Meet the Parents Leadership Council Chairs Anne Faircloth and Fred Beaujeu-Dufour share their thoughts as Parents Leadership Council (PLC) chairs.

By Amanda Minix
October 8, 2024

This year begins Anne Faircloth and Fred Beaujeu-Dufour’s two-year term as Parents Leadership Council (PLC) chairs. The volunteer role promotes parent engagement and philanthropy to support W&L and connects families to strengthen the university’s sense of community. Their son Julian ’26 is an environmental studies major and is studying abroad for Fall Term in both Paris and South Africa. Julian was part of Mock Convention’s DC Delegation and is a member of the Outing Club, Generals Repair Club and the Ski and Snowboarding Club. Anne and Fred shared their perspective on W&L and the role.

Q: Share a little bit about yourselves.

Anne: I am from North Carolina and attended an all-girls boarding school, Madeira, outside Washington, D.C. I graduated in 1987, and W&L was on all our radars as empowered women, armed with our Madeira education and ready to break barriers. However, I ended up going to Duke which was great, but now that Julian is at W&L and I’ve met so many great women who would have been my classmates, I wonder what that path would have looked like.

Fred: I am from Paris, France, where I met Anne while I was studying hospitality. We married in 1997 and spent a few years in New York before moving to North Carolina. I earned an MBA from the University of North Carolina, and Anne earned a master’s in English and creative writing from Hollins University. After that, we moved to Anne’s hometown, Clinton, North Carolina, and took over her family’s farm. We’ve been there ever since, farming, getting involved in the community, and raising our two children, Nancy — a 2023 Duke graduate — and Julian ’26. I am also a photographer and enjoy participating in local arts projects.

Q: Describe Julian’s path to W&L.

Anne: Julian attended boarding school at Woodberry Forest. W&L has been a popular school with Woodberry boys. In fact, six kids from his class, including Julian, applied early and all are at W&L now. Due to COVID-19 restrictions at the time, we toured the campus on our own but could not enter any buildings. So, although we knew it by reputation, he more or less picked it sight unseen.

Q: What inspired you to get involved with the Parents Leadership Council?

Fred: Honestly, we are serving as chairs because we were asked. We believe that when your community needs you, you step up. We try very hard to support our community and be good neighbors — whether that be our hometown, our home state or the academic communities we are connected to. Supporting our children’s schools has always been a top priority, so joining the Parents Leadership Council was a logical step after Julian came to W&L.

Q: What are you most looking forward to in your role as PLC Chairs?

Anne: We have already met so many interesting people through our involvement with the PLC — including W&L faculty and staff and fellow parents. The relatively small size of W&L makes it very easy to get to know people, but I also believe there is a special effort made to foster and nurture connections. We are eager to continue that tradition and experience an even greater sense of community at W&L.

Q: What aspects of the W&L community resonate with you as parents and donors?

Anne: W&L is a school that challenges its students. Yes, there is a strong sense of community, and yes, it is nurturing, but the collegial atmosphere and idyllic setting belie a real drive to take students out of their comfort zone and push them into new ways of thinking and interacting with the world. It is a school steeped in tradition that offers cutting edge opportunities for its students. W&L pushes boundaries every day while remaining true to its history and legacy.

Q: What has been your favorite W&L event or tradition so far?

Anne: I was able to attend the 2024 Mock Convention last February, and I was amazed at the sophistication and organization. It is a remarkable legacy.

Q: Would you share your personal inspiration for supporting W&L?

Fred: Our child has picked W&L as his community, and we enthusiastically support the university because we believe in the mission and see it lived every day in the faculty and staff we have met.