Susan Colgate Cleveland Medal for Distinguished Service

The Susan Colgate Cleveland Medal for Distinguished Service is the college’s highest honor. It is presented to individuals who exemplify Susan Colgate Cleveland’s attributes, ensuring that her work, dedication and influence will be remembered by future generations.

Dr. Peggy A. Stock

Sixth President of Colby-Sawyer College

Often called "the president who saved Colby-Sawyer," Peggy A. Stock was the first female president of the college and served from 1986 to 1995. Under her guidance, enrollment grew; the college's first capital campaign, the Campaign for Colby-Sawyer College, exceeded its goal and raised $27.5 million; the Dan and Kathleen Hogan Sports Center and Rooke Hall were built; and Colgate Hall, Ware Student Center and the residence halls were renovated.

Faculty and staff called her dynamic, perceptive, forthright, indefatigable and accessible to all. She listened to faculty, staff and community members, and she was involved in the lives of the students who, like everyone else, called her Peggy.

President Stock urged the Board of Trustees to return the institution to its coeducational roots, and they voted affirmatively in 1989. Former Vice President of Administration and Finance Doug Lyon said in 1995 that Dr. Stock could make people believe in the dream. "It's easy in retrospect to say going coed was a wise move, but a lot of people at the time didn't think it was a good idea,"he said. "You have to have the courage of your convictions, and she always has."

It was one of the country's most successful coeducational transitions; 67 men arrived at Colby-Sawyer after a year of careful planning and the student body rose to 525. Athletic teams increased from 8 to 16, innovative majors were implemented and a new era began.

A brilliant fundraiser and storyteller with a wonderful sense of humor, she made the launch of the communications program possible under the leadership of the late Professor of Humanities Don Coonley, who called her a hands-on leader. "She has done a lot of kind and generous things for people, but no on knows about them," he once noted. "I could cite some of them, but I don't think she would appreciate it."

Peggy always maintained that she was not the typical or traditional college president. Her 200-pound Great Dane, Marcus, accompanied her to her office daily, and students frequently visited her office to say hello and take him for a walk.

President Stock left Colby-Sawyer after almost a decade to take the helm at Westminster College in Salt Lake City Utah, the state's first female college president. In her six years there, she increased enrollment and the endowment; implemented campus improvements and additions; added academic programs and sports; and improved the college's academic and financial reputations. She is very proud of diversifying Westminster from a primarily adult commuter institution into a college with both traditional residential and adult student populations. During her, a residential village was built and the college achieved both regional and national accolades. A highlight of her time there was as volunteer chair of the media/communications center at the 2002 Olympic Winter Games in Salt Lake City and running as an Olympic torchbearer.

After leaving Westminster, President Stock founded the successful search firm Stock Associates, where she worked for an additional decade. Reluctantly retired, she and her husband Bob reside in Punta Gorda, Fla.

President Stock holds a B.S. in psychology from St. Lawrence University and an M.A. in counseling with certifications to teach individuals with learning disabilities and behavioral problems, and an Ed.D. in Counseling Psychology, both from the University of Kentucky.