WORCESTER, MA—Clark University President John Bassett was installed as Chair of the Board of Directors of the National Association of Independent Colleges and Universities (NAICU) at the organization’s annual meeting on Feb. 3, in Washington, D.C.
President Bassett’s one-year term as chair of NAICU’s board was ratified by member college and university presidents. Vice chair of the board in 2009-10, he succeeds Joseph J. McGowan, president of Bellarmine University, who remains on the board as past chair.
Bassett became president of Clark in July 2000. Prior to his presidency, he served as dean of the college of arts and sciences at Case Western Reserve University. Bassett received his doctorate from the University of Rochester, and his bachelor’s and master’s degrees from Ohio Wesleyan University.
NAICU selected 15 new board directors and four new board officers for 2010-11. NAICU is the leading national association representing private higher education, serving as the unified voice of more than 1,000 independent college and university presidents, and specialized, state, and regional association executives. NAICU member institutions enroll nine out of every 10 students attending a private college or university in the United States.
Members of NAICU’s board of directors set the association’s agenda on federal higher education policy; actively encourage support of NAICU priorities and initiatives; and oversee the association’s financial administration. Members serve three-year terms.
“NAICU’s new board members and officers were selected by their peers because of their expertise in the field, proven leadership, and commitment to America’s college students,” said NAICU President David L. Warren. “They assume their responsibilities at a time of great challenge and transformation for American higher education.
“The economic downturn, growing student financial need, and the push for greater accountability are among the dynamics affecting higher education,” Warren said.
Other new NAICU Board officers include:
Daniel J. Carey, president of Edgewood College in Madison, Wis., will serve as vice chair on the NAICU board of directors. Carey became president of Edgewood College in August 2004 after serving as president Benedictine College in Kansas. He received his Ph.D. in college student personnel administration and M.S. in psychology, counseling, and guidance from the University of Northern Colorado. He graduated from Benedictine College with a B.A. in English.
Larry L. Earvin, president of Huston-Tillotson University in Austin, Texas, has been named secretary.
William T. Greer, Jr., president of Virginia Wesleyan University in Norfolk, Va., has been named treasurer.
A complete list of new board members will be available at NAICU online.
NAICU serves as the unified national voice of independent higher education. Since 1976, the association has represented private colleges and universities on policy issues with the federal government, such as those affecting student aid, taxation, and government regulation. With more than 1,000 member institutions and associations, NAICU reflects the diversity of private, nonprofit higher education in the United States. NAICU members enroll nine out of every 10 students attending private institutions. They include traditional liberal arts colleges, major research universities, comprehensive universities, church- and faith-related institutions, historically black colleges, Hispanic-serving institutions, single-sex colleges, art institutions, two-year colleges, and schools of law, medicine, engineering, business, and other professions.
Clark University is a private, co-educational liberal-arts research university with more than 2,200 undergraduate and 900 graduate students. Since its founding in 1887 as the first all-graduate school in the United States, Clark has challenged convention with innovative programs such as the International Studies Stream, the Strassler Center for Holocaust and Genocide Studies and the accelerated BA/MA programs with the fifth year tuition-free for eligible students. The University is featured in Loren Pope’s book, “Colleges That Change Lives.”
