New this year will be a University Presidents' Panel moderated by Dr. Susan Resneck Pierce, President Emerita of the University of Puget Sound and author of On Being Presidential: A Guide for College and University Leader (Jossey-Bass, 2011); with President MJ Saunders of Florida Atlantic University and President Kevin Ross of Lynn University. Their topic: "The Role of the College President in Preparing Citizens of the World."
Mary Jane Saunders
Mary Jane Saunders began serving as the President of Florida Atlantic University on June 7, 2010. She is the sixth President in the 50-year history of FAU, a comprehensive public university with campuses and sites in Boca Raton, Dania Beach, Davie, Fort Lauderdale, Jupiter, Port St. Lucie and Fort Pierce. As the University’s chief executive officer, Dr. Saunders oversees an institution that is currently serving 29,000 students at the bachelor’s, master’s, doctoral and postdoctoral levels. With more than 3,500 employees, including 1,500 dedicated faculty members, and an annual operating budget in excess of $600 million, FAU ranks as one of the largest employers in South Florida. The University’s regional economic impact exceeds $2 billion.
President Saunders has taken the helm at FAU as it is emerging as a major center of research, particularly in the fields of biomedicine, biotechnology, ocean engineering and marine science. Her vision for FAU is to continue the University’s rapid development as a regionally and nationally important center of education, research and civic engagement, in partnership with supporters in the community.
In addition to serving FAU as President, Dr. Saunders is a member of the faculty of FAU’s Charles E. Schmidt College of Science. She came to FAU from Cleveland State University, where she was Provost and Senior Vice President for Academic Affairs. She also was the founding Dean of CSU’s College of Science and Director of its Biomedical and Health Institute. Her professional background includes service as a Deputy Division Director of the National Science Foundation and as Director of the Institute of Biomolecular Science at the University of South Florida.
President Saunders holds a bachelor’s degree in biology from Boston University and both a master’s degree and a Ph.D. in botany from the University of Massachusetts at Amherst. Born and raised in Worcester, Massachusetts, she is married to Dr. George Newkome, a distinguished polymer science and chemistry research professor.
Dr. Kevin Ross
Dr. Kevin Ross was named the fifth president of Lynn University, succeeding his father, Dr. Donald E. Ross, who was Lynn's president for the past 35 years. He took office July 1, 2006.
Dr. Kevin Ross has held numerous administrative positions in educational institutions, including Lynn. In his most recent role preceding his presidency as chief operating officer (COO), Dr. Ross initiated and oversaw completion of Lynn's long-range strategic plan with the aid of Dr. George Keller, noted higher education strategic planning expert and author of Academic Strategy: The Management Revolution in American Higher Education. The long-range plan, titled "Lynn 2020," provides a blueprint for developing Lynn University over the next 15 years.
Dr. Ross came to Lynn in 1999 as associate dean of the Eugene M. and Christine E. Lynn College of International Communication, where he facilitated installation of its state-of-the-art broadcast journalism curriculum, studios and equipment.
Dr. Ross also served as director of special projects, director of development and vice president of institutional advancement before assuming the COO position in 2004. Under his guidance, the institutional advancement division has increased in size, scope and achievements. It has embarked on ambitious plans to raise funds to support several new campus expansion projects and academic program enhancements.
Dr. Ross earned his A.B. degree in English in 1994 from Colgate University and his M.A. degree in Liberal Arts in 1997 at St. John's College (Annapolis, Md.) He received his doctorate in higher education leadership and policy from Peabody College of Vanderbilt University. His dissertation topic was "Bridging the Gap: A Multi-Case Study of the Adoption and Implementation of Instructional Technology in Higher Education."
In addition to receiving in-depth leadership education from his father, Dr. Ross has served as admissions officer and associate director of admissions at two independent schools, The Hill School (Pottstown, Pa.) and Avon Old Farms School (Avon, Conn.). His first higher education post was assistant to the president of Wilmington College (Wilmington, Del.).
