The American Council on Education (ACE)

About ACE

 

The American Council on Education (ACE) is the only higher education organization that represents presidents and chancellors of all types of U.S. accredited, degree-granting institutions: community colleges and four-year institutions, private and public universities, and nonprofit and for-profit colleges. This cross-sector membership enables ACE to serve as higher education's unifying voice.

 

Officers

John Sexton

Chair

President New York University 

John Sexton, the fifteenth President of New York University, also is the Benjamin Butler Professor of Law and NYU Law School's Dean Emeritus, having served as Dean for 14 years. He joined the Law School's faculty in 1981, was named the School's Dean in 1988, and was designated the University's President in 2001.

President Sexton is Chair of the Commission on Independent Colleges and Universities of New York, Chair of the New York Academy of Sciences, and Chair of the American Council on Education. He is a Fellow of the American Academy of Arts and Sciences, a member of the Council on Foreign Relations, and a past member of the Executive Committee of the Association of American Universities. He has served as the Chairman of the Board of the Federal Reserve Bank of New York (2003-2006) and Chair of the Federal Reserve Systems Council of Chairs (2006). He served as a Board Member for the National Association of Securities Dealers (1996-1998), and was Founding Chair of the Board of NASD Dispute Resolution (2000-2002). He also serves on the Boards of the Council on Foreign Relations, the Institute of International Education and the Association for a Better New York. While Dean of the Law School he was President of the Association of American Law Schools.

President Sexton received a B.A. in History (1963) from Fordham College; an M.A. in Comparative Religion (1965) and a Ph.D. in History of American Religion (1978) Fordham University; and a J.D. magna cum laude (1979) from Harvard Law School.

He is an author of the nation's leading casebook on Civil Procedure. He also is the author of Redefining the Supreme Court's Role: A Theory of Managing the Federal Court System (a treatment of the Supreme Court's case selection process) in addition to several other books, numerous chapters, articles and Supreme Court briefs.

He holds honorary degrees from Fordham University, Saint Francis College; Saint John's University, University of Rochester and Katholieke Universiteit Leuven. The student editors of NYU's Annual Survey of American Law dedicated their Volume 60 in his honor. He was named by Emory University "Outstanding High School Debate Coach of the Last 50 Years" for work he did from 1960-1975. He has been honored at the Harvard Law Review Annual Banquet, and has been named "Alumnus of the Year" both at Fordham and at his high school, Brooklyn Prep. In July 2008 he was named a Chevalier de la Légion d'Honneur, the national order of the Legion of Honor of France.

Before coming to NYU, President Sexton served as Law Clerk to Chief Justice Warren Burger of the United States Supreme Court (1980-1981), and to Judges David Bazelon and Harold Leventhal of the United States Court of Appeals (1979-1980). For ten years (1983-1993), he served as Special Master Supervising Pretrial Proceedings in the Love Canal Litigation. From 1966 - 1975, he was a Professor of Religion at Saint Francis College in Brooklyn, where he was Department Chair from 1970-1975.

Eduardo J. Padrón, Ph.D.

Vice Chair/Chair-elect

President, Miami Dade College

An American by choice, Eduardo Padrón arrived in the United States as a refugee at the age of 15. Since 1995, he has served as President of Miami Dade College (MDC), the largest institution of higher education in America with more than 170,000 students. An economist by training, Dr. Padrón earned his Ph.D. degree from the University of Florida. In 2009, TIME magazine included him on the list of “The 10 Best College Presidents.”

President Padrón is widely recognized as one of the top educational leaders in the world and is often invited to participate in educational policy forums in the United States and abroad. In 1993, President Bill Clinton recognized him as one of America’s foremost educators. More recently, he represented the U.S. at UNESCO’s World Conference on Higher Education at the request of President Barack Obama. President George W. Bush nominated him to the National Institute for Literacy Advisory Board. During his career he has been selected to serve on posts of national prominence by five American presidents.

Internationally, President Padrón’s accomplishments have been recognized by numerous nations and organizations including the Republic of France, which named him Commandeur in the Ordre des Palms Académiques; the Republic of Argentina, which awarded him the Order of San Martin; and Spain’s King Juan Carlos II, who bestowed upon him the Order of Queen Isabella.

Padrón’s pace-setting work at Miami Dade College has been hailed as a model of innovation in higher education. He is credited with engineering a culture of success that has produced impressive results in student access, retention, graduation, and overall achievement. MDC enrolls and graduates more minorities than any other institution in the United States, including the largest numbers of Hispanics and African-Americans. He is nationally respected for his advocacy on behalf of underserved populations in higher education, and his in-depth research report, “A Deficit of Understanding,” highlights the funding crisis that threatens access for low-income and minority students. Dr. Padrón has also championed innovative teaching and learning strategies and developed support initiatives to ensure student success. He was a member of the Association of American Colleges and Universities’ (AAC&U) Greater Expectations national panel that re-examined baccalaureate education in the U.S. and the Woodrow Wilson Foundation’s Commission on the High School Senior Year.

President Padrón’s transformational accomplishments at Miami Dade College have been acknowledged by the national media including The New York Times, NBC Nightly News, TIME magazine, Wall Street Journal, CNN, and The Chronicle of Higher Education.

Currently, Padrón’s energetic leadership extends to many of the nation’s leading organizations. He was recently appointed to the Advisory Commission of the National Museum of the American Latino and serves on the boards of the AAC&U (Chair); American Council on Education (ACE); Carnegie Foundation for the Advancement of Teaching; Business/Higher Education Forum; League for Innovation in the Community College (past Chair); RC 2020; the Collins Center for Public Policy; and the International Association of University Presidents.

He has been on the boards of Bank of America and Total Bank, and presently serves on the Federal Reserve Board of Atlanta, Miami Branch. In past years he has held leadership positions on the boards of the Hispanic Association of Colleges & Universities (Chair); the Kennedy Center for the Performing Arts; the White House Commission on Educational Excellence; Campus Compact; Congressional Hispanic Caucus Institute; The College Board; and others.

In Florida, Padrón has served on several gubernatorial commissions and has lent his talents to numerous organizations including the Florida Humanities Council; the Florida Council of Presidents (Chair); the Council of 100; Dade-Miami Criminal Justice Council (Chair); Miami Parking Authority (Chair); the Hispanic American League Against Discrimination (Chair); NAACP (Vice-President); and Greater Miami United (Co-Chair).

Under Dr. Padrón’s leadership, Miami Dade College has received national recognition for its longstanding involvement with its urban community, its catalytic effect for social and economic change, and the marked difference the College has made in student access and success through pace-setting initiatives. The most recent recognitions include: “2008 Exemplary Award for Improving General Education,” Association for General and Liberal Studies (AGLS); “2008 Chancellor’s Best Practice Award for Academic Affairs,” Florida Department of Education; “2007 Savior of the Community,” New England Board of Higher Education; “2008 Green Cleaning Grand Prize,” Green Cleaning Network; “2008 Fourth Best College for Digital Transformation,” National Center for Digital Education; and “2008 President George W. Bush’s Higher Education Honor Roll” for service to the community.

Padrón is the recipient of numerous honorary doctorates and prestigious awards. The recent list includes the “2008 Charles Kennedy Equity Award,” Association of Community College Trustees (ACCT); “2008 Reginald Wilson Diversity Leadership Award,” American Council on Education; “2008 Innovator of the Year,” League for Innovation in the Community College; Chair Academy for Leadership Development’s “2005 Paul A. Elsner Award for International Excellence;” HispanicMagazine’s “2004 Hispanic Achievement Award in Education;” and the Association of Community College Trustee’s “2002 Chief Executive of the Year” award. He is a prolific writer with countless publications to his credit and serves on the editorial boards of The Presidency, University Business, and Campus Technology. In addition, he is a guest columnist for Hispanic Magazine and The Miami Herald.

