Western Association of Schools and Colleges

Ralph A. Wolff, President and Executive Director of the Senior College Commission of WASC, was appointed in 1996, after serving as Associate Executive Director from 1981-1995. Wolff is responsible for setting goals, priorities, and policy for the Senior College Accrediting Commission. As Executive Director, he coordinated the extensive process leading to the 2001 Handbook of Accreditation. Prior to joining WASC, Wolff was the founder and Director of Planning of the Antioch School of Law, Dean of the Graduate School of Education at Antioch, and a law professor at the University of Dayton. A graduate of Tufts University, Wolff received his JD with honors from the National Law Center at George Washington University.
rwolffwascsenior.org
(510) 748-9001 ext. 314 (Assistant)

Teri Cannon, Executive Associate Director, joined WASC in 2006 after serving as Dean of John F. Kennedy University Law School from 2003-06. Teri has served as Dean of several private law schools and as Associate Dean at San Francisco State University. She also has extensive experience in accreditation through her involvement with the American Bar Association, where she conducted over 60 visits, served as an ABA Commissioner, and authored the first and second editions of ABA Approval: A Reference Manual for Paralegal Educators. Teri graduated from UCLA with a B.A. in Political Science and completed her J.D. at Loyola Law School.
tcannonwascsenior.org
(510) 748-9001 ext. 315

Richard Winn, Associate Director, was appointed to WASC in 2003. Following more than 15 years as a faculty member in several colleges, he served as Assistant Dean for Curriculum at Western University's College of Medicine. Richard holds an EdD in Educational Leadership from the University of La Verne. His dissertation examined universities that employed the Malcolm Baldridge National Quality Award Criteria to achieve their reaffirmation of accreditation. He is currently serving his third term as a member of the Board of Examiners for the National Baldridge Quality Award. In addition to supporting a portfolio of institutions, Richard oversees the eligibility process and WASC relations with the US Department of Education and with CHEA.
rwinnwascsenior.org
(510) 748-9001 ext. 335

Barbara Wright, Associate Director, a well-known and respected national expert on assessment, has extensive experience in accreditation, serving six years as a member of the New England Association of Schools and Colleges Commission on Institutions of Higher Education. She has experience in a variety of higher education administrative positions, and is a frequent consultant on assessment, general education, foreign language instruction, and faculty development.
bwrightwascsenior.org
(510) 748-9001 ext. 313

Michelle Behr , Assistant Director, joined WASC in August 2007 from Western New Mexico University where she served as Professor of Geography, Chair of Social Sciences, and Facilitator for Outcomes Assessment, and Associate Provost for Academic Initiatives. Over her career there, she completed projects focused on general education, student learning and retention, and faculty governance issues. Michelle has served on a number of accreditation teams for the Higher Learning Commission of the North Central Association. She spent the 2005-06 academic year as an American Council on Education Fellow. Michelle's undergraduate degree is from UC Santa Cruz; her master's and doctoral degrees are from Arizona State University, in Anthropology and Geography, respectively.
mbehrwascsenior.org
(510) 748-9001 ext. 310

Ingrid Walker, Assistant Director, came to WASC in 2007 from the Higher Learning Commission of the North Central Association, where she served as an Assistant Director and liaison to 180 institutions throughout all processes of institutional review and change. In addition to her background in regional accreditation, Ingrid has 12 years' experience as an Associate Professor and scholar in American Studies. She brings to her work strong experience in curricular and program development as well as institutional learning. Ingrid graduated with a B.A. in English from Saint Mary's College of California, and holds a Ph.D. in American Literature from the University of California, Santa Cruz.
iwalkerwascsenior.org
(510) 748-9001 ext. 303

Robert Benedetti, Adjunct Associate Director, joined the WASC staff in 2002. He is the Executive Director of the Jacoby Center for Public Service and Civic Leadership at the University of the Pacific. He served thirteen years as Dean of the College at Pacific and was a faculty member and Provost at New College in Florida. Benedetti has served on the board of the American Conference of Academic Deans and was president of the Northern California and the Florida Political Science Associations. He also chaired the California Council for the Humanities and the Florida Endowment for the Humanities. Benedetti received his baccalaureate from Amherst College and his masters and doctorate from the University of Pennsylvania.
benedettiraol.com | 209-946-7478

Richard Giardina, joined the WASC staff as an Adjunct Associate Director in October 2005, after 29 years at San Francisco State University, most recently as Associate Vice President for Academic Planning and Assessment. In that role, he was responsible for coordinating the institution's "A-level" endeavors: assessment, accountability, accreditation, academic planning, and academic program review. Previous responsibilities included oversight of curriculum, undergraduate studies, graduate education, and international programs. He served as Accreditation Liaison Officer to WASC for 25 of his 29 years at SFSU and coordinated the institution's self-studies in 1981, 1991, and 2001. For WASC, Richard has served as an evaluator on numerous team visits and as a Staff Associate. His academic credentials include a B.A. degree from Fordham University and a Ph.D. in International Politics from Princeton University.
rgiardinawascsenior.org | Call WASC