The Delaware Senate confirmed the appointments of long-time faculty member Debra Hess Norris and recent graduate Georgina Class-Peters on June 14 to serve as members of the University of Delaware Board of Trustees.

The Unidel Henry Francis du Pont Chair in Fine Arts, Norris continues a long-standing practice of having a current faculty member serve as a trustee. She was elected to a six-year term.

Class-Peters, a 2016 graduate who received her master’s degree in entrepreneurial studies from UD last month, is the latest Recent Graduate Trustee. She was elected to a two-year term.

“I am delighted to welcome Debra Hess Norris and Georgina Class-Peters to the University’s Board of Trustees. They each will bring important and valued perspectives to our discussions and decisions,” said Board Chairman John Cochran. “I have had the pleasure of observing them both in previous interactions with the board, and I know that their insights and intelligence are matched by a steadfast dedication to this University and its mission.”

Both women were recommended by unanimous vote of the board at its spring meeting on May 17.

“Debra Hess Norris and Georgina Class-Peters are excellent additions to the Board of Trustees,” UD President Dennis Assanis said. “Debbie Norris is one of our most distinguished faculty members, and her experiences in teaching, research and service will be invaluable to her fellow trustees. As a recent graduate who has been actively engaged throughout her college career, Georgina Class-Peters will be able to ensure that the trustees are well informed about the challenges and opportunities facing our students today.”

The Board of Trustees, which is charged with the management of the affairs of the University, has 28 members and four ex-officio members: the governor, the University president, the master of the State Grange and the president of the state Board of Education. Of the 28 regular members, eight are appointed by the governor and 20 are elected by majority vote of the whole board. Both appointed and elected members must be confirmed by the state Senate.

Debra Hess Norris

Commenting on her appointment, Norris said, “I am honored and pleased to serve on the UD Board of Trustees to work with senior administrators, staff, faculty, students, alums, community representatives and others to strengthen undergraduate and graduate teaching, secure new external resources, address challenges surrounding diversity and inclusion, promote global and community engagement (areas where I continue to dedicate my professional life) and foster innovation.”     

A world-renowned expert in the preservation and conservation of photographs, Norris chairs the University’s Department of Art Conservation, one of only five such programs in North America. She has authored more than 50 articles and book chapters on care and treatment of photographic materials, emergency response, ethics and conservation education, and has taught more than 125 workshops and seminars for conservators and other professionals around the world. She has raised more than $19.5 million in external funds to support the Department of Art Conservation and global preservation initiatives.

At Delaware, she graduated magna cum laude with an interdisciplinary bachelor’s degree in chemistry, art history and studio art and earned her master’s degree in conservation.

Georgina Class-Peters

"I am so honored to be chosen to serve the University in this manner,” Class-Peters said. “The University holds a very special place in my heart. Over the last five years, I have grown to love the University more and more. I look forward to bringing a fresh perspective to the Board of Trustees. I truly hope to represent the voice of the student body with boldness and integrity."

Class-Peters, now an operations analyst with JPMorgan Chase & Co., earned her bachelor’s degree at UD in 2016, majoring in political science. While she was an undergraduate, she served as the vice president of the Lambda Gamma Chapter of Alpha Kappa Alpha Sorority Inc. She was selected as a 2015 Woman of Promise and held several leadership positions, including president of the Cultural Programming Advisory Board, a member of the Student Executive Board through the Office of Undergraduate Admissions and student engagement adviser. She is the founder of Sisters on the Move, an award-winning registered student organization with the mission of empowering college-bound women of color in the Newark area.                                                            

With funding from several University offices, Class-Peters released her first documentary, Through the Eyes of the Beholder: Perceptions of Beauty, which examined the negative psychological and emotional effects that result from an oppressive beauty culture.