He has been featured in People magazine as one of the world’s most influential Hispanics, in Hispanic magazine’s list of most powerful Latinos, and in PODER magazine’s report on “Movers and Shakers.”

Judy Genshaft 

Immediate Past Chair

President
University of South Florida

Judy Genshaft became the sixth president of the University of South Florida in July 2000, bringing with her more than 25 years of experience in higher education. As president, Genshaft heads one of Florida's largest and most comprehensive universities where she is leading a new era of excellence and innovation in teaching and learning, research and service, significantly increasing USF's stature among national public research universities. President Genshaft leads one of the 20 largest universities in the nation. 

With campuses in Tampa, St. Petersburg, Sarasota/Manatee and Lakeland, USF serves nearly 42,600 students in more than 200 undergraduate, master's, specialist and doctoral programs, including the doctor of medicine. USF has 12,400 employees and a budget of $1.3 billion, including $290 million in research contracts and grants. USF is poised to become one of the top 50 public research universities in America, as ranked in the elite group of The Top American Research Universities. Its growing prominence has earned consistent rankings in America's Best Graduate Schools and U.S. News & World Report. USF's increasing recognition as a premier research institution is a product of a five-year strategic plan implemented and developed by President Genshaft's administration. 

The plan continues to be a successful blueprint for strengthening USF's faculty and program quality, student selectivity and achievement, research quality and productivity and private support.Research - Chief among President Genshaft's accomplishments is the advancement of research and economic development. Last year, USF's faculty was awarded more than $290 million in research contracts and grants, rising from $171 million just five years ago. She places a great emphasis on undergraduate research as an integral component of USF's research and teaching missions. Through programs such as the Undergraduate Research Experience and Undergraduate Research Symposium, students, with the guidance of faculty mentors, can experience hands-on research early in their education, bridging them to graduate study and successful careers. 

President Genshaft's support for students' academic success has resulted in the development of a more service-oriented university that is committed to providing students the necessary classes to be successful in their majors and graduate in a timely manner.Economic Development - President Genshaft has long been a champion for economic development and community engagement. Prior to joining USF, she served as provost at the University of Albany, where she was part of an acclaimed high-tech economic development initiative for New York. Genshaft brings the same dynamic vision to the Tampa Bay region. Under her leadership, USF is building a research park to serve as the hub for bioscience research and entrepreneurship in the Tampa area. The research park will bring scientists and entrepreneurs together to work side by side, share innovations and make advancements in both the laboratory and in the marketplace. 

The park will include laboratories and offices, an expanded business incubator and the Center for Biological Defense. Recognizing USF's role in the community as a metropolitan university, President Genshaft is Florida's first university president to chair a chamber of commerce's economic development committee. She also holds leadership positions in several other economic development efforts in the Tampa Bay area.Academics - Since joining USF, President Genshaft has focused on raising the university's academic profile and enhancing student life. President Genshaft's administration has continued to recruit brighter first-time-in-college students to USF every year.

Her vision for higher enrollment quality included the creation of the USF Honors College, which is now the largest in Florida and serves students with the highest SAT scores in the state. Under President Genshaft's leadership, the USF Health Sciences Center created an integrated model for health care education and delivery to provide better care for patients. She continues to strengthen USF's partnerships and collaborate with area hospitals to provide top-quality health care solutions for the community. These partners include the Moffitt Cancer Center and Research Institute, the Johnnie B. Byrd Sr. Alzheimer's Institute, All Children's Hospital, Tampa General Hospital, University Community Hospital and others.Regional Campuses - President Genshaft empowered USF's regional campuses to address the unique needs of their communities. As a result, USF St. Petersburg created its own colleges of Arts & Sciences, Business and Education as well as 'programs of distinction, which bring unprecedented focus to the campus' strategic planning.

The programs include journalism and media studies, social responsibility and corporate reporting, Florida studies and environmental sciences. USF Sarasota/Manatee opened the School of Hotel and Restaurant Management to serve the West Central Florida tourism industry and USF Lakeland created a bachelor's degree in information technologies to serve the Florida High-Tech Corridor. Faculty Governance - In the same spirit of collaboration, President Genshaft and her administration have been working with the faculty senate to develop a new set of principles of shared governance. The principles are important for empowering and engaging faculty, an endeavor to which she is deeply committed.Campus Growth - While the academic landscape has changed dramatically at USF under President Genshaft's leadership, so has its physical landscape.

She has overseen approximately $500 million worth of continued growth and enhancements totaling close to 3.6 million gross square feet, transforming USF into a vibrant campus community. New construction projects include the expansion of the College of Business Administration's Chester H. Ferguson Hall, a new Natural and Environmental Science Building, a state-of-the-art Nanotechnology Building, a new Admissions Welcome Center, new residence halls, a new parking garage, the USF/Kiran C. Patel Charter School, an expanded Gibbons Alumni Center, a new College of Nursing Building and a new Health Care and Education Center. Athletics - President Genshaft also spearheaded funding and construction for the university's new athletic training facility at the headquarters for USF NCAA teams as they head into the Big East Conference in the 2005-2006 academic year. 

In 2003, President Genshaft successfully negotiated a move from Conference USA to the Big East, raising the level of competition of USF athletics and dramatically raising the national profile of USF, which now counts prestigious institutions such as Pittsburgh, Rutgers and Syracuse among its peers. Prior to joining USF, President Genshaft served as Provost and Vice President for Academic Affairs at the University at Albany, where she also served as Dean of the College of Education. She served as professor, department chair, associate provost and Faculty Senate President at Ohio State University. President Genshaft has a bachelor's degree in social work and psychology from the University of Wisconsin-Madison, a master's degree in school psychology and a Ph.D. in counseling psychologyâ?"both from Kent State University. A national leader in the field of school psychology, she is the author and co-author of 69 journal articles and 3 books.

Leslie Wong
 
Secretary

President Northern Michigan University

Leslie E. “Les” Wong

Career at a Glance

• Northern Michigan University. President, July 1, 2004-present
• Valley City State University in North Dakota. Vice president for academic affairs, 1999-2004
• University of Southern Colorado, Pueblo. Provost and academic vice president, 1996-99; interim president, Jan. 1 to June 30, 1997
• The Evergreen State College in Olympia, Wash. Academic dean, 1990-96; faculty member, 1988-1996
• Pierce College in Tacoma, Wash. Psychology instructor, 1974-1988; women’s varsity tennis coach, 1975-1981

Education

Ph.D. Educational Psychology, Washington State University, 1986
M.S. Experimental Psychology, Eastern Washington University, 1974
B.A. Psychology, Gonzaga University (Spokane, Wash.), 1972

Personal Information

• Married to Phyllis Wong
• Three grown sons: Isaac, Nathan, and Brian
• Interests: outdoor recreation (running, fly fishing, alpine backpacking, canoeing, baseball); reading ethnic and civil war literature; and collecting antique measuring instruments

Molly Corbett Broad

Ex Officio

President American Council on Education

A leading spokesperson for American higher education, Molly Corbett Broad became the twelfth president of the American Council on Education (ACE) on May 1, 2008. She is the first woman to lead the organization since its founding in 1918.

Broad came to ACE from the University of North Carolina (UNC), where she served as president from 1997 to 2006, leading UNC through a period of unprecedented enrollment growth. Due in large part to the success of the Focused Growth Initiative, minority enrollment at UNC grew at more than double the rate of the overall student body during her tenure. She also spearheaded the creation of a need-based financial aid program for in-state undergraduates and the creation of the College Foundation of North Carolina.

Broad held a number of administrative and executive positions at several universities prior to her tenure at UNC. At the California State University system, she served as senior vice chancellor for administration and finance from 1992-93, and as executive vice chancellor and chief operating officer from 1993 until her election as UNC president.

Earlier in her career, Broad served as the chief executive officer for Arizona’s three-campus university system (1985-92) and in a succession of administrative posts at Syracuse University (1971-85).Broad has written and spoken widely on strategic planning for higher education, K-16 partnerships, information technology, globalization and biotechnology.

