CMU names alumnus as new chair of trustees
David Coulter, a 1971 Tepper School graduate, will be the next chair of Carnegie Mellon University’s board of trustees.
James Rohr, current chair, announced the move Tuesday. He called Mr. Coulter “a deeply passionate and committed champion for this university” and “uniquely suited to step into this position.”
Mr. Coulter first joined the board in 1997, supporting various Carnegie Mellon initiatives “through his leadership, service and philanthropy,” Mr. Rohr said.
He heads the board’s advancement committee and serves as a member of the Executive, Compensation, and Nominating and Governance committees, Mr, Rohr said. He is part of Tepper School’s Business Board of Advisors and chairs the university’s Make Possible campaign. It has garnered $2 billion in support of the university.
His tenure as chair begins July 1.
Mr. Coulter is from Ford City and finished first in his class at Ford City High School in 1965. He received bachelor’s and master’s degrees in 1971
from CMU’s Graduate School of Industrial Administration, now the Tepper School of Business.
His career in finance and banking has been marked by leadership roles at several prominent organizations, including 22 years at Bank of America, where he served as chair and CEO. He is a special limited partner of Warburg Pincus LLC, where he was previously chair.
Mr. Coulter and his wife, Susan, have made various major commitments to the university. In 2018, they made a gift to the College of Engineering to endow the headship for the Department of Mechanical Engineering and to provide support for the new Scaife Hall.
The Coulters also made a generous gift to establish the David and Susan Coulter Welcome Center in the David A. Tepper Quadrangle, and they are also providing support for the CMUHighmark Health, Wellness and Athletics facility.