Western Association of Schools and Colleges

Bernard Bowler, Vice Chair joined the Commission in 2005 as one of its public members. Bowler worked as an executive at IBM for more than thirty years, and continues his life long commitment to education by bringing his financial expertise to several boards and charities. He has served as Chair of the CSU Sacramento Trust Foundation Board for six years. He was also Chair and co-founder of the Linking Education and Economic Development (L.E.E.D. Sacramento) program, which works with Sacramento's K-12 schools to improve curriculum and increase college attendance and employment success. Mr. Bowler likewise served on the St. Hope Corporation Board of Directors, helping to establish a new Charter High School and K-4 elementary school. In 2002, he received the CSU Sacramento President's Award for outstanding service to the University, to higher education, and the public and common good.

Anna DiStefano joined the Commission in 2006, and has served as the Provost for Fielding Graduate University since August, 1996. She has been a part of the Fielding community since 1983, serving in several senior executive capacities including Vice President of Academic Planning & Program Development, and Dean, Human and Organization Development (HOD). DiStefano received her Ed.D. (1977) and her M.Ed. (1972), both in Counseling, from Boston University. Her undergraduate degree, A.B. (1969), was received from Trinity College, D.C. She was also selected as an American Council of Education Fellow, (1987 - 1988). DiStefano's specialized areas of interest are planning and leadership in higher education, especially distributed education; feminism; public schooling; moral development; and conflict resolution. Her most recent publications include co-editing with Jody Veroff a special issue of The American Behavioral Scientist titled Researching Across Difference and co-editing with Kjell E. Rudestam, and Robert Silverman, the Encyclopedia of Distributed Learning.

James Donahue joined the Commission in 2006, and is the seventh president of the Graduate Theological Union, and the first GTU alumnus to serve in this position. Before returning to the GTU in 2000, Donahue served for over fifteen years as Professor of Theology and Ethics, Dean of Students and Vice President of Student Affairs at Georgetown University. He has also held faculty and administrative positions at Boston College and Santa Clara University, and has served as an ethics consultant to various organizations, including the Levi Strauss Corporation, the Department of Defense, and the Catholic Health Association. Donahue's primary research areas and teaching interests include professional ethics, religion in public life, and the issues of organizational and professional ethics. He is the co-author of Ethics Across the Curriculum: A Practice-based Approach, and is currently writing Religion and Professional Ethics. He is the co-editor of Religion, Ethics and the Common Good. He holds a B.A. degree from the College of the Holy Cross, an M.Div. from Princeton Theological Seminary, and a Ph.D. from the Graduate Theological Union.

Jackie Donath joined the Commission in 2007. She is Professor and Chair of Humanities and Religious Studies at California State University, Sacramento. Donath earned a BA from Austin College, an MA in American Studies from the University of Minnesota, and a Ph.D. in American Culture Studies from Bowling Green State University. While at Sac State, she has served as Faculty Coordinator for General Education and as campus director of the Urban University Project. She has been a member of the governing boards of the Popular Culture/American Culture Association, the California American Studies Association and AccessSacramento. She has participated in a number of WASC accreditation visits and consulted widely in the CSU system. She has contributed essays to several books in her area of primary interest, American design and visual arts.

D. Merrill Ewert, President of Fresno Pacific University, was elected to the Commission in 2009. He previously served as Director of Extension and Associate Dean for Extension and Outreach in the College of Agriculture and Life Sciences, and the College of Human Ecology at Cornell University, and Director of Extension and Continuing Education at Wheaton College. Dr. Ewert has also served as a program design consultant and has led workshops and seminars in more than 20 countries on "training of trainers," extension education, community development, sustainable agriculture, and cross-cultural education. Among his professional affiliations, he has served as Consulting Editor of the Adult Education Quarterly, as a Member of the Editorial Board for the Journal of the Community Development Society, and on various civic boards and committees. He holds an MA in Cultural Anthropology and a PhD in Adult and Continuing Education from the University of Wisconsin-Madison.

John F. Fitzpatrick joined the Commission in 2006, is currently the Superintendent-in-Residence at Pepperdine University in Los Angeles, and teaches in their doctoral program for Leadership and Policy. He is former superintendent of the Las Virgenes Unified School District, and has served as a member and former chair of the WASC Schools Commission. He is a member of the State Assistance & Intervention Team for the Los Angeles County Schools, and in this capacity, has worked with many urban schools within the Los Angeles Unified School District. He is also an elected member of the American Association of School Administrators Governing Board, at which he represents the state of California. Fitzpatrick has also received the Rose Award from the University of Southern California Graduate School of Education, which recognizes alumni who have provided outstanding leadership in the field of education.