She currently holds seats on the boards of PBS (the Public Broadcasting Service) and the Parsons Corporation. She is past chair of the National Association of State Universities and Land-Grant Colleges (NASULGC), past chair of the Internet 2 board of trustees and past president of the International Council for Distance Education.

She has served on the boards and executive committees of the Business-Higher Education Forum; Council on Competitiveness; National Association of University System Heads; and the Centenary Committee for Fudan University in Shanghai, China.

Broad earned a General Motors Scholarship to Syracuse University, where she graduated Phi Beta Kappa with a baccalaureate degree in economics from the Maxwell School of Citizenship and Public Affairs. She holds a master’s degree in the field from The Ohio State University.

Term Ending March 2011

 

Susan A. Cole, President

Montclair State University, NJ

 Dr. Susan A. Cole assumed office in September of 1998 as the eighth president of Montclair State University, which is the second largest university in New Jersey, more than 18,000 graduate and undergraduate students. Dr. Cole served as President of Metropolitan State University in Minneapolis/St. Paul, Minnesota from 1993 to 1998 and as Vice President for University Administration and Personnel at Rutgers, The State University of New Jersey from 1980 to 1991. She also served as Associate University Dean for Academic Affairs at Antioch University and Visiting Senior Fellow in Academic Administration at the City University of New York.

Dr. Cole serves on the boards of the Liberty Science Center, the American Council on Education, the Montclair Art Museum and the New Jersey Performing Arts Center Council of Trustees. She served on Governor Christie’s transition team and chaired the transition education subcommittee. She also served on the Property Tax Convention Task Force, appointed by Governor McGreevey, as co-chair of Governor McGreevey’s higher education transition team and on his Education cabinet, as co-chair of Governor DiFrancesco’s World Class Economy Task Force, and as a member of Governor Whitman’s trade missions to South America and Asia.

She was chair of the board of The St. Paul Riverfront Corporation and served on a number of other boards, including The Saint Paul Foundation, Twin Cities Public Television, Western Bank, and the Science Museum of Minnesota. Dr. Cole earned three degrees in English and American literature: a B.A. from Barnard College, Columbia University and an M.A. and Ph.D. from Brandeis University. Dr. Cole writes and speaks extensively about current issues in American higher education.



Pamela B. Gann, President

Claremont McKenna College, CA

Pamela Brooks Gann became president of Claremont McKenna College on July 1, 1999.  She is CMC’s fourth president.  Claremont McKenna College is a residential liberal arts college of 1200 students with a focused mission on educating leaders for business, the professions, and public affairs.  Its economics and government departments are considered the best at any liberal arts college in the United States, and The Henry R. Kravis Leadership Institute is one of the three best leadership programs for undergraduates in the United States.  Moreover, CMC is regularly ranked among the best liberal arts colleges in the United States, and is the sixth most selective college in admission.  It is a member of consortium of colleges known as The Claremont Colleges, located in Claremont, California.  In September 2007, CMC announced a $200 million gift to establish the Robert Day Scholars Program and the creation of the Robert Day School in Economics & Finance.  This gift is the 20th largest in American higher education, and the largest gift ever in the field of economics.  In March 2008, CMC publicly commenced a $600 million Campaign, the largest ever announced by a liberal arts college, and it has raised $425 million toward this goal.

Since joining CMC, President Gann has led a multi-year strategic planning process involving more than 130 faculty, staff, students, alumni, and trustees.  Student selectivity has continued to increase with only 16% of the applicants for the fall 2009 being admitted, and the geographical diversity of the entering classes has also increased, with 65% of the students originating from outside of California, including 14% from outside the United States.  CMC is one of approximately 35 private colleges and universities who admit all students without regard to the family’s income and then meet all financial need of the student (this is need-blind admission).   In 2008, CMC also announced that it was increasing its scholarship grants in order to eliminate all loans from students’ financial aid packages.  President Gann has been actively involved in the expansion and replenishment of the College’s faculty across all departments, but especially in the development of the economics, government, history, literature, philosophy, psychology, and science faculties.  Over 55 percent of CMC’s tenured and tenure-track faculty have been hired since she became president ten years ago.  

Two new research institutes have been created.  The Financial Economics Institute is designed to provide a curricular sequence in financial economics and to support faculty and student research in financial economics.  The Center for Human Rights Leadership builds on CMC’s historic strengths in the area of Holocaust studies and international relations.  The Kravis Leadership Institute has been extensively expanded to include more professors, over 125 summer student leadership internships in the United States and around the world, and the Henry R. Kravis Leadership Prize to recognize exceptional leaders in the non-profit sectors in the world.  The College is also pursuing a significant revision in its campus master plan that includes over $200 million in proposed new facilities.

Prior to her arrival in Claremont, President Gann served for 11 years as dean of the Duke University School of Law and as a faculty member for 24 years.  Her academic fields are federal income taxation and international economic law, including international trade and investments.

President Gann has an extensive background in international education, including teaching American law and international trade in the People’s Republic of China, France, Denmark, and at the Salzburg Seminar, Salzburg, as well as an intensive training session in Hanoi, where she helped train 100 Vietnam government officials in preparation for bilateral trade agreement negotiations.  She has also visited at the University of Virginia and the University of Michigan, and was awarded an International Affairs Fellowship by the Council on Foreign Relations, through which she worked at the International Monetary Fund and the Office of the U.S. Trade Representative.

Gann is an active leader in law, higher education, and international policy.  She has been elected to membership in the Council on Foreign Relations, the International Women’s Forum, the Society of International Business Fellows, and the American Law Institute.  She is an elected Fellow of the American Bar Foundation.  She serves as a member of the Deloitte Council on the Advancement of Women (WIN); she is a member of the Board of Directors for the American Council on Education, the President’s Council of the NCAA Division III, the Southwestern Law School.  She is an elected Trustee of the Committee for Economic Development, and The Institute for the International Education of Students. She was awarded the “Women Lawyer of the Year” award by the North Carolina Association of Women Attorneys and also the YWCA of San Gabriel Valley’s “Women of Achievement Award of Distinction.”

President Gann was born in Monroe, North Carolina.  She is a 1970 mathematics graduate of the University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill, where she was elected to Phi Beta Kappa.  She graduated from the Duke University School of Law in 1973, where she was articles editor of the Duke Law Journal and was elected to the Order of the Coif.  She practiced law in private firms in Atlanta and Charlotte before returning to Duke in 1975 and being named dean in 1988.  She travels extensively and is an avid outdoorswoman, particularly enjoying running, scuba diving, mountain trekking and climbing.


Carolyn A. "Biddy" Martin, Chancellor

University of Wisconsin—Madison 


Carolyn Arthur “Biddy” Martin is the Chancellor of the University of Wisconsin-Madison, her doctoral alma mater. She assumed office on September 1, 2008, succeeding John D. Wiley. Prior to becoming chancellor, she was Provost of Cornell University in Ithaca, New York from July 1, 2000 until August 31, 2008. She is the ninth graduate of UW–Madison to serve as its chancellor, and the first alumna to hold that position. She is the university's second female chancellor, after Donna Shalala, and also the university's first openly gay chancellor.

At Cornell, the provost is the university president's first deputy officer and reports to the president as the chief educational officer and chief operating officer of the university. The provost is responsible for overseeing all academic programs within the university, with the exception of those programs reporting to the provost for medical affairs in New York City. As provost, Martin's accomplishments included the creation of a $4 billion capital campaign, the reorganization of the Division of Biological Sciences, the enhancement of faculty salaries, and the establishment of the Weill Institute for Cell and Molecular Biology, an interdisciplinary research institute on Cornell's Ithaca campus. She also developed a new financial aid policy that would eliminate loans for all students whose families earn less than $75,000 a year, as well as a community Common Read project as part of orientation for incoming freshmen.

