Press Release

Contact: Debra Humphreys
Vice President for Communications and Public Affairs
Association of American Colleges and Universities
202.387.3760 (ext. 422)
humphreys@aacu.org

AAC&U Appoints New Senior Fellows, Patricia M. Lowrie and Judith S. White, to Program on the Status and Education of Women

Washington, DC—January 10, 2004—The Association of American Colleges and Universities (AAC&U) announced today the appointment of Patricia M. Lowrie and Judith S. White as senior fellows in AAC&U's Office of Diversity, Equity, and Global Initiatives. Both Lowrie and White will provide strategic counsel to the Program on the Status and Education of Women (PSEW).

"Women's transformational, inclusive leadership is needed now more than ever as colleges and universities work to become more democratic, multicultural centers of excellence," said Caryn McTighe Musil, vice president of AAC&U's Office of Diversity, Equity, and Global Initiatives. "Pat Lowrie and Judith White are both experienced institutional leaders and will bring enormous insight and wisdom to AAC&U in their roles as senior fellows. They will help PSEW continue its long tradition of being a resource to higher education and a catalyst for inclusive change."

Patricia M. Lowrie currently serves as director of the Women's Resource Center at Michigan State University. In addition to advising PSEW about the future direction of AAC&U's work in institutional change, Lowrie is also developing a women of color initiative as part of the National Initiative for Women in Higher Education (NIWHE), a coalition of organizations hosted by AAC&U in partnership with a variety of higher education institutions and educational associations. Lowrie holds B.A. and M.A. degrees in zoology from Howard University and has served as an administrator at Michigan State University since 1976. Since that time, she served as a specialist in electron microscopy, affirmative action officer, and assistant to the dean before assuming her current position as senior academic specialist and director of the Women's Resource Center. Through many funded projects, Lowrie has worked extensively to support minority students to gain access to and succeed in higher education, specifically in science and medical fields.

Judith S. White is the assistant vice president of campus services at Duke University, a position she assumed in October 2003. Previously, she was assistant vice president in the Office of the Executive Vice President and director of the Residential Program Review. From 1993-1998, she served as special assistant to Duke President Nannerl O. Keohane. White also holds an appointment as adjunct professor of women's studies and teaches one seminar a year in that capacity. She has served on the North Carolina Humanities Council and was recently elected to membership on the board of BRIDGES, the academic women's leadership program for North Carolina women faculty and administrators. White received her B.A. in English from Princeton University and her M.A. and Ph.D. in English from the University of Virginia. In addition to advising PSEW about the future direction of AAC&U's work in creating more inclusive institutions, White currently serves as chair of the National Initiative for Women in Higher Education. In that capacity, she will work to help integrate the work of NIWHE into AAC&U's overall program portfolio.

For over a quarter century, AAC&U has provided national leadership on issues of women in higher education through its Program on the Status and Education of Women. PSEW is one of only two women's offices sponsored by a higher education association. PSEW conducts projects and publishes on such priorities as curriculum and campus climate, women's leadership, and new research on women and gender. It has published a series of papers on women of color in the academy and is a leading partner in the National Initiative for Women in Higher Education.

The National Initiative for Women in Higher Education is a unique alliance promoting a multicultural women-led agenda for the sustained transformation of higher education for the twenty-first century. NIWHE includes leaders and activists from campuses, research centers, government and non-governmental organizations, and the corporate sector. NIWHE advances research, analysis, and collective action to achieve gender equity and engage women's leadership to create diverse, democratic educational institutions. Through PSEW, AAC&U hosts the National Initiative in partnership with a variety of higher education institutions, education associations, NGOs, government, business, and funding agencies.

To learn more about the work of PSEW, see www.aacu.org/psew.

To learn more about NIWHE, see www.campuswomenlead.org/leaders_partners.htm.

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.