Ronald S. Beard, 1961
B.A., Denison University
J.D., Yale University
Citation awarded June, 2011
Ronald Beard spent his entire law career, which spanned from 1964 to 2001, with Gibson Dunn & Crutcher LLP, in their Los Angeles, Century City, Paris, and Irvine offices, initially as partner, then as managing partner, and finally as chairman. Since retiring from the daily practice of law with Gibson Dunn, his stellar reputation in matters legal and managerial has kept him as busy as ever as a consultant and board member.
At Callaway Golf, based in Carlsbad, Calif., Ron is chair of the board and member of the audit, nominating, corporate governance, compensation, and management succession committees. Callaway manufactures a full range of gold equipment and license their brand for apparel, footwear, timepieces and accessories. The company went public on the NYSE in 1992, and has international divisions based in Australia, Canada, China, Europe, India, Japan, Korea, Latin America, New Zealand, and Southeast Asia.
Ron has served on the boards of the World Affairs Council, the Constitutional Rights Foundation, Public Counsel, the City Club of Los Angeles, and the Orange County Art Museum. He was also a member of the UCI Chief Executive Roundtable and a Chapman University executive fellow. He has chaired the steering committee of the California Minority Counsel Program and was appointed by former Governor Schwarzenegger to his Council on Physical Fitness & Sports.
Ron has been a dedicated Denison volunteer. He served on Alumni Council, was vice president of the Alumni Society and National Annual Fund chair. He has been a fixture on class-reunion committees for years, planning and fundraising in preparation for his service on his 50th reunion committee. Virtually every major capitol campaign has had the benefit of his skill and enthusiasm as a volunteer, member of the executive committee or planning committee. He has searched for presidents, worked for DART, been a Fellows and President’s Associates volunteer, and a career advisor. The capstone of his service to the College is his 35 years of service on the Board of Trustees, from 1975 to 2010. He was board chair for five years, and was granted life trustee status in 2010.