Martin received her Ph.D. in German Literature in 1985 from the University of Wisconsin-Madison, and joined the faculty at Cornell the same year. In 1991, she was promoted to associate professor in the Department of German Studies with a joint appointment in the  Women's studies Program. She served as chair of the Department of German studies from 1994-97, and in 1997 was promoted to full Professor. In 1996, she was appointed Senior Associate Dean in the College of Arts and Sciences.

A distinguished scholar of German Studies, Martin is the author of numerous articles and two books—one on a literary and cultural figure in the Freud circle, Lou Andreas-Salome, and the other on gender theory. A native of Lynchburg, Virginia, she received her undergraduate degree from the College of William and Mary, where she was a member of Phi Beta Kappa, and a masters degree from Middlebury College.




Patricia McGuire, President

Trinity Washington University, DC

Patricia McGuire has been President of Trinity since 1989. Before coming to Trinity, Ms. McGuire was the Assistant Dean for Development and External Affairs for Georgetown University Law Center, where she was also an adjunct professor of law. Earlier, she was project director for Georgetown 's D.C. Street Law Project. She was also a legal affairs commentator for the award-winning CBS children's newsmagazine "30 Minutes" and the Fox Television program "Panorama" in Washington.


President McGuire earned her bachelor of arts degree cum laude from Trinity College and her law degree from the Georgetown University Law Center. She is currently a member of the boards of directors of the Greater Washington Board of Trade, the Washington Hospital Center, the Women's College Coalition, the Washington Metropolitan Consortium of Universities, the D.C. College Success Foundation, Goodwill of Greater Washington, the National Defense Intelligence College, the American Council on Education, the Community Foundation of the National Capital Region, United Educators, and the UNIFI Mutual Holding Company.  She is currently serving on a governance advisory task force for the American Institute of Architects, and she previously served as a member of the Independent Governance Advisory Panel for the American Red Cross. She is a member of the Women's Advisory Board of the Girl Scouts of the Nation's Capital.

In 2000, President McGuire was appointed by D.C. Mayor Anthony Williams and the D.C. Financial Control Board to a special term on the Education Advisory Committee overseeing the D.C. Public Schools. In June 1998, Treasury Secretary Robert Rubin appointed President McGuire to serve as a member of the first-ever citizens' advisory panel on coinage, the 8-member Dollar Coin Design Advisory Committee, which recommended the image of Sacagawea for the new dollar coin.

President McGuire has received honorary degrees from Georgetown University, the College of New Rochelle, and the College of St. Elizabeth. In 2007, the Greater Washington Board of Trade named President McGuire the "Leader of the Years," the top business honor for this regional chamber of commerce.  The Washington Business Journal included President McGuire among that publications list of "Women Who Mean Business." Washingtonian magazine has named her among the "150 Most Powerful People in Washington" and the "100 Most Powerful Women of Washington." She has also received honors and awards from the Washington Business Journal, D.C.College Access Program, Gallaudet University, Georgetown University Law Center, and other civic and educational organizations.

President McGuire writes and speaks on a wide variety of topics concerning higher education, women and Catholic education, and her articles have appeared in The Wall Street Journal, The Washington Post, The Baltimore Sun, Current Issues in Catholic Higher Education, and a wide variety of other publications.

Founded in 1897 by the Sisters of Notre Dame de Namur, Trinity enrolls more than 2,000 students in degree programs. Another 3,000 students participate in Trinity's continuing education programs, including professional workshops for teachers. In February 2003, Trinity opened the Trinity Center for Women and Girls in Sports, a $20 million state-of-the-art athletic complex that is the largest facility in the nation with a particular focus on women and girls in sports.


Charles Middleton, President

Roosevelt University, IL





Charles R. Middleton is President of Roosevelt University. Under Dr. Middleton's leadership, Roosevelt has gained a national reputation for being a fiscally disciplined organization that is committed to student success.

Since assuming the Presidency in 2002, Dr. Middleton has strengthened and expanded the University's curriculum through a thoughtful program review process that included the elimination of small programs and the strategic expansion of programs vital to today's marketplace. In addition, during this time the University has hired innovative college deans, created a new College of Pharmacy and appointed a record number of new full-time faculty members.

Perhaps his major accomplishment has been changing Roosevelt from a primarily commuter university with part-time adult students to a more traditional-age university where the majority of students are studying full-time with approximately 10 percent living in University housing. This was accomplished by revamping the University's student affairs programming and revising the University's recruitment strategies.

Under his guidance, credit hours taken by Roosevelt students have grown to the highest level in the University’s history. In addition, the University's retention and six-year graduation rates, the major indicators of student success, have improved dramatically.

Prior to joining Roosevelt, Dr. Middleton was Vice Chancellor for Academic Affairs at the University System of Maryland, Provost and Vice President of Academic Affairs at Bowling Green State University and Dean of the College of Arts and Sciences at the University of Colorado at Boulder.

A fellow of Great Britain’s Royal Historical Society, Dr. Middleton's academic expertise is in modern British history from the late 18th Century to the early 19th Century. During his career, he has taught more than 5,000 undergraduate and graduate students, written more than 70 scholarly papers and is the author of the book The Administration of British Foreign Policy, 1782-1846. Dr. Middleton earned an AB degree with honors in history from Florida State University and both an MA and PhD in history from Duke University.

Among many professional and civic commitments, Dr. Middleton is on the Board of Directors of the American Council on Education (ACE) and immediate past chair of the Federation of Independent Illinois Colleges and Universities. He also served on the board of the Chicago 2016 Olympic Bid Committee and serves on the boards of the Franklin and Eleanor Roosevelt Institute in Hyde Park, N.Y., the Center on Halsted (where he chairs the Finance Committee and serves as Treasurer of the Center), the Chicago Central Area Committee, the Near South Planning Board, the Point Foundation and the Chicago History Museum Community Advisory Council. He is a member of Rotary One, the Economic Club of Chicago, the Executives' Club, and the Commercial Club of Chicago.


Kevin P. Reilly, President

University of Wisconsin System

Dr. Kevin P. Reilly began his tenure as the sixth president of the University of Wisconsin System on September 1, 2004. His vision for the state’s public university system is that it should be Wisconsin’s premier developer of advanced human potential, of the jobs that employ that potential, and of the flourishing communities that sustain it.

The UW System’s two doctoral universities, 11 comprehensive universities, 13 freshman-sophomore UW Colleges campuses, and statewide UW-Extension annually serve more than 178,000 students, and reach more than one million Wisconsin citizens through outreach, public broadcasting, and continuing education programs.  President Reilly leads a UW System workforce of some 40,000 faculty, academic and classified staff, and graduate assistants. He is also responsible for the UW System’s $4.75 billion annual budget, made up of state support, federal funding, tuition and fees, and private gifts.

In collaboration with the campus Chancellors in the System, he developed the “Growth Agenda for Wisconsin,” a long-term vision and strategic plan for what the university needs to do to help make Wisconsin and the nation competitive in the global knowledge economy.  Under his leadership, enrollment has grown to an all-time high, and sponsored research has continued to expand.  At the same time, the UW System was ranked by the National Center for Higher Education Management Systems among the five “most productive state systems and public sectors of higher education relative to their resources.”

Dr. Reilly served as Chancellor of UW-Extension from July 2000 through August 2004.  He was Provost and Vice Chancellor of Extension from 1996 to 2000. A native of New York City, Reilly came to Wisconsin from the State University of New York System, where he was Associate Provost for Academic Programs and then Secretary of the University.

He has served as Chair of the American Council on Education's Commission on Adult Learning and Educational Credentials and as a member of the Board of Directors for the University Continuing Education Association and Vice Chair of its Commission on Leadership and Management.  He was also a member of the Steering Committee of the four statewide Wisconsin Economic Summits, sponsored by the UW System, and a founding member of the UW System Federal Relations Council.

