Meran Paul, Features Editor
Isabelle Puckette Love joined Sewanee on August 18 as the new Chief Financial Officer and Vice President for Administration. Love holds a linguistics degree from Princeton and an MFA from the School of Letters. She has previously worked with Princo (Princeton University’s Investment company), Goldman Sachs, and the Metropolitan Opera in New York. Her family has deep ties to the Mountain; her grandfather, the late Stephen E. Puckette Jr, (C ’49), was a beloved math professor, whitewater canoeing coach, and dean of the college, and her aunt, Emily Puckette, is a math professor.
The Sewanee Purple spoke with her about her background and her vision for Sewanee.
Tell us a little bit about yourself, your background, and what inspires you.
“This is my third week as the CFO, so you’re catching me right at the start of my job. Before this, I worked for a decade at the Metropolitan Opera in New York in a financial capacity. Both Sewanee and the Met offered me an opportunity to focus on finance, math, and analytical things in the context of an essential purpose. I have ties to the University. I’ve been coming here since I was about three months old. I always just light up when I’m here, and it’s been that way since I was a kid. The freedom that Sewanee affords, even at a young age, to be able to run out into the forest and play in a creek or walk to the bookstore is difficult to find these days, and it’s always just been a really important aspect of my life.”
You used to work with Princeton, Goldman, and the Met. What aspects of all those experiences do you feel will apply the most to your work here at Sewanee?
“There’s a tremendous amount of problem-solving that went into all three work opportunities. I think bringing in that creative problem-solving skill to Sewanee will be really important. Part of what I love so much about that job was interfacing with everyone. Having conversations, understanding what everyone is doing, and then trying to make decisions that move the organization forward in the fastest way possible. And I’m really excited about that at Sewanee. The majority of my time so far has been in meetings. And then I’m doing my analytical work outside of that. But just that opportunity to interact with all these just incredibly talented, passionate people is really exciting.”
You earned a degree in linguistics, and you have an MFA from the School of Letters. How do you see your background in the humanities influencing your approach to this role as the New CFO?
“It gives me a deeper perspective in some ways. I have an incredible respect for intellectual pursuits in and of themselves. Linguistics and creative writing are not always associated with getting a job in banking or some sort of lucrative career path, but I can tell you in my own experience, those pursuits have been the things that give me richness and purpose in life, much more so than what your career path looks like. So I hope that I can bring a profound love and respect for intellectual pursuits to my decision-making.”
Could you tell us more about your interest in writing and your MFA experience in Sewanee?
“I took my first creative writing classes as a Senior at Princeton. So I got the writing bug after I graduated. I knew exactly where I wanted to pursue this, and that was Sewanee. I only applied to one MFA program. I just had an incredible summer. After that, I started work at Princeton’s Endowment and took a significant hiatus between that first summer, resuming my degree during the pandemic. I officially graduated in 2023. I think I hold the record for the longest student in the School of Letters. There’s a benefit in getting your degree done in a timely manner. I wouldn’t recommend my path, but the perspective I gained from growing up and maturing over that period of time as a writer and as a person was important for me to understand how much I got out of that first summer, and then how much I got out of the subsequent summers with that perspective and growth in the background.”
What are your top financial priorities for the school in the upcoming year?
“As you might be aware, Sewanee has identified a structural deficit that it is in the process of addressing, and my number one priority is making sure that Sewanee is in a financially strong position. And obviously, that’s not something I do alone; that’s something we all do as an institution. We’re incredibly fortunate. We have so many extraordinary aspects that are unique to Sewanee. 13,000 acres that we can go hiking and caving, and canoeing on is basically unprecedented among other colleges and universities. Our Episcopal network, our alumni network, and our incredible students really give us that competitive edge to figure out how to close the gap.”
Tuition, room, and board are significant concerns for many students and families. What is your philosophy towards balancing the university’s financial needs with the goals of keeping a Sewanee education accessible and affordable, especially after the university is no longer meeting 100% of the demonstrated needs of students?
