WASHINGTON, D.C.— The members of the National Association of Independent Colleges and Universities (NAICU) have selected 15 new board directors and four new board officers for 2009-10. NAICU is the leading national association representing private higher education, serving as the unified voice of more than 1,000 independent college and university presidents, and specialized, state, and regional association executives. NAICU member institutions enroll nine out of every 10 students attending a private college or university in the United States.
Members of NAICU’s board of directors set the association’s agenda on federal higher education policy; actively encourage support of NAICU priorities and initiatives; and oversee the association’s financial administration. Members serve three-year terms.
“NAICU’s new board members and officers were selected by their peers because of their expertise in the field, proven leadership, and commitment to America’s college students,” said NAICU President David L. Warren. “They assume their responsibilities at a time of great challenge and transformation for American higher education.
“The economic downturn, growing student financial need, and the push for greater accountability are among the dynamics affecting higher education,” Warren said.
“Decisions made in Washington over the coming months and years will have significant consequences for whether students can afford to attend the institution of their choice,” Warren said. “Congress and the administration have the opportunity to make college more affordable, safeguard the American system of decentralized higher education, and work constructively with institutions to advance the nation’s economic strength, security, and science leadership. Our new board members and leaders will be critical to our efforts to make these goals a reality.”
New NAICU Board Officers
Dr. Joseph J. McGowan, president of Bellarmine University in Louisville, Ky., has been elected chair of the NAICU board of directors. His one-year term as chair of NAICU=s board was ratified February 4 by member college and university presidents at the 2009 NAICU Annual Meeting. Vice chair of the board in 2008-09, McGowan succeeds Victor Boschini, Jr., chancellor of Texas Christian University in Fort Worth, Texas, who remains on the board as past chair.
McGowan came to the Bellarmine presidency in 1990 after having served for 22 years at Fordham University in New York as a vice president and dean. Prior to that he was an admissions and financial aid officer at the University of Notre Dame. McGowan received his doctorate from Columbia University, and his bachelor’s and master’s degrees from the University of Notre Dame. He also is a graduate of Harvard University’s Institute for Educational Management.
Dr. John E. Bassett, president, Clark University, in Worcester, Mass., has been named vice chair. Bassett became president of Clark in July of 2000. Prior to his presidency, he served as dean of the college of arts and sciences at Case Western Reserve University. Bassett received his doctorate from the University of Rochester, and his bachelor’s and master’s degrees from Ohio Wesleyan University.
Dr. Stephen G. Jennings, president of the University of Evansville in Evansville, Ind., has been named secretary.
Dr. Lanny Hall, president of Howard Payne University in Brownwood, Texas, has been named treasurer.
Eight new members were elected to three-year terms on the NAICU board, representing the association=s national regions:
Dr. Mary Ellen Jukoski, president, Mitchell College, New London, Conn.
Region I (Conn., Maine, Mass., N.H., R.I., Vt.)
Mr. Richard A. Levao, president, Bloomfield College, Bloomfield, N.J.
Region II (Del., D.C., Md., N.J., N.Y.)
Dr. Pamela Balch, president, West Virginia Wesleyan College, Buckhannon, W. Va.
Region III (Ky., Ohio, Pa., W.Va.)
Trudie Kibbe Reed, president, Bethune-Cookman College, Daytona Beach, Fla.
Region IV (Fla., Ga., N.C., S.C., Va.)
Sr. Rose Marie Kujawa, president, Madonna University, Livonia, Mich.
Region V (Ill., Ind., Mich., Wis.)
Dr. David Burks, president, Harding University, Searcy, Ark.
Region VI (Ala., Ark., La., Miss., Okla., Tenn., Texas)
Dr. Janet S. Philipp, president, Dana College, Blair, Neb.
Region VII (Iowa, Kan., Minn., Mo., Neb., N.D., S.D.)
Rev. Robert B. Lawton, S.J., president, Loyola Marymount University, Los Angeles, Calif.
Region VIII (Alaska, Ariz., Calif., Colo., Hawaii, Idaho, Mont., N.M., Nev., Ore., Utah, Wash., Wyo.)
Four presidents have been named to three-year terms as at-large members of the board:
Dr. George S. Bridges, president, Whitman College, Walla Walla, Wash.
Dr. Nathan Hatch, president, Wake Forest University, Winston-Salem, N.C.
Dr. Mary J. Meehan, president, Alverno College, Milwaukee, Wis.
Dr. John Sexton, president, New York University, New York, N.Y.
One individual has been selected to serve a three-year term as a representative of the National Association of Independent College and University State Executives:
Dr. Claude Pressnell, president, Tennessee Independent Colleges and Universities, Nashville, Tenn.
One individual has been selected to serve a three-year term as a non-voting member of the board:
Cameron P. Taylor, director of federal affairs, Emory University, Atlanta, Ga.
NAICU serves as the unified national voice of independent higher education. Since 1976, the association has represented private colleges and universities on policy issues with the federal government, such as those affecting student aid, taxation, and government regulation. With more than 1,000 member institutions and associations, NAICU reflects the diversity of private, nonprofit higher education in the United States. NAICU members enroll nine out of every 10 students attending private institutions. They include traditional liberal arts colleges, major research universities, comprehensive universities, church- and faith-related institutions, historically black colleges, Hispanic-serving institutions, single-sex colleges, art institutions, two-year colleges, and schools of law, medicine, engineering, business, and other professions.
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