National Collegiate Athletic Association

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From power player to power broker

By Jack Copeland
NCAA.org

Mary Schapiro has been a groundbreaker her entire life.

She was a student-athlete in the mid-1970s at Franklin & Marshall College, where she helped the field hockey and women’s lacrosse teams rise from club to varsity status.

And just as she captained both squads through growing pains to a 14-3-2 record in field hockey and 7-4 mark in lacrosse during her senior year, she later would lead the U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission through one of its most challenging periods (2009 through 2012).

Schapiro made history with her appointment as the first female SEC chair, following 28 men who had served in the crucial regulatory role.

In addition to field hockey and lacrosse, she played badminton at F&M as well and excelled academically. Schapiro was also deeply involved in campus life, which led to her to be selected as a member of the college’s Black Pyramid Society, which honors scholarship and extracurricular involvement and whose members provide leadership and service at the school.

Schapiro was appointed by presidents from both political parties to positions on the SEC and the President’s Council on Financial Literacy before she was nominated as SEC chair by President Barack Obama and confirmed by a unanimous vote in the U.S. Senate.

She now is a managing partner of the consulting firm Promontory Financial Group.

Nominated by Daniel R. Porterfield, Franklin & Marshall College President.