Press Release

Contact: Debra Humphreys
Vice President for Communications and Public Affairs
202-387-3760
Humphreys@aacu.org

Association of American Colleges and Universities Announces Seven New Directors and New Slate of Officers for Board of Directors

Daniel F. Sullivan, President of St. Lawrence University (NY) to Serve as Chair

Washington, DC -- February 11, 2008 -- At its recent annual meeting in Washington, DC, the Association of American Colleges and Universities (AAC&U) named seven new directors and elected a new slate of officers.  Daniel F. Sullivan, president of St. Lawrence University (NY), assumed the role of chair of the board, taking over from Christopher Dahl, president of the State University at Geneseo.  Dahl will continue to serve on AAC&U’s Board Executive Committee as Past Chair.  Sullivan has served for twelve years as president of St. Lawrence University before which he served for ten years as president of Allegheny College in Pennsylvania.

"AAC&U is at the epicenter of an inspiring movement to recognize that liberal education outcomes are necessary for all students in the twenty-first century,” said board chair Daniel Sullivan.  “The opportunity to work with AAC&U lifts my spirits, and I consider it a wonderful honor to be a part of the association’s leadership team."

In addition to the appointment of Daniel Sullivan, AAC&U appointed Eduardo Padrón, president of Miami Dade College, as Vice Chair of the Board.  Eduadro Padrón was a member of AAC&U’s national panel for the influential learning outcomes initiative, Greater Expectations: the Commitment to Quality as a Nation Goes to College. 

New Directors appointed to AAC&U’s board of directors include seven educational leaders from a wide array of institutions.  They include:

Andrew Delbanco, Columbia University (NY)
Mildred Garcia, California State University-Dominguez Hills (CA)
Lou Anna K. Simon, Michigan State University (MI)
Mary Spilde, Lane Community College (OR)
Jane Wellman, Delta Project on Postsecondary Costs (DC)
Richard Wells, University of Wisconsin-Oshkosh (WI)
Ronald Williams, The College Board (NY)

The Julian Clarence Levi Professor of Humanities at Columbia University, Andrew Delbanco is the winner of the 2006 Great Teacher Award from the Society of Columbia Graduates and the author of Melville: His World and Work (2005) which won the Lionel Trilling Award and was a finalist for the Los Angeles Times Book Award in biography.  Mildred Garcia was named the president of California State University-Dominguez Hills in May 2007.  Prior to this, she served as president of Berkeley College in New York and as vice provost for academic personnel and professor of social and behavioral sciences at Arizona State University, West.  Lou Anna K. Simon was named president of Michigan State University in January 2005, prior to which she served as provost and vice president for academic affairs from 1993-2004.  Mary Spilde assumed the presidency of Lane Community College in Eugene, Oregon in 2001.  She came to Lane in 1995 as vice president for instructional services and then vice president for instruction and student services. Richard H. Wells became Chancellor of the University of Wisconsin-Oshkosh in 2000.  Prior to this appointment, he served as provost and vice president for academic affairs at Indian State University.

Jane Wellman and Ronald Williams both serve on the AAC&U board of directors as public members.  Wellman is the executive director of the Delta Project on Postsecondary Costs, Productivity and Accountability, a research and policy organization with a mission to improve productivity in higher education through more effective management of resources without compromising student access and quality.  Williams currently serves as a vice president at the College Board where his area of responsibility is strengthening the relationship between the College Board and community colleges nationally.  Williams served as president of Prince George’s Community College from 1999 until 2007 and has served previously on AAC&U’s board of directors and on the national panel guiding AAC&U’s Greater Expectations initiative.

AAC&U is the leading national association concerned with the quality, vitality, and public standing of undergraduate liberal education. Its members are committed to extending the advantages of a liberal education to all students, regardless of academic specialization or intended career. Founded in 1915, AAC&U now comprises more than 1,150 accredited public and private colleges and universities of every type and size.

AAC&U functions as a catalyst and facilitator, forging links among presidents, administrators, and faculty members who are engaged in institutional and curricular planning. Its mission is to reinforce the collective commitment to liberal education at both the national and local levels and to help individual institutions keep the quality of student learning at the core of their work as they evolve to meet new economic and social challenges.

Information about AAC&U membership, programs, and publications can be found on the AAC&U Web site.