Commissioners Complete Service for Middle States Commission on Higher Education

The Middle States Commission on Higher Education (MSCHE) extends their sincere appreciation for the service of seven Commissioners whose terms ended on Dec. 31, 2019.

Dr. Robert K. Clark, who retired as Special Assistant to the President for Planning, Research, Institutional Effectiveness, and Grants at Cumberland County College in Vineland, NJ in 2019, had served the Commission since 2006. His service began as an evaluation team member and team chair for more than a half dozen MSCHE institutions, later as a Commissioner (2009 through 2016, and from 2018 to 2019), and as Vice-Chair of MSCHE’s Committee on Follow-up Activities and past member of the Executive and Membership Committees. Dr. Clark also served as a member of the committee that wrote the revised Standards for Accreditation and Requirements of Affiliation, and Chaired the Commission’s Steering Committee on Process Review, resulting in the current MSCHE accreditation cycle and process.

Dr. Francis J. Felser, President and Chief Executive Officer for Bryant & Stratton College since July 2015, served on the Commission from 2011-2019. He was a member of the Commission’s Finance Committee, and Committee on Evaluation Reports, and in 2012 was selected as a Commission representative to the Board of Trustees of the Middle States Association of Colleges and Schools where he was President. Dr. Felser served in a variety of roles with the Commission as a peer evaluator, including as a team chair and team member on a number of visits, specifically with those institutions seeking accreditation or in follow-up, a finance evaluator, and a complex substantive change consultant.

Dr. Margaret M. McMenamin, President of Union County College (NJ), was MSCHE Chair in 2019 after having served as Vice Chair in 2017 and 2018. She was a member of the Commission since 2014 and has served on the Executive Committee since 2016. As President of Union County College since July 2010, the first of New Jersey’s 19 community colleges, founded in 1933, Dr. McMenamin has set forth an aggressive agenda centering on improving student success outcomes. She served on the MSCHE Rebranding Committee that was charged with creating a new messaging platform for the Commission. In addition, she has served the Commission as peer evaluator on numerous visits.

Mr. Javier Miyares, President of University of Maryland Global Campus since October 2012, was elected to the Commission from 2014 to 2019. He served as Chair of several MSCHE evaluation teams and as team member on numerous others.

 

Dr. George A. Pruitt, President Emeritus and Board Distinguished Fellow at Thomas Edison State University, was on the Commission from 2012 to 2019. Dr. Pruitt served with distinction as Chair of MSCHE from January 2014 through December 2016. As an MSCHE peer evaluator, Dr. Pruitt has chaired several evaluation teams. In addition, he appeared before the National Advisory Committee on Institutional Quality and Integrity (NACIQI) on behalf of the Commission.

Dr. Denise V. Rodgers, M.D., Vice Chancellor for Interprofessional Programs at Rutgers, The State University of New Jersey, served on the Executive Committee since 2017 and was Secretary in 2019. She was appointed to the Commission in 2012 and subsequently elected to her second term. Dr. Rodgers was a member of the Evaluation and Membership Committees. In her service to MSCHE, she was a peer evaluator, served as a Periodic Review Report reader of several institutions’ reports, and acted as a self-study team chair. She previously served as Interim President of the University of Medicine and Dentistry of New Jersey (UMDNJ) from Jan. 1, 2012, until July 1, 2013, when UMDNJ merged with Rutgers.

Dr. Kent D. Syverud, Chancellor and President of Syracuse University since January 2014, leaves the Commission upon finishing his first term. Chancellor Syverud served on the Executive Committee in 2018 and 2019 after being elected to the Commission in 2017. A past editor of the Journal of Legal Education, Chancellor Syverud has also served as President of the Law School Admissions Council and as President of the Southeastern Association of American Law Schools. On behalf of MSCHE, Dr. Syverud has served as a team chair and reviewed Periodic Review Reports.