The educational leadership career of former Lake Michigan College President, Dr. Richard Pappas, continues to soar. Currently closing in on his 10th anniversary at the helm for Davenport University in Grand Rapids, Pappas has been appointed to the governing board of the American Council on Education.
Dr. Pappas has been named to serve on the Board of Directors for the American Council on Education (ACE), the major coordinating body for the nation’s colleges and universities. He took office following the organization’s 101st Annual Meeting in Philadelphia, and will serve for one year.
ACE President Ted Mitchell says, “ACE’s mission is to mobilize the higher education community to shape effective public policy and foster innovative, high-quality practice, and we are fortunate to have leaders from across the diverse landscape of American colleges and universities who are dedicated to helping us achieve these goals,” and adds, “I deeply appreciate the willingness of Rick to serve in this role.”
Meanwhile, Pappas says, “I am honored to serve as a member of the board for the American Council on Education,” adding, “It’s a privilege to work alongside some of the finest leadership in academia all focused on improving outcomes for students in higher education with the goal of helping them earn successful careers.”
Dr. Pappas has more than 40 years of experience in higher education, including 30 years as a college and university president. He served as Lake Michigan College President from July of 1994 to July of 2005, before moving on to a four-year stint as the head of National-Louis University in Chicago. Davenport’s board selected him as their next leader 10-years ago in August of 2009.
Among many honors and achievements, Dr. Pappas received the University of Michigan’s Norman C. Harris Alumni Award and the National Council for Marketing and Public Relations’ Pacesetter Award. In 2016, Insight into Diversity honored Dr. Pappas with its Giving Back Award.
He is the past chair of the board for The Heart of West Michigan United Way and serves on the board of The Right Place, Inc. and on the West Michigan Board of Directors for Fifth Third Bank. Dr. Pappas is a participant in the West Michigan Strategic Alliance’s Talent 2025 initiative. He is also a past chair of the board of Michigan Independent Colleges and Universities (MICU).
Dr. Pappas joins the ACE Board of Directors along with several other influential executives from universities across the United States including Lawrence S. Bacow, president of Harvard University, Ronald A. Crutcher, president of University of Richmond, Linda Livingstone, president of Baylor University and Rebecca Chopp, chancellor of University of Denver. For a complete list of the ACE Board of Directors, you can visit www.acenet.edu.
ACE is the major coordinating body for the nation’s colleges and universities, and is a membership organization that mobilizes the higher education community to shape effective public policy and foster innovative, high-quality practice. ACE represents more than 1,700 college and university presidents and the executives at related associations, and is the only major higher education association to represent all types of U.S. accredited, degree-granting institutions: two-year and four-year, public and private. ACE’s members represent two out of every three students in all accredited, degree-granting institutions.
Founded in 1866, Davenport is a private, non-profit university serving about 7,500 students at campuses across Michigan and online. With tuition among the lowest of all private universities in the state, Davenport provides high academic quality, small class sizes, conveniently located campuses, faculty with real-world experience and more than 60 dynamic undergraduate and graduate programs addressing in-demand careers in business, technology, health professions and urban education. To learn more you can visit www.davenport.edu.
The photo accompanying this story on Moody on the Market is courtesy of Davenport University.