He is currently a member of the Higher Education Working Group on Global Issues for the Council on Foreign Relations, and the Steering Committee for the Celtic Studies Program at UW-Madison. He serves as Vice President of the National Association of System Heads and as a member of the Board of Directors of the American Council on Education. In 2009, he received the Signature of Excellence Award from the University Continuing Education Association for exemplary service to continuing higher education. Also in 2009, he was named one of the top 100 Irish-American educators by Irish Voice weekly. He has authored and edited books and articles on higher education policy, accreditation, biography and autobiography, and Irish studies.

Dr. Reilly earned his B.A. at the University of Notre Dame, and his M.A. and Ph.D at the University of Minnesota. He and his wife, Kate, reside at Brittingham House in Madison, Wisconsin. They are the parents of three children.

Term Ending March 2012

Joseph Aoun, President

Northeastern University, MA

Joseph E. Aoun, an internationally known scholar in linguistics, is the seventh president of Northeastern University—a preeminent global, experiential, research university. Since his presidency began in August 2006, he has charted an ambitious and distinctive course to advance Northeastern. At the heart of his vision is a commitment to strengthen the University's leadership position in experiential and cooperative education; create global programs with an urban perspective; foster a research environment where faculty uncover solutions to real-world problems; and build innovative partnerships so that Northeastern can better serve its students, its home city, the nation, and the world.

President Aoun is spearheading an innovative model of undergraduate education. Under his leadership, Northeastern expanded its signature cooperative and experiential education program by launching NU Core, the first University-wide general education program, which includes an experiential learning requirement for all students. The Presidential Global Scholars initiative, established in 2009, will double the number of students participating in international co-op programs, which are now available in more than 50 countries around the world.  

Further evidence of Northeastern's advancement under President Aoun's leadership can be seen in the number of students who now seek admission. From 2006 to 2009, the number of undergraduate applications increased 25 percent. Concurrently, graduate enrollment increased 47 percent. 

In fostering an interdisciplinary approach to research, President Aoun has created an environment where faculty pioneer emerging fields and tackle problems with societal relevance. The university is now home to seven federally recognized research "centers of excellence" and is seeing a dramatic increase in federal research support.

President Aoun has also made strengthening Northeastern's faculty ranks a central priority, launching an interdisciplinary hiring initiative and a research support program for mid-career faculty.

His passion for building partnerships and urban engagement is enriching both the University and its partners. He has formed collaborative joint-degree programs with the School of the Museum of Fine Arts in Boston and Hebrew College in Newton, Massachusetts, and was instrumental in forming a joint research platform between Greece and the University. He also launched the Stony Brook Initiative, a comprehensive University-neighborhood partnership for youth and community development.

President Aoun is recognized as a leader in higher education policy and serves on the board of directors of the American Council on Education as well as the Boston Private Industry Council, Boston World Partnerships, Jobs for Mass, and the New England Council. He is a member of the Executive Committee of the Greater Boston Chamber of Commerce, a member of the Massachusetts Business Roundtable and Massachusetts Math & Science Initiative, and serves on the Leadership Council for the Massachusetts Life Sciences Collaborative and as cochair of the City to City Boston initiative.

President Aoun came to Northeastern from the University of Southern California's College of Letters, Arts & Sciences-the largest school within the university, where he was the inaugural holder of the Anna H. Bing Dean's Chair.

Edward Ayers, President

University of Richmond, VA

In July 2007, Edward Ayers assumed the presidency of the University of Richmond. Previously Dean of Arts and Sciences at the University of Virginia, where he began teaching in 1980, Ayers was named the National Professor of the Year by the Carnegie Foundation for the Advancement of Teaching in 2003.

A historian of the American South, Ayers has written and edited ten books. The Promise of the New South: Life After Reconstruction was a finalist for both the National Book Award and the Pulitzer Prize. In the Presence of Mine Enemies: Civil War in the Heart of America won the Bancroft Prize for distinguished writing in American history and the Beveridge Prize for the best book in English on the history of the Americas since 1492. A pioneer in digital history, Ayers created The Valley of the Shadow: Two Communities in the American Civil War, a Web site that has attracted millions of users and won major prizes in the teaching of history.

Ayers has received a presidential appointment to the National Council on the Humanities, served as a Fulbright professor in the Netherlands, and been elected to the American Academy of Arts and Sciences.

Ding-Jo Currie, Chancellor

Coast Community College District, CA

Dr. Ding-Jo H. Currie has been a nationally and internationally recognized leader in education for more than 30 years. As the Chancellor of the Coast Community College District, she is the Chief Executive Officer responsible for the three colleges that include Coastline Community College, Golden West College, and Orange Coast College. One of the nation’s largest districts in credit enrollment, the colleges of the Coast District serve more than 60,000 students each semester.

Before becoming chancellor, Dr. Currie was the president of Coastline Community College headquartered in Fountain Valley. Dr. Currie had served as Board Chair of the American Association of Community Colleges—an honor bestowed upon her by peer CEOs nationwide. She is also called upon to serve in many other leadership roles such as Chair of the Community College Advisory Panel for the College Board, Board Member for American Council of Education, Center for Global Integrated Education, and many other organizations.

Dr. Currie is consistently active and outspoken promoting global workforce development, technology and leadership development, women’s issues, international education, and most importantly, student success. She has earned a respected reputation as a dynamic and visionary leader as well as a strong unity builder.

Dr. Currie has been the recipient of several prestigious awards, including the Women Helping Women Award, the Who’s Who in International Professional Executives recognition, the Outstanding Chinese Educator Award, the Small Business Administration District Director’s Award and the award for Woman of the Year in Community Colleges. These honors were based upon her successes in a leadership role and for her capacity to bring about positive change for higher education, businesses, communities, women, and minorities.

Supporting her career endeavors is a solid education. Dr. Currie obtained her Doctorate of Philosophy from the University of Southern California in Intercultural/International Education. She also holds degrees in Mathematics, Psychology and Counseling. As an immigrant, Dr. Currie has not only become a new American, she exemplifies a model for patriotic citizenship and outstanding leadership for all Americans. She is married with two daughters ages 24 and 22.

 Antoine Garibaldi, President

Gannon University, PA

Antoine M. Garibaldi is the sixth President of Gannon University, a Catholic, diocesan, Master’s Comprehensive University founded in 1925 by Archbishop John Mark Gannon.  Gannon University offers three doctoral, 18 master’s, 55 bachelor’s, and eight associate degree programs.  Nationally recognized for his more than 30 years of teaching, scholarly work, and administrative experience in education, as well as the federal government, Dr. Garibaldi, who also holds the rank of tenured Professor in Gannon’s School of Education, is a Fellow of both the American Psychological Association and the American Educational Research Association, and the author of eleven books and monographs and more than 80 research articles and chapters.  He received his undergraduate degree magna cum laude from Howard University in 1973 and his Ph.D. in Educational Psychology from the University of Minnesota in 1976.

Since his appointment in July 2001, Gannon’s reputation has increased as a result of several notable accomplishments. The University’s ten-year accreditation was reaffirmed by the Middle States Commission on Higher Education in July 2003, and its five-year Periodic Review Report was approved in November 2008. In August 2009, Gannon was ranked for the sixth consecutive year in the Top Tier of universities in the northern region of the United States by U.S.News & World Report’s “America’s Best Colleges 2010.” Gannon was ranked 51st among 172 universities.  Gannon was also ranked for the first time as a Top Up-and-Coming School. This relatively new category, which is determined by a peer assessment survey of high-ranking college officials across the country, recognizes institutions “that have recently made the most promising and innovative changes in academics, faculty, students, campus or facilities.” 

