Outgoing chair of Nicholas School Board of Visitors has spent a lifetime advocating for the environment

But by the time he reached age 25, he believed these beautiful things were in danger—and that he must do something about it.

Field, the great-great-grandson of the founder of The Marshall Field and Co. department store and the grandson of the first publisher of the Chicago Sun-Times, dove into environmental causes, and has been deeply involved ever since. He first joined The Nature Conservancy, and soon was involved in a range of environmental advocacy organizations.

“I try to limit myself to two or three at a time,” Field explains. “Right now, it’s the World Wildlife Fund, the Everglades Foundation in Florida, and the Nicholas School.”

Field, who chairs the Old Mountain Co., an investment management company in Chicago, and his wife established the Jamee and Marshall Field Foundation. It focuses on environmental and conservation issues, the arts and culture, education and health care. He first learned about the Nicholas School of the Environment from a friend, Truman Semans, who had helped Field’s daughter apply to Duke. Abby loved her years at Duke, and halfway through her education, Semans encouraged Field to become involved with a new School of the Environment taking shape on the Duke campus.

“Truman can sell refrigerators to Eskimos, so he sold me on coming to a couple of meetings! I could see the school was really new, finding its way. But it held my interest, so I stuck with it,” he says.

Field joined the Nicholas School Board of Visitors in 2000, and in late 2006 became the board chairman. Right from the start, he was impressed by the degree of support that university leaders showed for the new school. “At a critical moment, [then-Dean] Bill Schlesinger and I needed the help of the university president and provost. They thought our idea had merit, so they pitched in and helped us with some things that weren’t easy. I found that absolutely amazing, and it changed my whole view of Duke as a university,” Field says.

Looking back on his tenure as chair, Field says he is proudest “of the fact that we have a set of environmental management courses that I expect will produce some of the big environmental leaders of the future.”

And those leaders will have some daunting challenges to address, notes Field, who has established a Field Fellowship to help train some of these students. “There are a lot of pressing environmental issues, including proper conservation of species and plants, and the availability of clean water around the world, which is my big issue. I think a big environmental challenge is not to let the concept of global warming put everything else on the back burner, because there are a lot of other equally critical issues that we need to address.

“Nicholas School graduates are the new wave of environmental leaders. I think the critical thing for the Nicholas School is to be sure it’s always on the cutting edge of the most effective approaches in this ever-changing field,” he says.

Field, who will step down as chair in June, has enjoyed working with his fellow board members and the Nicholas School staff, and has especially valued working with Deans Schlesinger and Bill Chameides, who joined the school in 2007. “Bill Chameides is one of the finest deans I’ve ever had the pleasure to work with. He’s put together a clear plan and gained the support of the board. Now, with several active board members retiring, his challenge is to get two or three more stem-winders on the board to help him achieve his vision.”T

he respect is mutual, according to Chameides. “Marshall’s leadership has been outstanding, in part because of his dedication, insight and experience, but also because he represents a new breed of Nicholas board members: not a graduate of the Nicholas School, not even an alumnus of Duke, but someone who serves on our board because of his commitment to the environment and his recognition that our school is one of the most effective academic institutions for securing a more sustainable future,” Chameides says. “We will miss Marshall’s leadership on the board, but we are also fortunate that he will remain engaged with us in the coming years.”

Field’s fellow board members also appreciate his leadership. “The significant work done and diplomacy Marshall brought to bear as chair leaves me humbled and proud to be on the same board with him under his leadership,” says Sally Kleberg, who has worked closely with Field for years. “His wisdom, straight shooting, generosity of spirit and professionalism teach us all how to serve better, more wisely and generously by his example.”