For Immediate Release

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

AAC&U Announces Appointment of Tia Brown McNair
as New Senior Director for Student Success

Washington, DC—September 30, 2010—The Association of American Colleges announced today the appointment of Tia Brown McNair as Senior Director for Student Success in the Office of Engagement, Inclusion, and Success.  McNair will begin her work at AAC&U on October 18, 2010, moving into the position from the National College Access Network, where she serves as assistant director.

As part of AAC&U’s current strategic plan, the association is developing a portfolio of projects and activities that advance a capacious vision of liberal education for all students, and that focus attention on the nation’s evolving demographic and emerging “new majority” students.  Through this work, AAC&U is building on its longstanding commitment to equity and inclusion and challenging educational traditions and practices that have continued to steer less advantaged students toward narrow education rather than toward the privilege of a liberal education.  In this context, McNair will join AAC&U’s efforts to “make excellence inclusive” and ensure that all students—including those traditionally underserved by higher education—gain the benefits of attaining the full spectrum of outcomes that result from an engaged liberal education.

McNair will collaborate with all AAC&U program offices and will take a leading role in advancing AAC&U projects and meetings on student success.  She will join work within the Liberal Education and America’s Promise (LEAP) initiative, including current sponsored projects with states and state systems and a new project called Developing a Community College Student Roadmap.  McNair will work with Vice President Susan Albertine to provide leadership for LEAP in the States, particularly focusing on the alignment and quality of learning from school through two-year and four-year undergraduate education.

“AAC&U is extremely pleased to welcome to our staff someone with Tia McNair’s experience and commitment to expanding educational opportunities for traditionally underserved students,” said AAC&U President Carol Geary Schneider.  “As AAC&U has made clear in our recently released statement, ‘The Quality Imperative,’ it is as important as ever that all students—not just the privileged ones—gain the benefits of a liberal education.  Too many first-generation students are being steered to narrow technical training when they need and deserve the broad knowledge and civic and workplace capacities developed through a liberal education.  The work of AAC&U’s new Office of Engagement, Inclusion, and Success will be focused on this important goal. I look forward to working with McNair on these issues.”

McNair earned her bachelor’s degree in political science and English at James Madison University and holds an M.A. in English from Radford University and an Ed.D. in higher education administration from George Washington University.  Prior to her work at the National College Access Network, she was an assistant program director at the National Science Foundation.  She also has held positions in university relations at the University of Charleston, and has worked with the West Virginia Higher Education Policy Commission.  She has research and teaching experience at George Washington University, West Virginia State University, Concord University, and Radford University.

The AAC&U Office of Engagement, Inclusion, and Success emphasizes engaged, high-impact teaching and learning for all students, focusing on the success of a highly diverse and mobile population—along pathways from school to and through college.  The office also directs AAC&U’s Network for Academic Renewal , its Institute on High-Impact Practices and Student Success, and ongoing efforts to “Make Excellence Inclusive” by ensuring that new majority students fully benefit from a horizon-expanding liberal education.

“Most of my professional career has focused on improving access to and success in postsecondary education for underserved students,” said McNair.  “So, I am very excited to join AAC&U's efforts to provide a quality liberal education to all students and help prepare the next generation of leaders.”

About AAC&U

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 1,200 member institutions—including 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.