Gannon’s Fall 2009 total enrollment of 4,238 was the highest since 1992. In August 2008, four months ahead of schedule, Gannon successfully reached the goal of its $30 million dollar comprehensive fundraising campaign – The Power To Transform. A new goal of $31 million was established, and the final total raised was $31.5 million. Additionally, more than $8 million dollars in state and federal funds were raised during the campaign period, bringing the overall total to nearly $40 million – a record for the University – during President Garibaldi’s first seven and a half years. In August 2006, Gannon received a $4 million state capital grant from Pennsylvania Governor Ed Rendell for the Erie Technology Incubator. The incubator, which opened in August 2008, assists individuals and small businesses interested in developing technology companies.  Additionally, in September 2004, Gannon was awarded the largest federal grant in its history – a Title III grant of more than $1.8 million over five years by the U.S. Department of Education. In 2008, the University also received a $600,000 National Science Foundation grant to support student scholarships in the fields of Science, Technology, Engineering and Mathematics.

Dr. Garibaldi serves on the boards of several national higher education organizations and universities, including: Academic Search, Inc.; American Council on Education; Association of Independent Colleges and Universities of Pennsylvania; Association of Governing Board’s Council of Presidents; National Association of College and University Business Officers; National Review Board; Quality Education for Minorities (QEM) / Math, Science, Engineering (MSE) Network; the Sister Thea Bowman Black Catholic Educational Foundation; Seton Hall (NJ) University Board of Regents; and the University of Saint Thomas (MN) Board of Trustees. He previously served on the boards of: Council of Independent Colleges (CIC), where he served a two-year term as Chair of the Board of Directors (2006-08); NCAA Division II Presidents Council (2005-09), and Chair of the  NCAA’s Executive Committee Subcommittee on Gender and Diversity. 

Dr. Garibaldi was Chairman of the Board of Directors of the American Association for Higher Education in 2001-02, and he served two four-year terms on the AAHE Board from 1995-2003.  Additionally, Dr. Garibaldi is a former member of the American Council on Education’s Commission on Leadership and Institutional Effectiveness and also served previously on the Wheeling Jesuit University (WV) Board of Directors.  He is also very active in the Erie community, where he serves on several civic, medical and education boards such as St. Vincent Health System, the Erie Downtown Partnership and the Erie Chamber and Growth Partnership.  He previously served on the Board of Directors of United Way of Erie County and was Chair in 2006-07.  He is a member of Alpha Phi Alpha Fraternity, Inc. and Sigma Pi Phi Fraternity.  He served as Chairman of the Social Action Committee of Sigma Pi Phi between 2006 and 2008, and he is Vice Chairman for 2008-10.  

In March 2010, Dr. Garibaldi received the “Person of the Year Award” from the University of Notre Dame Club of Erie. He has received many other awards, including: honorary doctorates from Our Lady of Holy Cross College (LA) and Seton Hall University; the 2004 Howard University Alumni Award for Distinguished Postgraduate Achievement in the field of education; the Outstanding Achievement Award from the University of Minnesota in 2006; and the 2001 National Service Award from the International Salute to Dr. Martin Luther King Jr. in Washington, DC.  In November 2006, he received the Papal honor of Knight of St. Gregory the Great. 

Prior to his appointment as President of Gannon University, Dr. Garibaldi was a Senior Fellow in the Office of the Vice President for Collaborations and Corporate Secretary at the Educational Testing Service in 2000-01; he served as the first Provost and Chief Academic Officer at Howard University and a tenured Professor in the School of Education between 1996 and 2000; and, between 1982 and 1996, he served successively as Chairman of the Education Department, Dean of Arts and Sciences, and Vice President for Academic Affairs at Xavier University of Louisiana. Between 1977 and 1982, he was a federal government administrator and researcher at the U.S. Department of Education’s National Institute of Education, where he was also a staff member of the National Commission on Excellence in Education, which produced the landmark report, A Nation at Risk.

Horace Mitchell, President

California State University, Bakersfield

Dr. Horace Mitchell became the fourth President of California State University, Bakersfield (CSUB) in July 2004, after thirty-six years of experience in higher education. Under Dr. Mitchell’s leadership, the University is entering a period of rapid development, with a vision to extend the excellence and diversity of the faculty and academic programs, enhance the quality of the student experience, and strengthen community engagement. 

Dr. Mitchell came to his current position from the University of California, Berkeley, where he served as Vice Chancellor, Business and Administrative Services, and affiliated professor, African American Studies. Prior to that, he served as the Vice Chancellor for Student Affairs and Campus Life, and Associate Professor of Psychiatry and Human Behavior at UC Irvine.

Dr. Mitchell holds a bachelor’s degree in psychology, a master’s in counseling, and a Ph.D. in counseling psychology, all from Washington University in St. Louis. He began his professional career at his alma mater in 1968. 

Dr. Mitchell’s professional memberships include the American Association for Higher Education, the American Council on Education, the American Psychological Association, and the Association of Black Psychologists. He has been recognized widely for his many years of community service by civic, non-profit, governmental, educational, and professional organizations. Dr. Mitchell’s teaching and research interests are in the areas of multicultural psychology and psychological assessment. He continues to teach one course each year, and maintains his California license for private practice as a psychologist.

Dr. Mitchell and his wife, Barbara Mitchell, have been married for more than 38 years. They have three adult children and five grandchildren.

Mark Yudof, President

University of California

Mark G. Yudof was named the 19th president of the University of California on March 27, 2008, and took office June 16, 2008. He leads a university system with 10 campuses, five medical centers, three affiliated national laboratories, and a statewide agriculture and natural resources program. The UC system has 220,000 students, 180,000 faculty and staff, more than 1.6 million alumni, and an $18 billion annual operating budget.

Yudof served as chancellor of the University of Texas System from August 2002 to May 2008 and as president of the four-campus University of Minnesota from 1997 to 2002. Before that, he was a faculty member and administrator at the University of Texas at Austin for 26 years, serving as dean of the law school from 1984 to 1994 and as the university's executive vice president and provost from 1994 to 1997. His career at UT Austin began in 1971, when he was appointed an assistant professor of law. He has continued to teach throughout his administrative career.

While on the UT law faculty, he was also a visiting professor at the law schools at the University of Michigan and UC Berkeley, and conducted research as a visiting fellow at the University of Warwick in England.

Yudof is a distinguished authority on constitutional law, freedom of expression and education law who has written and edited numerous publications on free speech and gender discrimination, including "Educational Policy and the Law." He is a fellow of the American Academy of Arts and Sciences and a member of the American Law Institute. He served a two-year term on the U.S. Department of Education's Advisory Board of the National Institute for Literacy and currently is a member of the President's Council on Service and Civic Participation.

A Philadelphia native, he earned an LL.B. degree (cum laude) in 1968 from the Law School of the University of Pennsylvania, where he also earned a B.A. degree (cum laude with honors in political science) in 1965. He was awarded the Alumni Award of Merit (2001) and the prestigious James Wilson Award (2004) by the University of Pennsylvania Law School for his many years of service and contributions to the legal community.

His wife, Judy, is the immediate past international president of the United Synagogue of Conservative Judaism. She also serves on the U.S. Holocaust Memorial Museum Council and the international board of Hillel. In 1993, Mark and Judy Yudof were co-recipients of the Jewish National Fund Tree of Life Award. The Yudofs have two grown children - a son, Seth, and a daughter, Samara.

Term Ending March 2013

Brice W. Harris, Chancellor

Los Rios Community College District, CA

Brice W. Harris currently serves as Chancellor of the Los Rios Community College District in Sacramento, California. Los Rios is one of the largest multi-college districts in America and covers more than 2,400 square miles of central California. The District includes American River, Cosumnes River, Folsom Lake and Sacramento City colleges, and currently enrolls nearly 90,000 students each semester. Harris was previously the President of Fresno City College in Fresno, and a faculty member and Vice Chancellor in the Kansas City, Missouri community college system. 