Harold Hewitt, Jr., Executive Vice President and Chief Operating Officer at Chapman University, joined the Commission in 2009. Prior to accepting his position at Chapman, he served for two years as Vice President and Chief Financial Officer at the Los Angeles Philharmonic Association. He has also served in senior financial officer positions at Occidental College and Whittier College. He holds a B.A. in Philosophy from Cornell College, Mt. Vernon, Iowa, and an MBA from the Peter F. Drucker and Masatoshi Ito Graduate School of Management at The Claremont Graduate University. He has been active in higher education professional associations, including serving on the Small Institutions Council of the National Association of College and university Business Officers (NACUBO), participating on several NACUBO task forces and committees, and serving on the Professional Development Committee of the Western Association of College and University Business Officers (WACUBO). He has also participated on nine WASC visiting teams and has served as co-chair of the Substantive Change Committee.

Michael L. Jackson joined the Commission in 2008. He was appointed vice president for Student Affairs at the University of Southern California in June 1995. He is responsible for providing leadership for the Division of Student affairs and its comprehensive student life program for 32,000 students and 300 professional and support staff. In 2005, Jackson was named interim vice president for student affairs and enrollment services. Prior to coming to USC, Jackson had been dean of students at Stanford University, where he worked in student affairs for over 15 years. He is a member of the California Educational Facilities Authority, past president of the National Association of Student Personnel Administrators (2002-03) and a professor in higher education at the USC Rossier School of Education. He holds an A.B. in Anthropology from Stanford University and M.Ed. and Ed.D. in Educational Administration from the University of Massachusetts, Amherst.

Roberts Jones, appointed to the Commission in 2007, is the President of Education & Workforce Policy, LLC, a policy consulting firm whose singular focus is the advancement of education, training and workforce policy. He also served as the President and CEO of the National Alliance of Business, the Assistant Secretary of Labor under Presidents Reagan and Bush, in senior positions in two major U.S. corporations, and as a Chief of Staff to two Congressmen. Having held senior leadership positions in the legislative and executive branches, and with extensive experience in the private sector, he has been personally engaged in every major piece of education, training and workforce legislation for the past forty years. Among his many affiliations, Mr. Jones serves on the boards of American College Testing (ACT), the Business Higher Education Forum (BHEF), the National Center for Education Accountability (NCEA), the National Council on Teaching America's Future (NCTAF), and the National Teacher Hall of Fame.

Barbara Karlin joined the Commission in 2010 and is Vice President of Academic Affairs at Golden Gate University, a position she has held since 2002.  Prior to that, she served as Dean of the Schools of Business and Taxation at Golden Gate and a professor of taxation.  Karlin is an active member of several key committees at the Golden Gate University and received the Outstanding Service award, selected by the faculty in 1994. She has written books, newsletters and videos on various tax-related subjects.  She holds a B.A. in Political Science from Stanford University, a J.D. from Hastings College of Law, and an LL.M. Masters of Law in Taxation from Golden Gate University, and is a member of the California State Bar and the American Institute of Certified Public Accountants.  Prior to joining the Commission, Barbara served as a member and chair of the WASC Eligibility Committee and a member of the WASC Substantive Change Committee.

Margaret Kasimatis was elected to the Commission in 2010.  She currently serves as Vice President for Academic Planning and Effectiveness at Loyola Marymount University and holds a faculty appointment in the Psychology Department.  She has held faculty positions at Hope College and Harvey Mudd College, where she also served as Director of Assessment.  More recently, she served as Executive Director of Institutional Research, Assessment and Planning at California State Polytechnic University, Pomona.  Kasimatis has published journal articles and book chapters on a variety of topics related to social cognition, including social-cognitive theories of motivation, the relationship between emotion and cognition, and the impact of gender terms on perception.  More recently her scholarly work has focused on culture change within universities.  Kasimatis earned her B.A. in Psychology from Loyola Marymount University and her M.S. and Ph.D. in Social Psychology from Purdue University.

Julia Lopez began serving as the President and CEO of College Access Foundation of California in November 2008 and was elected to the Commission in 2009. Before joining College Access Foundation, she served as Senior Vice President of the Rockefeller Foundation. In her earlier work for Rockefeller, she served as the Director of the foundation's Working Communities program, addressing urban poverty and education in the United States. She is a graduate of Newton College of the Sacred Heart (now Boston College) and holds a Masters degree in Public Policy from the Goldman School of Public Policy at the University of California, Berkeley. Julia is also on the Board of Directors of Pacific Community Ventures and REDF (formerly the Roberts Enterprise Development Fund) and is a member of the Statewide Leadership Council of the Public Policy Institute of California.