He has served on the Palm Beach Literacy Coalition's board of directors, the President's advisory board of Pope John Paul II High School, and the founding board of directors of Boca Raton Educational Television. He is currently serving on the Greater Boca Raton Chamber of Commerce Board of Directors.
Susan Resneck Pierce
Susan Resneck Pierce is President Emerita of the University of Puget Sound where she served as President from 1992-2003. Under her leadership, Puget Sound entered the ranks of the national liberal arts colleges. As the result of a successful comprehensive campaign and a careful use of institutional resources, the endowment grew from $68 million to $213 million; the college completed $85 million of new construction and major renovations; SAT scores increased from 1067 to 1253; applications for 650 freshmen places grew to 4400 annually.
To honor her work at Puget Sound, donors endowed both a chair in humanities and honors and a lecture series in public affairs and the arts in her name. In addition, thanks also to a major donor, the atrium of Puget Sound’s new humanities building now carries her name.
Dr. Pierce is the recipient of the Council for Advancement and Support of Education (CASE) District VIII Distinguished Leadership Award for 2003.
In 2004-05, Susan Pierce served as President of the Boca Raton Community Hospital Foundation and Vice President for the Hospital. In those roles, she developed the necessary policies and procedures, including new financial controls, for the foundation in anticipation of an anticipated 200 million capital campaign, worked closely with the corporation’s trustee governance committee to define more fully the role and responsibilities of the foundation board of trustees, established an effective marketing/public relations program for the hospital, guided the hospital auxiliary as its moved forward with a strategic planning process and participated in the hospital’s development of its strategic imperatives. During her tenure, the foundation raised an unprecedented amount of money in terms of gifts, planned gifts and pledges.
From 1990-92 Susan Pierce served as Vice President for Academic Affairs at Lewis & Clark College and from 1984-90 as Dean of the College of Arts and Sciences at the University of Tulsa. As Assistant Director of the Division of Education Programs at the National Endowment for the Humanities, she directed the three federal programs that supported undergraduate education in the humanities. She also has served as Chair of the English Department at Ithaca College and as Visiting Associate Professor at Princeton University.
Her forthcoming book, On Being Presidential; A Guide for College and University Leaders (to be published by Jossey-Bass in November 2011), will benefit current presidents, aspiring presidents, boards of trustees, senior administrators and faculty leaders. She is also the author of The Moral of the Story (Columbia University’s Teachers College Press, 1982) and co-editor of a book on Ralph Ellison and has written and spoken extensively about American literature and educational issues. Her publication, “Toward a Smooth Presidential Transition,” appeared in Association of Governing Board’s September/October 2003 Trusteeship. Her two most recent essays, “Boards and the President- After the Hire” and "Producing Academic Leaders," appeared in Inside Higher Ed on March 6, 2009 and January 26, 2011 respectively.
Dr. Pierce has served on the boards of the Association of American Colleges and Universities (AAC&U) and the American Conference of Academic Deans, on the advisory committee for the AAC&U project on engineering and the liberal arts, on the Council of Presidents of the Association of Governing Boards and on the Washington Women in Leadership Advisory Committee. She has been active in many civic, cultural and professional organizations, including the boards of the Seattle Symphony, Hillcrest Medical Center in Tulsa, the Tulsa Chapter of the National Conference of Christians and Jews, and Tulsa Opera. She co-founded the Access to College program in collaboration with the Tacoma Public Schools. From 1998-2002, she served on the National Institute of Alcohol Abuse and Alcoholism Task Force on College Drinking and on the Executive Committee of the Annapolis Group. She currently co-chairs the writers program for the Festival of the Arts Boca.
Dr. Pierce received her A.B. degree from Wellesley College in 1965, her M.A. degree in English from the University of Chicago in 1966, and her Ph.D. in English from the University of Wisconsin in 1972.
