Press Release

Debra Humphreys
Vice President for Communications and Public Affairs
202-387-3760 ext. 422
Humphreys@aacu.org    

Association of American Colleges and Universities Announces New Board Chair, Executive Committee, and Six New Members of Its Board of Directors 

Robert Corrigan, President of San Francisco State University, to Serve as Board Chair

Washington, DC—March 3, 2006—At its recent annual meeting, the Association of American Colleges and Universities (AAC&U) named a new board chair and elected a new slate of officers. Robert Corrigan, president of San Francisco State University, is assuming the role of chair of the board, taking over from Ronald Crutcher, president of Wheaton College and newly appointed co-chair of the National Leadership Council for Liberal Education and America's Promise (LEAP).  Christopher Dahl, president of SUNY College at Geneseo was elected to serve as vice chair.  Elisabeth Zinser, president of Southern Oregon University, will continue in her role as past chair for one additional year. 

Other newly elected members of the board include Diana Akiyama, Director of Religious and Spiritual Life, Occidental College; Rebecca S. Chopp, president, Colgate University; Carol A. Cartwright, president, Kent State University; Leo I. Higdon, Jr., president, College of Charleston; Carol A. Lucey, president, Western Nevada Community College; and David W. Oxtoby, president, Pomona College. 

“I look forward to working with my fellow board members to promote AAC&U and the LEAP initiative,” President Corrigan said.  “The key goals of LEAP, to make clear how important liberal education outcomes are to our students’ success in the 21st century, could not be more important, and I am honored to take part in the initiative.” 

Akiyama is currently the Director of Religious and Spiritual Life at Occidental College.  Previously, she taught courses in Gender Studies at the University of Southern California where she was awarded a doctoral degree in USC's School of Religion.  Prior to her work at USC, she served as Associate Dean of the Chapel at Stanford University for six years and Acting Dean of the Chapel for one year. She has served on both The Committee on the Status of Women and The Committee on Racism for the National Church.

Chopp was named president of Colgate University in 2002.  She joined the college from Yale Divinity School, where she served as dean.  Prior to joining the Yale Divinity School, she spent 15 years at Emory University where she held the positions of provost and executive vice president for academic affairs.  She also served as director of graduate studies for the Institute of Women’s Studies, dean of faculty and academic affairs at the Candler School and Charles Howard Candler Professor of Theology.  She received her B.A. from Kansas Wesleyan University, her M.Div. from St. Paul School of Theology and her Ph.D. from the University of Chicago.

Cartwright became Kent State University's 10th president—and the first woman president of a state university in Ohio—in March 1991.  Previously, she was vice chancellor for academic affairs at the University of California at Davis and dean for undergraduate programs and vice provost at The Pennsylvania State University.  She earned master's and doctoral degrees from the University of Pittsburgh and her bachelor's degree from the University of Wisconsin at Whitewater.

Higdon became the 20th president of the College of Charleston on October 1, 2001. Before coming to Charleston, Higdon was president of Babson College in Wellesley, Massachusetts.  Prior to Babson, he was dean of the Darden Graduate School of Business Administration of the University of Virginia, where he also held the Charles C. Abbott Chair of Business Administration.  He received an A.B. degree in history in 1968 from Georgetown University. He earned an MBA degree in 1972 from the University of Chicago, where he majored in finance.

Lucey was appointed president of Western Nevada Community College in 1999.  Prior to moving to Nevada, she had served as an academic administrator at the SUNY College of Technology at Alfred University and at Jamestown Community College (JCC) in Jamestown, New York.  Before becoming an academic administrator, she spent twenty years teaching in the classroom and laboratory as a member of the JCC physics faculty.  Her formal education includes a Doctor of Philosophy degree in theoretical high energy physics.  In addition, she served as a postdoctoral fellow in the gravity group at Princeton University, and in the relativity group at the University of Pittsburgh.

Oxtoby became the ninth president of Pomona College in 2003. An internationally noted chemist, he previously served as dean of physical sciences at the University of Chicago. At Pomona, he holds a coterminous appointment as president and professor of chemistry. Before coming to Pomona, he was associated with the University of Chicago for nearly three decades, with brief interludes to serve as a visiting professor at such places as the University of Paris; the University of Bristol in Great Britain; and the University of Sydney in Australia. After earning his bachelor's degree, summa cum laude, from Harvard University, he went on to earn his Ph.D. at the University of California, Berkeley.

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 1,000 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.