Press Release

CONTACT: Debra Humphreys
(202) 387-3760
E-mail: humphreys@aacu.org

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

Jack Noonan, President of Bloomfield College, to Serve as Board Chair

Washington, DC—April 2, 2003—At its April board meeting, the Association of American Colleges and Universities will welcome seven new directors and a new set of officers to its board of directors. Jack Noonan, president of Bloomfield College in New Jersey, will assume the role of chair of the board, taking over fromTroy Duster, professor of sociology at New York University and chancellor's professor at the University of California, Berkeley. The new officers and directors were elected at AAC&U's recent annual meeting in January in Seattle, Washington.

"I am honored to be leading this esteemed group of individuals," said new board chair, Jack Noonan. "They represent a wide array of perspectives on higher education, and each brings to the board a deep commitment to extending the advantages of a liberal education to all students. I look forward to working with them and with the AAC&U staff and membership to bring to fruition the new vision for learning articulated in our recent Greater Expectations report."

In addition to the appointment of Jack Noonan as chair of the board, AAC&U appointed Elisabeth Zinser, president, Southern Oregon University, as vice chair and Stan Hales, president of the College of Wooster, as treasurer. Troy Duster continues to serve as an officer of the board as the past chair.

New directors of AAC&U include two "public" members and five college presidents representing two-year and four-year, and both public and private institutions. Anthony P. Carnevale is vice president for assessment, equity, and careers at the Educational Testing Service, and chaired the National Commission for Employment Policy during President Clinton's firstterm, while serving as vice president and director of human resource studies at the Committee for Economic Development. Kati Haycock, one of the nation's leading child advocates in the field of education, is the director of The Education Trust. The Trust was established in 1992 and works to improve student achievement and close gaps between groups of students, from kindergarten through college.

AAC&U also welcomes to the board Herlinda Martinez Coronado, president of North Lake College in the Dallas County Community College District. Prior to this appointment, Coronado served in the district as vice president for student learning at Richland College from 1998 through 2002. Under her leadership, Richland College was chosen as one of the leadership institutions in AAC&U's Greater Expectations initiative. Christopher C. Dahl is president and professor of English at the State University of New York College at Geneseo. He was appointed to this post in 1996, after having served as provost and interim president. Dahl also currently co-chairs the New York State Campus Compact. John J. "Jack" DeGioia is president of Georgetown University, a position he assumed in 2001 after a long academic career at the institution in various roles, including as a faculty member in the department of philosophy. Richard H. Hersh assumed office as the nineteenth president of Trinity College on April 1, 2002. Prior to this position, Hersh served as president of Hobart and William Smith Colleges and as an advisor to the Christian A. Johnson Endeavor Foundation and the Council for Aid to Education, where he directed the Value Added Assessment Initiative. Hersh also served on the national panel advising AAC&U's Greater Expectations initiative. Beverly Daniel Tatum is the ninth president of Spelman College, a position she assumed in 2002. She served previously as acting president of Mount Holyoke College, where she had taught in the department of psychology and served as dean of the college.

AAC&U is the leading national association devoted to advancing and strengthening liberal learning for all students, regardless of academic specialization or intended career. Since its founding in 1915, AAC&U's membership has grown to more than 1000 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 at www.aacu.org.