame Deer, Mont. He is a named inventor on more than a dozen U.S. patents. He earned a B.A. in biology from Grinnell in 1978.

Karen E. Shaff of Des Moines, Iowa, is executive vice president and general counsel at Principal Financial Group, a position she has held since 2004. She joined the company in 1982 as an attorney. Shaff was previously with the Des Moines law firm of Austin and Gaudineer. She holds a law degree from Drake University Law School, and a B.A. in political science from Northwestern University. Shaff is a board member and past president of the Association of Life Insurance Counsel, and a member of the American, Iowa State, and Polk County Bar Associations.

Paul Risser of Norman, Okla., is an internationally recognized biologist as well as acting director of the National Museum of Natural History of the Smithsonian Institute in Washington, D.C. Risser was chancellor of the Oklahoma State System of Higher Education from 2003 through 2006. Previously, he served as president of Oregon State University. He earned a B.A. in biology from Grinnell College in 1961, followed by an M.S. in botany and a Ph.D. in botany and soils from the University of Wisconsin-Madison. He received an honorary degree from Grinnell College in 1994.

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