M. Lee Pelton

President and CEO

Lee Pelton joined the Boston Foundation in June 2021, after serving as President of Emerson College (2011-2021) and Willamette University (1998-2011).

In May 2023, he ranked #3 on Boston Magazine’s annual list of the most influential people in Boston, following Maura Healey, the newly elected governor of the Commonwealth and Massachusetts Congresswoman Ayanna Pressley.

Pelton has positioned The Boston Foundation, one of the nation's first and most influential community foundations, as an agent for social change by centering equity in its programs, grantmaking and civic leadership. Under his leadership, the Foundation’s defining ambition is to achieve equity, which first involves acknowledging and then seeking to eliminate the structural and underlying causes of outcome disparities for historically marginalized communities.

A signature Boston Foundation program is its Racial Wealth Partnership, established in late 2022, as part of the Foundation’s commitment to close racial wealth gaps in Greater Boston and the region by expanding homeownership by people of color. The Partnership is a broad-based group of more than 40 members representing sectors including banking and finance, housing, issue advocacy, government, healthcare, life sciences and education.

As a college president for 23 years, he led with a core belief that higher education must serve to deepen students’ appreciation of humanities. He believes that the nation still looks to colleges and universities to solve its most pressing problems and, as such, college and university presidents have an obligation – in addition to broad mission-driven duties on their campuses – to engage in the larger society. To Pelton, nurturing the humanistic spirit also goes hand in hand with confronting and trying to solve the urgent moral and social problems of the moment.

Pelton has combined authentic leadership, civic engagement, and a deep commitment to social justice with his skill and vision for growing institutional capacity and effectiveness. The result has been a legacy of stronger, more diverse institutions that have expanded opportunities for students. Along the way, Pelton often has been recognized as a civic and education leader, both regionally and nationally.

While a college president, Pelton emerged as a powerful national voice on social issues and the value of liberal arts education. In the aftermath of the Sandy Hook mass shooting, he gathered over 250 college and university presidents to sign a letter asking President Obama to assist in establishing common-sense gun legislation. He has been active nationally and has written widely in support of affirmative action, beginning with the 2003 Michigan University and Law School Supreme Court cases. Pelton has advocated for college-in-prison initiatives, seeing firsthand at Emerson College’s prisoner education programs that policy inadequacies hamper their effectiveness.

Following the murder of George Floyd in May 2020, Pelton’s essay America is on Fire reflects powerfully on the significance of Floyd’s death with a frank and honest reference to his own experiences in America. His essay quickly and widely spread, having reached an audience of more than 6 million people around the globe. Forbes Magazine placed it at the top of its list of the five most noteworthy writings that appeared after the George Floyd incident.

Pelton began his academic career at Harvard University, where he earned a Ph.D. in English literature with an academic focus on 19th-century British prose and poetry. He taught English and American literature at Harvard and served as senior tutor at Winthrop House. He later served on the Harvard Board of Overseers and as a vice-chair of its executive committee. After Harvard, Pelton served as dean of the college at Colgate University and Dartmouth College. He graduated from Wichita State University, located in his hometown.

He has been awarded three honorary degrees, and he enjoys a very long list of awards and recognitions for educational excellence and social justice, including, among many:

  • A Living Legend by the Boston Museum of African American History in 2021
  • Inducted by the Greater Boston Chamber of Commerce into its Academy of Distinguished Bostonians in 2020.
  • Governor’s Award from Mass Humanities (2020)
  • Appearances on the “Most Influential” and “Most Powerful” rankings at the Boston Magazine and the Boston Business Journal for multiple years.
M. Lee Pelton
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Background and education:

The grandson of sharecroppers, Pelton grew up in Wichita, Kansas. He lived in a house that had no plumbing until he was 6 years old and was the first person in his family to go to college. His father was a laborer until obtaining a management position with the Wichita Police Department. Pelton earned a degree in English Literature from Wichita State University, graduating magna cum laude with a focus on 19th century British literature.

Continuing his devotion to literature, he earned a doctorate in English and American Literature in 1983 at Harvard University, and he subsequently became a tutor at one of Harvard’s undergraduate colleges. He was appointed a Dean of Students at Colgate University in 1986, and then Dean of the College, leaving in 1991 to become Dean of the College at Dartmouth College. There Pelton oversaw Dartmouth's largest administrative unit, with a budget exceeding $40 million and 250 staff. He also was an adjunct professor in English Literature.

