April 23, 2015
Leo Arnaboldi ’81
AMHERST, Mass.—The trustees of Amherst College have voted to award Leo Arnaboldi, a member of the College’s class of 1981, the Medal for Eminent Service during the school’s commencement exercises on Sunday, May 24. The medal is presented to members of the Amherst community who have demonstrated exceptional devotion to the College.
“Since graduating from Amherst, Leo has shown an unwavering commitment to his alma mater,” said Amherst President Biddy Martin. “He has been a champion of the Alumni Fund and understands the critical support it provides Amherst. He is one of the longest-serving Alumni Fund chairs, and because of his dedication throughout the eight years that he led the fund, alumni giving dramatically increased.”
Earlier this year, Arnaboldi also became a mentor in the College’s Pathways program, sharing generous amounts of time and career advice with two current students. Sophomore Terry Lee said, “[Arnaboldi] has given me a lot of helpful information about various legal professions and law schools, but his non-law perspectives and personal anecdotes have been particularly illuminating; from them, I believe even more that Amherst gives you the opportunity to pursue whatever you would like to.”
Arnaboldi is a partner at the New York office of Ropes & Gray, an international law firm, where he advises clients on the federal income-tax aspects of acquisitions and dispositions of public and private companies. In addition to working tirelessly for the Annual Fund and participating in the Pathways program, he was active in the critical periods leading up to, during and after Amherst’s Lives of Consequence campaign, and he helped grow the Annual Fund from $7 million to $10 million. He has been known to personally contact hundreds of donors each year, while reaching out to thank and support Class Agent volunteers and representing the Annual Fund at key on and off-campus events. In 2006, along with his wife, Nicole, he established the Arnaboldi Family Scholarship Fund and contributed to the Executive Committee of the Alumni Council.
Apart from his dedication to Amherst College, his service and leadership as a volunteer has extended into the neighborhoods of New York City. He is a past co-chair of the Diller-Quaile School of Music and a parent volunteer at the Horace Mann School.
Arnaboldi studied English at Amherst and graduated magna cum laude. He earned his law degree from Harvard University. He and Nicole have four sons, aged 11 to 25. One is completing his sophomore year at Amherst, and another graduated last year.
Each year, the Amherst College Board of Trustees, in consultation with the secretary of the Society of the Alumni, selects a recipient of the Medal for Eminent Service, which is awarded at Amherst’s commencement ceremony. The medal was established in 1934 as a means of recognizing exceptional and distinguished service to the College for a great period of time, often in a variety of areas.