Portrait of a President

Anyone following the presidential selection process at the end of the school year last year has surely heard the numerous academic accomplishments of the eventual hiree, Earl Potter.

From his degree in psychology from Williams College in 1968 to his Ph.D. in organizational psychology from the University of Washington in 1978, Potter has a past any mother would be proud of.

But behind those achievements lie a man whose history is as complex and diverse as the list of schools he's studied at and led.

Potter grew up in a small, waterfront town in Rhode Island along with his parents and younger brother and sister.

Potter described his past as one full of choices, of trying to fit in with the various social circles that ran rampant in his life in North Kingstown.

Church, high school and the yacht club were just some of the many directions the young Potter was pulled in.

But though it could be difficult at times to sort through those various circles, Potter said he learned to make up his own mind on what was right and wrong, and gained an independent streak which helps guide him through decisions he continues to make.