Vision 2020: Leadership
Dr. Nancy L. Zimpher, President
University of CIncinnati
Dr. Nancy L. Zimpher - a widely recognized leader in higher education, civic engagement, economic development and urban education reform - serves as the president of the University of Cincinnati, one of the nation's top public research universities. She became UC's 25th president and its first woman president in October 2003. Under her leadership, UC embarked on an unprecedented consultation process that involved a wide spectrum of the university's stakeholders and resulted in the strategic vision, UC|21: Defining the New Urban Research University.
Under President Zimpher's direction, the university continues to make significant strides in its UC|21 vision to become a leading urban research institution for the 21st century. The university has experienced enrollment growth to over 36,500 students, increased retention and graduation rates, improved student satisfaction and enhanced national rankings - including breaking into the Princeton Review's 2008 best colleges list. These achievements have been accomplished through a number of strategic actions that President Zimpher implemented, among them restructuring the university's decision-making process and introducing comprehensive state-of-the-art business practices; raising admissions standards while growing enrollment and maintaining the university's deep commitment to access and a diverse student body; introducing a series of academic reforms related to Strategic Enrollment Management, program offerings and performance-based budgeting; redesigning mechanisms for research support and opportunities for commercialization on intellectual property; as well as transforming decanal leadership through the completion of several national searches
Eric D. Fingerhut, Chancellor
Ohio Board of Regents
Eric D. Fingerhut was appointed the seventh Chancellor of the Ohio Board of Regents on March 14, 2007. He was the first to be appointed by the Governor of the State of Ohio as a member of his cabinet, and is charged with building a system of higher education designed to prepare all Ohioans for the 21st century and rival the nation in accountability and innovation.
In the months since his appointment, Chancellor Fingerhut has worked steadily to support this vision of change, beginning with his testimony on the budget before the Senate Finance Committee, where he made clear that he "will not flinch from...rethinking how we do business, and suggesting broad and systematic changes in our approaches to higher education in order to move our state forward."
Chancellor Fingerhut has worked closely with the administration and the Ohio Legislature to dramatically increase funding for Ohio's universities and colleges, to put a freeze on tuition increases, and to boost financial aid to make higher education affordable for all Ohioans.
Chancellor Fingerhut served as Ohio State Senator in 1991-92 and from 1999 to 2006. He was the ranking Democrat on the Finance (Budget) Committee and served on committees related to health, aging, environment, insurance, tax policy, economic development and education. He was elected to the U.S. House of Representatives in 1993 and served on committees related to science, foreign affairs and banking. Chancellor Fingerhut has served as Director of Economic Development Education and Entrepreneurship as a member of the Business Administration faculty at Baldwin-Wallace College and as an adjunct faculty member in the Case Western Reserve University Department of Political Science, School of Law, and Weatherhead School of Management.
Dr. Roy Weaver, Dean of Teachers College
Ball State University
Roy Weaver is professor of curriculum in the Department of Educational Studies and dean of Teachers College (TC) at Ball State University in Muncie, Indiana - a position he has held for 14 years. The decade before he served as associate dean of TC. An alumnus of Ball State University, he received his bachelor's degree with a major in English and minor in speech in 1968. Upon graduation he taught English for one year at Kettering East High School in Kettering, Ohio. For the next four years, he taught English and speech at Muncie Central High School in Muncie, Indiana. While there, he completed the master's degree in curriculum and instruction in1971 from Ball State. In 1975 he completed a doctorate in curriculum at Indiana University-Bloomington. Upon graduating from IU, he worked as an assistant professor of curriculum at the University of Southern California for the next five years. While there, he specialized in school choice working as the USC liaison to the L.A. Unified School District's magnet school program, taught courses in curriculum, and edited a quarterly newsletter on alternative education, Changing Schools. In 1980 he returned as an associate professor of curriculum to Ball State where he has worked for the past 27 years. His scholarly interests have focused on long-range planning, school choice, curriculum innovation, and technology. Under his leadership an Apple notebook requirement was established for all teacher education majors that is in its sixth year of implementation -- one of the first and longest innovations of its kind in teacher education. Three years ago he abandoned his office and has worked virtually ever since.
Brian S. Brooks, Associate Dean
Missouri School of Journalism
Brian S. Brooks came to the Missouri School of Journalism in 1974 after working in Vietnam as an information officer (for which he received a bronze star) and as a reporter, copy editor and night city editor at the Memphis (Tenn.) Press-Scimitar. He served as news editor and then as editor of the Columbia Missourian before becoming director of the Journalism Network in 1989. Along with faculty member Phill Brooks, he was responsible for bringing a $15 million grant from IBM Corporation to the School of Journalism from 1989 to 1997. While on sabbatical from 1997 to 1999, Brooks was editor of The Stars and Stripes, the U.S. military newspaper in Europe. He directed that newspaper's coverage of the Bosnia mission, the U.S. entry into Kosovo and the bombing of Belgrade. For this work, he was awarded the Department of Defense Civilian Distinguished Service Medal. For more than 25 years, Brooks has served as deputy director or director of the Dow Jones Newspaper Fund editing internship program at Missouri. Students from schools nationwide are trained at the summer workshop for careers as newspaper copy editors.