Leading as a college president:

In 1998 Pelton was appointed President of Willamette University in Salem, Oregon. Pelton led the university to recognition as a top-tier liberal arts college in various rankings and inclusion in President Barack Obama’s Higher Education Community Service Honor Roll. Among his many accomplishments there, he grew the College of Liberal Arts faculty by 25% to improve the student-faculty ratio; and he established Willamette Academy, an extremely successful college access and preparatory program for youth in grades 7-12 who are historically underrepresented at colleges and universities.

In 2011 Pelton was appointed President of Emerson College in Boston, Massachusetts, and he immediately began to increase institutional effectiveness and capacity. He added 40 new faculty in his first five years, and significantly increased undergraduate diversity and international students.

Among Pelton’s many strategic initiatives at Emerson:

  • Led the acquisition of Marlboro College, preserving the mission of the college and growing Emerson’s endowment by $35M;
  • Led an urban renewal effort in revamping Emerson buildings in downtown Boston;
  • Created Global Portal programs in France, Switzerland and Spain: degree bearing undergraduate programs in Paris, Lugano, Barcelona;
  • Opened Emerson campus in Los Angeles, providing critical access to Hollywood for Emerson students;
  • Opened Emerson Art Gallery in downtown Boston

Over the course of his tenure, he increased the number of applications to Emerson and the selectivity of college from 48% to 35%. Emerson rose in the college ranking from No. 16 to No. 6 in its category.

Civic leadership and The Boston Foundation:

While a college president, Pelton emerged as a powerful national voice on social issues and the value of liberal arts education. In the aftermath of the Sandy Hook mass shooting, he gathered over 250 college and university presidents to sign a letter asking President Obama to assist in establishing common-sense gun legislation. He has been active nationally and written widely in support of affirmative action, beginning with the 2003 Michigan University and Law School Supreme Court cases. Pelton has advocated for college in prison initiatives, seeing firsthand at Emerson College’s prisoner education programs that policy inadequacies hamper their effectiveness.

Pelton left Emerson to join the Boston Foundation as its President and CEO in June 2021, providing him an opportunity to amplify the urgent need for social justice and equal opportunity. Pelton created a new strategic plan at the Foundation centered on equity. Among his top initiatives has been the nation’s one-of- kind Partnership to Close the Racial Wealth Gap.

Pelton’s goal is to build a multi-sector partnership designed to take an honest appraisal of the barriers, practices, and policies that contribute to the racial wealth gap and then move forward in a coordinated and focused effort, supported by data and research, to identify a set of remedies and strategies to begin the process of chipping away at the racial wealth gap.

List of Awards and Recognition:

Pelton has been honored with many awards and has been recognized as influential leader for educational excellence and social justice. His awards and recognition include:

  • 2023 Boston Magazine 150 Most Influential Bostonians — #3, behind Governor Maura Healy and Congresswoman Ayana Pressley (his 6th appearance on the list)
  • Lifetime Achievement by the Boston Arts Academy in 2022
  • Named as a Living Legend by the Boston Museum of African American History in 2021
  • Inducted by the Greater Boston Chamber of Commerce into its Academy of Distinguished Bostonians in 2020.
  • Leader of Change Award from Trinity Boston Connects (2021)
  • Governor’s Award from Mass Humanities (2020)
  • Robert Coard Distinguished Leadership Medal (2021)
  • Honored by the Eos Foundation with a $100,000 racial justice grant in his name (2020).
  • He has also been frequently included on lists of civic leaders in Boston, most recently ranking 13th on BostonUAspire, First One Award, April 2022)
  • Boston’s 100 Most Influential People of Color (Get Konnected!, 2016)
  • The Rosoff Award 20/20 (The Ad Club, April 2016)
  • The Diversity Leadership Award (The National Diversity Council, October 2015)
  • The Sabra Award (Israeli Stage, November 2014)
  • Boston 50 on Fire, recognizing 50 leading innovators in Boston ( November 2014)
  • Speak the Truth Award (Student Immigrant Movement, December 2014)
  • Champion of Freedom Award (Freedom House, March 2012).