Wyman, former CEO of CBS and ex-Trustee, dies at age 73
By Mike McGeeney, News Editor
Thomas Hunt Wyman, Sr. '51, who served as a Trustee of the College from 1976 to 1992 and chaired the Board of Trustees from 1986-1992, died Jan. 8 in Boston after a short illness following surgery for an abdominal infection on Dec. 15. He was 73 years old.

"[Wyman] was a great citizen of the world and a really generous and loyal graduate of Amherst College," said President Tom Gerety. "He was a wry, thoughtful, smiling man … very savvy."

Wyman attended Phillips Academy in Andover, Mass. prior to attending the College in 1947. He was an English major and member of Phi Beta Kappa, graduating magna cum laude in 1951.

"Tom was a fabulous spirit-always very positive and energizing-he was always a leader with the power of good ideas, and he was always able to find a consensus [among the Board of Trustees]," said Life Trustee John Williams '65.

Wyman served as Chairman and Chief Executive Officer of CBS Inc. from 1983 to 1986.

Wyman gained national media attention last December when he resigned from Augusta National Golf Club to protest its unwillingness to consider admitting a female member. He called the club "pigheaded," according to the Associated Press. "We all hailed what he did about Augusta," said Gerety.

After graduating from the College in 1951, Wyman worked for the First National City Bank of New York. From 1953 to 1955 he served as an officer in the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers during the Korean War. For the next thirty years following the War, Wyman held several management positions with some of today's largest corporations, including stints with companies such as Nestle, Polaroid and Pillsbury before joining CBS in 1980. Wyman had four children and recently married the Reverend Deborah Little, an Episcopal priest from Boston.

Issue 14, Submitted 2003-01-29 11:10:15