Western Association of Schools and Colleges
Accrediting Commission for Senior Colleges and Universities
Accrediting Commission for Senior Colleges and Universities
Printer-friendly versionThe Accrediting Commission consists of 25 members who serve overlapping three-year terms. Commissioners are nominated and elected by the chief executive officers of accredited institutions in the WASC region.
The Commission includes three public members, a representative from the Pacific Basin, a representative from the WASC Accrediting Commission for Community and Junior Colleges, and a representative from the WASC Accrediting Commission for Schools.
The Commission membership reflects diversity in institutional characteristics such as mission, size, geography, funding and sponsorship, and in personal characteristics such as ethnicity, gender, and experience. All members are deeply committed to higher education and volunteer countless hours to the tasks of peer accreditation.
Christopher Cross is Chairman of Cross & Joftus, LLC, a consulting firm that works with education leaders on evaluation, strategic planning, policy analysis and development, and school and district improvement. Cross also serves as a consultant to the Broad Foundation and the Charles Stewart Mott Foundation.
Anna DiStefano joined the Commission in 2006 and has served as the Chair of both the Policy and Planning Committee and the Accreditation Redesign Steering Committee. She returned to the faculty of Fielding Graduate University in 2010 after serving as Provost for eight years. She has been a part of the Fielding community since 1983 serving in several senior executive capacities including Vice President of Academic Planni
James Donahue joined the Commission in 2006 and was elected Vice Chair in 2011. He 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.
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.
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.
John F. F
itzpatrick joined the Commission in 2006 as the WASC Schools Commission representative. Most recently, he served as the Superintendent-in-Residence at Pepperdine University in Los Angeles, teaching in their doctoral program for Leadership and Policy.
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.
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.
Linda K. Johnsrud, Chair, appointed to the Commission in 2007, was elected as Vice Chair in 2009 and as chair in 2010. She currently serves as Executive Vice President for Academic Affairs and Provost at the University of Hawaii System.
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.
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
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 Re
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.
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.
Horace Mitchell, 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.
Leroy M. Morishita joined the Commission in 2007. He was appointed President at California State University, East Bay in 2012 after serving in that role on an interim basis for one year. From 2002-1011, he was Executive Vice President and Chief Financial Officer for Administration & Finance at San Francisco State University.
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.
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.
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.
Sheldon Schuster, appointed to the Commission in 2007, is currently the President of the Keck Graduate Institute of Applied Life Sciences (KGI) in Claremont, CA. Prior to joining KGI, Dr. Shuster was the Interim Assistant Vice President for Research, Director of the Biotechnology Program and Professor of Biochemistry and Molecular Biology at the University of Florida.
Carmen Sigler, Provost and Vice President for Academic Affairs Emerita at San Jose State University, was appointed to the Commission in 2007. After completing her undergraduate education in Argentina, she received A.M. and Ph.D. degrees in Romance Languages and Literatures from the University of Michigan.
Ramon Torrecilha, elected to the Commission in 2010, is Provost and Vice President for Academic Affairs at California State University, Dominguez Hills. He previously served as Executive Vice President and Secretary of the Board of Trustees at Mills College. He has also served as Provost and Executive Vice President at Berkeley College in New York, Vice President for Planning, Research, and Multicultura
Timothy White became Chancellor of University of California, Riverside in 2008 and was appointed to the Commission in 2010. Prior to joining UC Riverside, he served as President of the University of Idaho and Provost and Executive Vice President at Oregon State University.
Michael M. Whyte, was appointed to the Commission in 2006, and served as Provost and Accreditation Liaison Officer at Azusa Pacific University from 2002-2010.
Paul Zingg, appointed to the Commission in 2007, is President of California State University, Chico. Prior to coming to CSU, Chico, he was Provost and Senior Vice President for Academic Affairs at California Polytechnic State University, San Luis Obispo. He also served as the Dean of the College of Liberal Arts at Cal Poly, and the Dean of the School of Liberal Arts at St. Mary's College of California.