DePauw Stories

Two new vice presidents joined DePauw early in the 2021-22 school year. Anne Cunningham, a development leader at the Case School of Engineering, was named DePauw’s vice president for development and alumni engagement. Mary Beth Petrie, dean of admissions at Lawrence University, is the new vice president for enrollment management.

To get a glimpse of their personal and professional philosophy and values, we asked them to provide a quote that speaks to them, as well as a personal statement about their motivation to work at DePauw.

Cunningham quoted author and entrepreneur Seth Godin:

“Hard work is about risk. It begins when you deal with the things that you’d rather not deal with: fear of failure, fear of standing out, fear of rejection. Hard work is about training yourself to leap over this barrier, drive through the other barrier. And after you’ve done that, to do it again the next day.”  

Cunningham’s personal statement: “It is an honor and privilege to work with DePauw alumni to build and support this great institution to achieve even more in the future. Philanthropy allows us to think beyond the possible, to consider the impact of not just today but for many generations forward. Each and every day the Development and Alumni Engagement division strives to strengthen the relationships and commitment of all alumni with DePauw University.”

Petrie quoted lecturer and author Brené Brown:

“If we want people to fully show up, to bring their whole selves including their unarmored, whole hearts – so that we can innovate, solve problems and serve people – we have to be vigilant about creating a culture in which people feel safe, seen, heard and respected.”

Petrie’s personal statement: “I believe that a strong liberal arts education is exactly what the world needs to solve the problems that we face today and the problems we’ll face in the future. I take great pride in the work that we do at DePauw in challenging the leaders of tomorrow who can think critically, challenge systems, debate respectfully, create inspirational works of art and articulate their ideas sometimes in several languages. Our work in Enrollment Management is to support that mission by recruiting, selecting, enrolling and awarding curious, diverse and collaborative students who will develop into uncommon leaders who thrive and succeed at DePauw and beyond.