“It is astounding how much higher education costs these days. It does take a lot of resources to run an institution like this, to attract and retain faculty that are teaching the classes that will inspire you in your life and career. I completely agree with the value of education and what we’re offering here at Sewanee. We need to figure out how to make that as accessible as possible to as many different types of pupils as possible. But it’s a challenging thing to optimize. How do you find that perfect blend between being financially responsible and also providing for people? I can’t say that I have a solution, but I can say that at Sewanee, you will find some of the best minds trying to answer that question. Part of that goes back to our endowment, and the stronger and bigger endowment that we can build, the more financial resources we will have to provide things like financial aid. Sewanee’s endowment is about half a billion dollars. That’s impressive for the size of our institution, but there is a real opportunity to grow that. With that growth comes the potential to meet the needs of people who can’t pay the full price to be here.”
You have been coming here since you were three months old. Obviously, you have a connection to this place. What’s your favorite memory of being at Sewanee?
“(long sigh) Oh, my goodness. I love being on the perimeter trail, and I have a memory from when I was about 16. I went to the library and I checked out at the time, books on tape, like literally with your Walkman. And I just hiked the perimeter trail listening to Wuthering Heights on tape. That combination of Emily Bronte’s incredibly raw, organic writing, coupled with being outside on the trail in all that green and all that moss and all that rock, was a profoundly moving experience.”
What is one thing you hope to accomplish in your first year that will have a tangible impact on the student body of Sewanee?
“I would love to have a dialogue with more students. That’s a two-way street. In doing so, I can understand what students are thinking and concerned about, which might help inform how I can serve and help. The step of dialogue and connection is so important. So as I progress in that, I think I will someday have a more kind of concrete response for you about what tangible thing I hope to do. But I need the student perspective before I can opine on that.”
How do you think the current American political climate is affecting the University and its finances?
“We hear a lot in the news about Harvard’s struggles, for example. Sewanee is not in that position. For instance, we don’t have a medical school where the majority of the funding comes from the federal government. I would say that one of the significant impacts is just on the students. Do they feel safe? Do they feel that they can get visas to be here? Do they feel anxiety and uncertainty about what their path forward looks like? That stress is not conducive to a healthy learning environment. It’s not conducive to creativity, imagination, or problem-solving. Although I think that stress can inspire a lot of interesting art. But that’s the thing that I’m most worried about right now is just the emotional toll on our students.”
Are you reading a book these days?
“I am. I’m reading “Lincoln in the Bardo” by George Saunders, and could not recommend it highly enough. It has a very interesting structure, and its themes are really poignant and beautiful. It’s dealing with grief, it’s dealing with limbo, and yeah, I couldn’t recommend it highly enough.”
What are your favorite activities in Sewanee?
“Hiking. I write some; I’m working on a short story. I have family here, so I’m visiting with my grandmother. My date tonight after work is to watch a movie with her. I’m also a drummer in my spare time. I just have to shout out to the library. The library here is one of the best libraries I’ve ever come across. Any book you want, you can find in the library, or you can order it through the Inner Library loan. The film collection is terrific, and I know people these days might think it’s strange to still have Blu-rays and DVDs, but the collection in the library represents a tremendous number of films that can’t be streamed online. The listening room is incredible. We actually stream operas from the Metropolitan Opera, live into the listening room. So if you’re ever interested in checking on an opera, you don’t even have to stay for the whole thing. You get to go for an act. The acoustics are incredible, and it’s fun to watch an opera live-streamed in such an intimate environment.”
Is there something you’d like to say to the student body?
“Welcome, especially to our freshmen and our transfers, and get outside. Get into the forest. Get outside and get into the forest. Do the perimeter rail. Hike from the cross to Morgan Steep or the Waterfall. Go across the highway and do the Lake Dock trail. Do the trails around Lost Cove. If you slow down enough to actually look at the plants and the animals, it can really help take you out of your head in a very healthy way. We think a lot about mental health, and I think being out in nature in a slow, meditative, aware state is so incredibly helpful. So, yes, get outside.”