Harris is past president of the Board of the California Community College Chief Executive Officers, and a Commissioner of the Accrediting Commission of Community and Junior Colleges. He chaired the Task Force on Leadership in California community colleges and the community college Task Force on Global and International Education and is a past member of the Board of Directors of the American Association of Community Colleges. 

Also an active member of the greater Sacramento business community, Harris is a past Chair of the Board of the Sacramento Metropolitan Chamber of Commerce and of the Board of the Northern California World Trade Center. He is incoming chair of the Sacramento Area Commerce and Trade organization (SACTO). Harris is active in the arts having served on the Board of the Crocker Art Museum, as Board President of the Fresno Philharmonic Orchestra, and Board member of the Kansas City Museum.

Harris did post doctoral study at the Harvard University Institute of Educational Management, received his Doctorate in Education at Nova Southeastern University, his Master's in Communication from the University of Arkansas, and his Bachelor's in Communication from Southwestern Oklahoma State University.

Harris resides in Fair Oaks, California with his wife Barbara who is an elementary educator and has three adult children also in the state.

 

Anthony W. Marx, President

Amherst College, MA

Anthony W. Marx began his tenure as Amherst’s president on July 1, 2003.  As president, he has focused on realizing Amherst’s aim to be both the most selective and the most diverse liberal arts college, ensuring access for the most talented students of any economic background, curricular renewal and connecting the curriculum to research and internship/service experiences to inspire lifelong engagements.

Marx previously served for 13 years on the faculty at Columbia University, where he was professor and director of undergraduate studies of political science.  He also has established and managed programs designed to strengthen secondary school education in the U.S. and abroad.  During his last year at Columbia, he served as director of the Gates Foundation-funded Early College High School Initiative at the Woodrow Wilson National Fellowship Foundation, which establishes model public high schools as partnerships between school systems and universities. He founded the Columbia Urban Educators Program, a public school teacher recruitment and training partnership.  In the 1980s, he helped found Khanya College, a South African secondary school that prepared more than 1,000 black students for university.

Marx is the author of more than a dozen scholarly articles and three books, Lessons of Struggle: South African Internal Opposition, 1960-1990 (Oxford University Press, 1992), Making Race and Nation: A Comparison of the United States, South Africa and Brazil (Cambridge University Press, 1998) and Faith in Nation: Exclusionary Origins of Nationalism (Oxford University press, 2003).  Making Race and Nation received the American Political Science Association’s 1999 Ralph J. Bunche Award (co-winner for the best book on ethnic and cultural pluralism) and the American Sociological Association’s 2000 Barrington Moore Prize (for the best book of the preceding three years in comparative-historical sociology).  Marx received a John Guggenheim Fellowship in 1997.  He also has received fellowships from the United States Institute of Peace, the National Humanities Center, the Howard Foundation and the Harry Frank Guggenheim Foundation.

Marx attended Wesleyan and Yale, where he graduated magna cum laude with a B.A. degree in 1981.  He received his M.P.A. degree from the Woodrow Wilson School at Princeton University in 1986, then earned M.A. and Ph.D. degrees from Princeton in 1987 and 1990.

Félix V. Matos Rodríguez, President

Eugenio María de Hostos Community College
of The City University of New York (CUNY)

Félix V. Matos Rodríguez took office as President of Eugenio María de Hostos Community College ofThe City University of New York (CUNY) on July 1, 2009. Trained as a social scientist, Dr. Matos previously held leadership positions in foundations, universities, policy centers, and branches ofgovernment in which he combined his scholarship with social policy, advocacy, and change.

On December 31, 2008, Dr. Matos Rodríguez finished his service as Secretary of the Department of the Family for the Commonwealth of Puerto Rico. As Secretary, he formulated public policy and administered service delivery in the following programs: Child Support Enforcement, Adoption and Foster Care, Child and Elderly Protection, Food Stamps, Temporary Assistance for Needy Families, Child Care, and Head Start. Managing an annual budget of $2.2 billion, Dr. Matos Rodríguez oversaw nearly 9,500 employees. Earlier, he had served as Social Welfare and Health Head Advisor to the Governor of the Commonwealth of Puerto Rico.

While at Hostos, Dr. Matos Rodríguez is on leave from his tenured position as an Associate Professor of Black and Puerto Rican/Latino Studies at Hunter College of CUNY, where he teaches courses on Caribbean, Latin American, and Latino history. He has also served as director of the Center for Puerto Rican Studies at Hunter, which is one of the largest and most important Latino research centers in the United States. In addition, Dr. Matos Rodríguez is part of the History Department at CUNY’s Graduate Center.

Dr. Matos Rodríguez has an extensive publication record in the fields of Women’s, Puerto Rican, Caribbean, and Latino Studies and Migration. He is the author of Women and Urban Life in Nineteenth-century San Juan, Puerto Rico, 1820-1862 (University Presses of Florida, 1999; Marcus Weiner, 2001); co-author of “Pioneros”: Puerto Ricans in New York City, 1896-1948 (Arcadia Publishers, 2001); editor of A Nation of Women, An Early Feminist Speaks Out: Mi opiníon sobre las libertades, drechos y deberes de la mujer by Luisa Capetillo (Arte Público Press, 2005); co-editor with Gabriel Haslip Viera et al. of Boricuas in Gotham: Puerto Ricans in the Making of Modern New York City (Marcus Wiener, 2004); co-editor with Matthew C. Gutmann, Lynn Stephen, and Patricia Zavella of Blackwell Reader on The Americas (Blackwell Publishers, 2003) and co-editor of Puerto Rican Women’s
History: New Perspectives (M.E. Sharpe Publishers, 1998).

Dr. Matos Rodríguez’ work has been in such peer-reviewed journals as the Journal of Urban History, the Public Historian, Latin American Research Review, Centro Journal, Revista de Ciencias Sociales, and the Boletín de la Asociacíon de Demografía Histórica, in addition to having chapters in several anthologies. He was the founding editor of the series New Directions in Puerto Rican Studies, published by the University Press of Florida. He has also reviewed manuscripts for Temple University Press, Rutgers University Press, M.E. Sharpe Publishers, Blackwell Publishers, Hispanic American Historical Review, and Revista de Ciencias Sociales. He has been a member of the advisory boards of the Latino Studies Journal and New York Archives.

Dr. Matos Rodríguez’ expert commentary has appeared in many periodicals, including The New York Times, The Boston Globe, The Chronicle of Higher Education, The Hartford Courant, The Chicago Tribune, The Miami Herald, The Congressional Quarterly, The Daily News, Newsday, The Atlanta Journal-Constitution, El Diario/La Prensa, Hoy, The Orlando Sentinel, El Nuevo Día, El Vocero, and The Hispanic Outlook of Higher Education.

Dr. Matos Rodríguez is a graduate of Colegio San Ignacio High School in San Juan, Puerto Rico. His undergraduate studies were Yale University, where he graduated cum laude in Latin American Studies. He received his Ph.D. in history from Columbia University.
Prior to his work at Hunter College, Dr. Matos Rodríguez was a Program Officer at the Social Science Research Council in New York City and a faculty member at Northeastern University in Boston. He has also held visiting and adjunct teaching appointments at Yale University, Boston College, City College (CUNY) and the Universidad Interamericana, Recinto Metro.

Active in community organizations, Dr. Matos Rodríguez has been a board member of ASPIRA of New York, Inc., and Phipps Community Development Corporation, as well as the community advisory board of El Diario/La Prensa. He has received numerous awards for community service, including recognition for excellence in education from the New York State Senate and Assembly’s Puerto Rican/Latino Caucus in 2002, a special recognition from the New York City Council during Hispanic Heritage Month in 2003, and selected as “Man of the Year” by the New York City League of Puerto Rican Woman in 2009.

Dr. Matos Rodríguez is married to Dr. Liliana M. Arabia, a dentist, and they have two sons: Lucas, 7, and Juan Carlos, 6.