Thomas McFadden joined the Commission in 2007. He is President Emeritus of Marymount College, where he served as President from 1992-2006. He was also a member of the Accrediting Commission for Community and Junior Colleges of WASC from 1999-2005. Dr. McFadden previously served as academic vice president at St. John Fisher College in Pittsford, NY, and as a dean and faculty member at St. Joseph's University in Philadelphia, PA. He holds a B.A. in Philosophy from Cathedral College, Brooklyn, NY, a Masters in Theology from Gregorian University, Rome, Italy, and a Doctorate in Theological Studies from Catholic University of America, Washington, D.C. He has published widely in areas of Catholic theology.

Horace Mitchell, Vice Chair, joined the Commission in 2006 and served as Vice Chair from 2007-09. He became the fourth President of California State University, Bakersfield (CSUB) in July 2004. In his leadership, Mitchell brings a vision to extend the excellence and diversity of the faculty and academic programs, enhance the quality of the student experience and strengthen community engagement. Prior to assuming the presidency at CSUB, he served as Vice Chancellor for Business and Administrative Services at the University of California, Berkeley (1995-2004), where he was awarded the Berkeley Citation and the title Vice Chancellor Emeritus. From 1978-1995, he served as Vice Chancellor for Student Affairs and Associate Clinical Professor of Psychiatry and Human Behavior at the University of California, Irvine. Mitchell holds bachelor's, master's, and Ph.D. degrees from Washington University in St. Louis. His teaching and research interests include the areas of identity construction and multicultural psychology, and he currently serves on the ACE Commission on Effective Leadership.

Leroy M. Morishita joined the Commission in 2007 and is currently Chair of the Finance & Operations Committee. He is also the Executive Vice President and Chief Financial Officer for Administration & Finance at San Francisco State University, a post he has held since 2002. His career with San Francisco State University has spanned nearly three decades in a variety of positions and he currently oversees the areas of budget, finance, human resources, safety and risk management, information technology, capital planning, facilities, housing, and audit.  Morishita has participated extensively in CSU system and S.F. State committees and task forces. His board memberships include the California State University Risk Management Authority (Past Chair); the Institute of Buddhist Studies (Chair); the Japanese American Citizens League Health Benefits Administrators (Vice Chair); and the San Francisco Planning & Urban Research Association. Morishita holds an Ed.D. in Administration, Planning and Social Policy from the Harvard Graduate School of Education; a M.S. in Counseling from San Francisco State University; and an A.B. in Psychology from the University of California, Berkeley. 

William Plater joined the Commission in 2007. He is Chancellor's Professor of Public Affairs, Philanthropic Studies, Informatics and English at Indiana University Purdue University Indianapolis (IUPUI), and he directs the Office of International Community Development. From 1987-2006, he was the Executive Vice Chancellor and Dean of the Faculties at IUPUI, where he also served as Dean of the School of Liberal Arts. Before joining IUPUI, he was Associate Director of the School of Humanities and served in other roles at the University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign. Plater's written work has addressed civic engagement, faculty development and the changing nature of faculty work, undergraduate education, and American literature. He currently serves as a Trustee of the Council on Adult and Experiential Learning, as a consulting editor for Change Magazine, and as a member of several community and state nonprofit boards in Indiana.

Stephen Privett, S.J was named President of the University of San Francisco in 2000 and joined the Commission in 2010.  He entered the Society of Jesus in 1960 and is a graduate of The Catholic University of America, the Jesuit School of Theology in Berkeley and Gonzaga University. His doctorate is in Catechetics and his particular expertise focuses on the Hispanic community in the Catholic Church.  Prior to his appointment at USF, Father Privett served as Provost and Academic Vice President at Santa Clara University. While teaching at Santa Clara, he was recognized for “Teaching Excellence and Campus Leadership” with the Sears Roebuck Foundation Award.  He is also a member of the California Campus Compact Executive Board, Board of Governors of the Commonwealth Club of California, Board of Directors of the American Council on Education, Association of Catholic Colleges and Universities, Public Architecture, and the Fromm Institute.

Sharon Salinger joined the Commission in 2010 and is Dean of Undergraduate Education and Professor of History at the University of California, Irvine.  Prior to accepting this position, she served as Associate Dean for Student Academic Affairs and Professor of History at the University of California, Riverside, where she received the Distinguished Teaching Award.  She holds an A.B., M.A. and Ph.D. in History from the University of California, Los Angeles.  Her research interests include Early America, social history and gender, and she is a member of the Organization of American Historians, the Historical Society of Pennsylvania, the American Historical Association, the West Coast Association of Women Historians, and the New England Historical and Genealogical Society.