Seth Alvord ’93 Leads Board of Trustees

Alvord is the founder and managing partner of Balance Point Capital Partners

Seth Alvord ’93, founder and managing partner of the private equity investment company Balance Point Capital Partners, has been elected to serve as chair of the Connecticut College Board of Trustees for a three-year term. A member of the board since 2016, he began his tenure on July 1.

Alvord has fond memories from his days at Conn studying political science and rowing as a member of the men’s varsity crew team. He had loved his high school experience at private Northfield Mount Hermon School in Massachusetts, and chose Conn—his mother’s alma mater—to replicate that close-knit, small-school feel. 

“I felt at home,” he says, recalling impactful relationships with professors-turned-mentors, challenging classroom environments and lessons on teamwork, discipline and commitment learned out on the water. “I remember that when I was engaged and stimulated, those were the peak performance periods for me, and the College afforded me many of those opportunities.”

Still, Alvord says he only began to fully recognize the value of his liberal arts education when he decided to pursue an MBA from the Johnson School of Management at Cornell University. “It wasn’t until I got back into that academic setting that I realized the learning capabilities, study habits and foundation in critical thinking I developed at Conn had prepared me to step into that graduate environment with relative ease and allowed me to really excel.” 

Now, at 53, Alvord says his perspective on the role of higher education has continued to evolve. He joined Conn’s board after serving on Northfield Mount Herman’s board for 10 years, an experience he found rewarding. “I love being part of a group that has a common passion for the cause and the mission,” he says, adding that, in many ways, Conn’s mission to educate students to put the “liberal arts into action” resonates now more than ever.

“When I’m on campus, as soon as I shut my car door, I can see it, I can feel it. The teams are all practicing, the students are going in and out of the academic buildings, the Long Island Sound is glimmering on the horizon—there is a real vibe. I find it invigorating. The energy is compelling; there’s a sense of possibility, a sense of the future.” 

It’s that enthusiasm that is driving Alvord at a pivotal moment in Conn’s 113-year history. He served as a trustee representative on the search committee that named Andrea E. Chapdelaine as Conn’s new president in March. Buoyed by the selection, he agreed to succeed Debo P. Adegbile ’91 as chair of the board; he and Chapdelaine officially assumed their leadership roles on the same day. 

“I wanted to help with this transition and position the College to move forward,” he says. 

Alvord acknowledges that, like many small liberal arts colleges, Conn has its challenges, but he’s confident in the ability of all Conn’s constituents—faculty, staff and students—to engage in constructive dialogue alongside the board to understand and react with collective resolve.   

“We need to continue to evolve ourselves as an institution and be more vocal advocates of our mission in ways that maybe, historically, we could take for granted. We’ve done a lot of good things, but we need to keep that momentum,” he says. 

“I’m excited to be part of the team that will reimagine what it means to put the liberal arts into action in today’s world. The opportunity set for tomorrow’s graduates is different than it was in 1911 or even when I graduated in 1993. How do we continue to position Conn to best meet the needs of today’s students? It’s revitalizing to be part of that discussion and journey—I am truly grateful to be at the table.”