David Maxwell, President

Drake University, IA

David Maxwell, Ph.D., has been president of Drake University since May of 1999.  He was director of the National  Foreign Language Center in Washington DC from 1993 to 1999, after serving as president of Whitman College from 1989 to 1993.  Dr. Maxwell was at Tufts University from 1971 to 1989 as a faculty member in Russian language and literature, and served as Dean of Undergraduate Studies for eight years.

Born in New York City, Dr. Maxwell earned his bachelor’s degree in Russian area studies from Grinnell College in 1966.  He received his master’s and doctorate degrees in Slavic languages and literatures from Brown University, in 1968 and 1974, respectively.

At Brown, Dr. Maxwell was a Brown University Fellow and subsequently a National Defense Education Act Fellow.  He was a Fulbright Fellow, and at Tufts received the Lillian Leibner Award for distinguished teaching and advising.  At Tufts he also twice received the Senior Class Citation for Distinguished Service.  In 1991 the Brown University Graduate School of Arts and Sciences gave him the Distinguished Alumnus Citation.

Currently, President Maxwell serves on the Community Board of the Wells Fargo Bank, Iowa and is a member of the Greater Des Moines Committee.  He is a past member of the Greater Des Moines Partnership, past President of the Des Moines Higher Education Collaborative, past chair of the Iowa Association of Independent Colleges & Universities, and of the Missouri Valley Conference.  On the national level, he is a member of the Executive Committee of the Business/Higher Education Forum, and past chair of The New American Colleges and Universities, a national consortium of 22 selective, independent institutions dedicated to the purposeful integration of liberal education, professional studies and civic engagement.   Dr. Maxwell sits on the Board of Directors of both the American Council on Education and the Association of American Colleges & Universities, and is a member of the Higher Education Working Group on Global Issues of the Council on Foreign Relations. In addition, he serves on the editorial board of Peer Review, as well as the Commission on Effective Leadership of the American Council on Education.

Dr. Maxwell is married to Madeleine Mali Maxwell, formerly a creative director.  They are the parents of Justin, 34, who is the Design Director at Mint.Com, a subsidiary of Intuit, near San Francisco, and Stephen, 31 a Physicist at the National Institute for Standards and Technology in Gaithersburg, MD.

James H. Mullen, President

Allegheny College, PA

James H. Mullen, Jr. became the 21st president of Allegheny College on August 1, 2008. With 20 years of experience in leadership roles in higher education, and a keen appreciation for Allegheny’s history and traditions, he is continuing the work of earlier presidents in building community while at the same time enhancing the College’s reputation as one of the nation’s preeminent colleges of the liberal arts and sciences.

In addition to his leadership roles in higher education, Dr. Mullen has been a sought-after lecturer in public policy, where his work focused on the American presidency, as well as history and political science.

“Jim Mullen’s personal and family values are very well aligned with the values and ideals of American higher education,” says Molly Corbett Broad, president of the American Council on Education, the nation’s top higher-education group, and president emerita of the University of North Carolina. “His experience and his dedication to the service and scholarship of faculty and students will serve Allegheny College very well for years to come.”

Dr. Mullen is a graduate of the College of the Holy Cross in Worcester, Massachusetts. He holds a master of public policy degree from the John F. Kennedy School of Government at Harvard University and a doctorate in higher education from the University of Massachusetts at Amherst.

He and his wife, Mari Elizabeth, have two children, Franki and James.

Ricardo Romo, President

The University of Texas at San Antonio

Ricardo Romo became the fifth president of The University of Texas at San Antonio in May 1999. He leads one of the fastest growing institutions of higher education in Texas and the nation. Under his leadership, UTSA now is poised to become one of the state's premier research universities. Romo has led strategic efforts to enhance both access to education and excellence in scholarship and service at the university.

During Romo's tenure, UTSA's enrollment has grown nearly 50 percent, and the university has added numerous programs and facilities to enhance student life. He also has implemented new student-support programs designed to help students succeed at earning a university degree. The number of advisers has tripled, and with nearly 29,000 students, UTSA is recognized as a leader in "Closing the Gaps," a statewide initiative by the Legislature to enroll more Texans in higher education.

A native of San Antonio's West Side, Romo graduated from Fox Tech High School and attended the University of Texas at Austin on a track scholarship. He served as captain of the track and cross-country team and earned All-American honors in 1966. Romo was the first Texan to run the mile in less than four minutes, and his mile record lasted 41 years. He earned a B.S. degree in education.

He holds a master's degree in history from Loyola Marymount University and a Ph.D. in history from UCLA. A nationally respected urban historian, Romo is the author of "East Los Angeles: History of a Barrio," now in its ninth printing (including a Spanish edition).

In 1980, Romo returned to UT Austin to teach history before becoming vice provost for undergraduate education. In 2002, President Bush appointed him to the President's Board of Advisers on Historically Black Colleges and Universities. In 2004, former Secretary of State Colin Powell appointed Romo U.S. representative to the United Nations Educational Scientific and Cultural Organization. In 2005, he was appointed to the board of directors of the Federal Reserve Bank of Dallas, San Antonio branch, and was reappointed in 2007; he currently serves as vice chair. In 2008, Romo received the Distinguished Alumnus Award from the Texas Exes Alumni Association.

In 2006, Romo was honored by the UT Austin Friar Society as Outstanding Friar Alumnus. He was elected chairman of the board of the San Antonio Hispanic Chamber of Commerce (the largest U.S. Hispanic Chamber organization) for 2006. In 2007, Gov. Rick Perry appointed Romo to serve on the Commission for College Ready Texas. He serves on nearly 20 boards, many of them in San Antonio. He is active on several museum boards and is especially proud of his work with United Way.

Romo is married to Harriett Romo, UTSA professor of sociology, director of the UTSA Mexico Center and creator of the Bank of America Child and Adolescent Policy Research Institute (CAPRI) at UTSA. They have one son, Carlos, who graduated from Stanford University and the University of Texas School of Law. Their daughter, Anadelia, attended Princeton University as an undergraduate, received a doctoral degree from Harvard University and presently teaches at Texas State University.

R. Gerald Turner, President

Southern Methodist University, TX


As the president of Southern Methodist University since 1995, R. Gerald Turner is leading an era of unprecedented progress at the University.

On September 12, 2008, SMU launched The Second Century Campaign seeking resources for a dramatic increase in academic quality and impact. As SMU approaches the centennial of its founding, in 2011, it will raise additional endowment for student scholarships, academic positions and programs, and the campus experience.


The previous Campaign for SMU: A Time to Lead (1997-2002) raised more than $540 million for academic programs, scholarships, professorships and student life programs. A new strategic plan is guiding the University’s advancement, and the Master Plan is reshaping the physical profile of the campus. President Turner also worked with the SMU Board of Trustees in attracting the George W. Bush Presidential Library to SMU.

Beyond the campus, Gerald Turner serves on the boards of the Methodist Hospital Foundation, the Salvation Army of Dallas, Greater Dallas Chamber and three publicly traded companies. He is co-chair of the Knight Commission on Intercollegiate Athletics and has also served on national higher education commissions.

Before joining SMU, President Turner was the chancellor of the University of Mississippi. A native of New Boston, Texas, he earned a B.S. degree in psychology from Abilene Christian University and M.A. and Ph.D. degrees in psychology from the University of Texas at Austin. He and his wife, Gail, a native of Graham, Texas, have two daughters, both of whom are married and live in Dallas. Angela is a professional opera singer and the mother of Luke and Wyatt; Jessica, an SMU alumna, is a professional actress and the mother of Abigail.
Southern Methodist University is a private, comprehensive university of 11,000 students enrolled in seven degree-granting schools. SMU offers undergraduate and graduate programs in the humanities and sciences; business; engineering; education; and the performing, visual, and communication arts, as well as professional degree programs in law and theology. Founded in 1911 by what is now The United Methodist Church, SMU is nonsectarian in its teaching and committed to the values of academic freedom and open inquiry.