University of Delaware
Office of Public Relations
UpDate - Vol. 16, No. 33, May 29
University trustees elect five new members to the board
Five new members of the University of Delaware Board of
Trustees were elected at the semiannual meeting of the board
on May 27.
Newly elected trustees are
* The Hon. William T. Allen of Wilmington, who since
1985, has served as chancellor of the Delaware Court of
Chancery-the nation's only specialized court of business and
corporation law;
* Richard S. Cordrey of Millsboro, who gained national
recognition for the longest tenure as president pro tempore
of the Delaware Senate, serving in that position from 1977-
96;
* Dennis E. Klima of Dover, president and CEO of
Bayhealth Inc., chairman and president of Bayhealth Medical
Center and former president, CEO and chairman of the board
of directors of Kent General Hospital Inc.;
* Katherine Lee of Newark, who will graduate this
weekend with a major in family and community services in the
College of Human Resources and is this year's recipient of
the Emalea P. Warner Award as UD's outstanding female
graduate, selected for her academic excellence, leadership
and active involvement in the community and campus life; and
* P. Coleman Townsend Jr. of Rehoboth Beach., UD
alumnus and chairman and chief executive officer of
Townsends Inc., a poultry, agri-products and prepared foods
company headquartered in Millsboro.
William T. Allen
Chancellor Allen has written many judicial opinions
treating issues of directors' fiduciary duties; board
procedures that best assure compliance with duty in a
takeover situation; and issues arising from CEO and director
compensation decisions. The author of more than 500 judicial
opinions and academic articles on corporation law, he
frequently speaks on matters of corporate law and
governance.
Upon completion of his current term of office on June
28, he will join the faculty of New York University as
professor of law and clinical professor of business. He also
will serve as director of the newly created New York
University of Law and Business, a joint venture of the Stern
School of Business and the NYU Law School.
While serving as chancellor, he taught corporation law
and corporate governance as a visiting professor at Stanford
Law School in 1990 and 1994 and as an adjunct professor at
the University of Pennsylvania Law School in 1992-93 and
1995. He was Raben Fellow at Yale Law School in 1996. Before
assuming his current office, he was an associate and a
partner in the Wilmington law firm of Morris, Nichols, Arsht
& Tunnell. From 1972-74, he was law clerk to the Hon. Walter
K. Stapleton in the U.S. District Court for the district of
Delaware.
A graduate of New York University, he holds his law
degree from the University of Texas. He is married to Ruth
Horowitz, professor of sociology at UD.
Richard S. Cordrey
In addition to serving as president pro tempore, Sen.
Cordrey has served as Millsboro town commissioner from 1965-
73, state representative from 1970-72, state senator from
1972-96 and state majority leader from 1973-76. He is best
known for his leadership in instituting the rainy day fund
for Delaware.
Educated at Millsboro High School and Goldey-Beacom
College, he is the owner of R.S.C. Farms. A member of St.
Mark's Episcopal Church in Milford, he is the past district
governor of the Lions Club International and a member of the
Millsboro Lions Club, a trustee of Delaware Valley Eye Bank,
a member of the executive board of the State Chamber of
Commerce, a member of the board of American Red Cross of
Delaware and a commissioner of the Delaware River and Bay
Authority.
One of Sen. Cordrey's two sons is a UD alumnus.
Dennis E. Klima
Klima joined Kent General as executive director in
1980. He was named president and chief executive officer of
Kent General in 1985, and, since 1990, has served as
president and chief executive officer of the Central
Delaware Health Care Corp. and as chairman of the subsidiary
Kent General Hospital Board of Directors.
Previously he was affiliated with the Memorial Hospital
of Easton, Md., Duke University Hospital and the National
Naval Medical Center.
A fellow of the American College of Healthcare
Executives, he is an advanced member in the American
Hospital Association. Last year, he was recognized by the
American College of Healthcare Executives with the Delaware
Regents Award for Excellence.
Active in the community, he is currently president-
elect and first vice president of the Central Delaware
Chamber of Commerce, a member of the Wesley United Methodist
Church and the Dover Rotary. He also is a member of the
Association of Delaware Hospitals and the Delaware Health
Commission Committee on Managed Care. He is a charter board
member of the Central Delaware Community Health Partnership.
Klima earned a bachelor's degree in finance from the
University of Illinois and a master's degree in hospital
administration from Duke.
His son is a UD alumnus, and his daughter is a current
student.
Katherine Lee
A lifelong Newark resident, Lee has been on the Dean's
List every semester of her UD career and is a member of the
Golden Key, Kappa Omicron Nu and Alpha Lambda Delta honor
societies.
She is a volunteer at Emmaus House, Girls Inc.,
Lifelines, Penpal and Delawareans United to Prevent Child
Abuse. She also has received the UD Scholar Award, an Alumni
Merit Award and was named a Gore Scholar. This fall, she
will be attending Boston University, where she will begin
work on a master's degree in social work. Her father is a UD
alumnus.
P. Coleman Townsend Jr.
A 1969 graduate of the University of Delaware, with a
degree in agricultural science and a minor in art history,
Townsend currently sits on the Board of Directors for
Baltimore Trust Co., Liberty Mutual Advisory Board, the
National Broiler Council and Delaware Business Roundtable.
In addition, he is associated with Beebe Medical Center
Foundation, Delaware Public Policy Institute, Delaware Art
Museum and Delaware Historical Society. His wife is a UD
alumna.