At this year’s Senior-Parent Dinner, the Class of 2025 and their families were honored to hear from a distinguished Trinity-Pawling alumnus, Tag Demment ’64. A lifelong scholar, global thinker, and advocate for sustainable development, Mr. Demment shared his remarkable journey from struggling teenager to world-traveling researcher and academic leader.
Reflecting on his time at Trinity-Pawling, Demment spoke candidly about his teenage uncertainty, arriving at Trinity-Pawling with no center of gravity, and typical teenage angst. But a transformative English teacher, Mr. Owens, helped anchor his thinking and inspired him with the poetry of Robert Frost. “Two roads diverged in a wood, and I took the one less traveled,” Demment shared, quoting from The Road Not Taken, “and that has made all the difference.”
That road took him far. After earning a degree in architectural sciences from Harvard, Demment traveled across Africa and eventually shifted paths — both geographically and professionally — into the world of wildlife research. He earned his MS and PhD in zoology and botany from the University of Wisconsin, including two years studying baboons in Kenya.
In 1982, Demment joined the faculty at the University of California, Davis, where he earned tenure and later helped establish the school’s pioneering sustainable agriculture program. But it was his deep commitment to development work that defined his later career. He led the CRSP (Collaborative Research Support Program), partnering with more than 35 U.S. universities and over 300 institutions in developing countries to build capacity, improve child nutrition, create insurance systems, and even design mobile phone-based tools for rural farmers.
After retiring from UC Davis, Demment continued his global impact through the Association of Public and Land-grant Universities (APLU), an organization comprised of presidents of 238 public universities in the United States, Canada, and Mexico, where he oversaw international development initiatives. His proudest moments over the course of his career have been bringing people together to solve complex problems. Demment believes solutions emerge in collaboration with others and that Trinity-Pawling’s close-knit environment is a perfect place to get that balance right and set students up for a productive life.
Closing his talk, Demment encouraged the Class of 2025 to embrace the unknown, take bold paths, and contribute to a better world. “Enjoy this moment and use this gift to make a difference in the world,” he said, “You are needed.”
With wisdom forged from a life of curiosity, courage, and global service, Tag Demment reminded all in attendance that the Trinity-Pawling experience is a foundation for far-reaching impact.