Catherine James Paglia ’74 has been a pillar of the Carleton community for decades. Joining the Board of Trustees 10 years after graduating, she has served for 40 years and has chaired every key Board committee. In 2014, she became vice president (the name of which soon changed to vice chair) of the Board. As President Alison Byerly writes, “It would be difficult to overstate Cathy’s impact on the college’s growth, development, and success.” Paglia was on the Carleton 2033: The Liberal Arts in Action strategic planning committee, helping lead Carleton into the future. She previously served on past strategic planning committees and the past two presidential search committees.
A tireless fundraiser, Paglia chaired the College’s Every Carl for Carleton campaign, which raised more than $491 million, after serving on steering committees for the Breaking Barriers, Creating Connections, and Assuring Excellence campaigns. She has also volunteered as an assistant class agent for over 30 years and is helping plan the Class of 1974’s 50th Reunion. “No one—I repeat, no one—loves Carleton more or has given more of her insights, energy, time, treasure, and devotion,” writes president emeritus Steve Poskanzer, adding that Paglia’s advice was integral to his success as president, a sentiment echoed by Byerly and president emeritus Steve Lewis.
Paglia has also transformed Carleton’s campus through her personal and family generosity, contributing significant support for James Hall, Evelyn M. Anderson Hall, and the Class of 1974 Center. With her husband, Louis Paglia, she established the Paglia Family Endowed Scholarship Fund and created the Paglia Post-Bac Research Fellowship. Together with Cathy Paglia’s parents and brother, the couple were inducted into Carleton’s Founders Court in 2012.
An English major at Carleton, Paglia earned her MBA from Harvard University and spent her career in real estate and finance, becoming the first female managing director at Morgan Stanley. Currently, she is a director at Enterprise Asset Management and board chair of the Carnegie Endowment for International Peace. Cathy and Louis live in Greenwich, Connecticut, and are the parents of Helen ’18.