He is the author or co-author of four major journalism textbooks, including Journalism in the Information Age (Allyn & Bacon Inc., 1997). Brooks was chairman of the school's editorial department from 1999 until January 2003, when he became associate dean for undergraduate studies and administration. That same year he was named Outstanding Faculty Member on campus by the MU Greek system. Brooks holds bachelor's and master's degrees from the Missouri School of Journalism.
Mark Edward Parker, Dean, Bass School of Music
Oklahoma City University
Mark Edward Parker, dean of the Bass School of Music at Oklahoma City University, specializes in building arts education partnerships between academia, business, and communities and across international borders. Parker is an authority on using technology to enhance creativity; he was the first academic dean in the world to be selected as an Apple Distinguished Educator, and is a frequent speaker and workshop leader here and abroad. Under Parker's leadership, Oklahoma City University's Bass School of Music doubled its size, became an all-Steinway School, the nation's first Conn-Selmer School, an Apple Digital Campus, and an Apple Training Center. Since its opening in 2006, the $38.5 million, 113,000-square-foot Bass Music Center has hosted artists and educators from around the world, ranging from the International Society of Bassists to the national Arts Education Partnership. The Bass School has partnership agreements with the American Academy of Dramatic Arts of New York and Los Angeles, the Tianjin Conservatory in China, and the Hed School: Israeli College of Contemporary Music in Yehud, Israel. Parker earned his bachelor's degree in music education from Eastern Michigan University, which has honored him as an outstanding alumnus, and his master's of music from the University of Michigan.
Colleen Kennedy, Dean, College of Education
University of Southern Florida
In 2003, Dr. Colleen S. Kennedy became the sixth dean of the College of Education. Prior to her tenure at USF, she served as the Dean of the Graduate School of Education (now known as the College of Education) at the University of Utah from 1989 to 1999. Dean Kennedy earned her master's degree in the area of special education and her doctoral degree in the areas of special education and applied behavioral analysis in education. She also served as a professor in the Department of Teaching and Learning at the University of Utah.
Dean Kennedy's distinguished career in education began more than 30 years ago. In addition to special education, her research interests include issues surrounding the factors that facilitate and hinder the acquisition and use of technology among teachers. More generally, her research includes studying how technology is being used in K-12 education. She is also involved in the classroom as a professor in the Instructional Technology Program in the Secondary Education Department.
Kevin Roberts, CIO
Abilene Christian University
Kevin Roberts is the Chief Information Officer and the Director of Re-Engineering at Abilene Christian University. ACU is a four-year liberal arts university located in Abilene, Texas.
Kevin came to ACU in 1999 as the Director of Re-Engineering after a decade change management, primarily in the banking industry. Since joining ACU he has led the university in several major initiatives. First was the university's implementation of new ERP. Under Roberts' leadership this process was completed successfully along with many major changes to old business processes. He also helped oversee the selection and implementation of a CRM system for the university.
Along with these system implantations, Kevin led the university in the creation of a one-stop-shop for student services, The Depot. The Depot is an innovative approach to delivering student services in an efficient and effective way.
Since assuming the CIO role in the Fall of 2006, Roberts has continued to find ways to help ACU's students, faculty and staff. Under his direction the University became one of the first schools in the country to convert their entire campus to Google Apps for Education. Most recently Kevin is leading ACU's "Connected Initiative." As part of this initiative ACU will be the first school in the world to offer iPhones or iPod touches to each student in their incoming class.
Dr. Rob Rennie, CIO
Florida Community College, Jacksonville
Dr. Rob Rennie has been the Chief Information Officer (CIO) and Vice President, Technology for Florida Community College in Jacksonville, Florida since 1997.
Prior to taking his current position, he was the CIO for Mt. San Antonio College in Los Angeles. He is a former principal of the technology strategy practice of Xentrek Systems, Inc. and held a visiting scholar appointment in Information Systems at the John E. Anderson Graduate School of Management at UCLA. Rob has been a CIO for over twenty years and is known for building the reputations of organizations on a foundation of innovation, value creation, excellence and technology leadership.
Dr. Rennie serves on Software AG's International Executive Committee, is a member of Apple's University Executive Forum and is a board member of Curriki. In 2004, he was honored as one of Computerworld's Premier 100 IT leaders.
Florida Community College has won numerous awards for its highly innovative and successful technology environment having been ranked first in the Nation three of four years by the Center for Digital Education, rated 'Most Wired' by Yahoo, and having been featured by several major technology firms for best practices and successful innovations. In 2008, the College was designated a 'Gold Laureate' by the Computerworld Foundation for its technology innovation and leadership.
Rob received his Bachelors degree from Rollins College, Masters from the University of Oklahoma, and Ph.D. from the University of Florida.
Dr. Jeffrey C. Huskamp, CIO
University of Maryland
Dr. Jeffrey C. Huskamp is the Vice President and Chief Information Officer at the University of Maryland. Before joining the University of Maryland in May 2004, Dr. Huskamp was the first CIO of East Carolina University and has more than 30 years of experience in information technology, high- performance computing, and high-performance networking. He earned his doctorate in Electrical Engineering and Computer Science from the University of California, Berkeley with his thesis in the area of computer security. His accomplishments include service as the Vice President for Computing at the John von Neumann National Supercomputer Center, service as the Director of the North Carolina Supercomputing Center, and co-author of a production timesharing operating system for the Serial 5 Cray-1. Dr. Huskamp has served as principal investigator on a number of National Science Foundation grants and was the General Chair for the recent SC2004 High- Performance Computing, Networking, and Storage conference.