Board of Directors 

Martha Potvin, Springfield College
President, Term 2016-2019
Dr. Martha Potvin has been named Provost and Vice President for Academic Affairs at Springfield College, beginning June 30, 2016. She brings more than 25 years of academic administrative experience to Springfield College. Most recently,  she served as Executive Vice President for Academic Affairs and Provost at Montana State University (MSU) since January 2011. Ms Potvin also served as a professor in the Department of Ecology at MSU.

Nationally, she serves as board member of the Association of Chief Academic Officers. Prior to MSU, Ms. Potvin served for 10 years as dean of the College of Arts and Sciences and professor of Biology at the University of North Dakota. As dean, she was active in the Council of Colleges of Arts and Sciences and served on its board of directors for three years.  Ms. Potvin began her career as a faculty member at West Chester University of Pennsylvania. During her 16 years at that institution as an assistant, associate, and full professor, she served as chair of the department of Biology for 11 years and as interim dean of Graduate Studies and Extended Education. Ms. Potvin has a bachelor’s degree in biology from UConn, a master’s degree in botany and plant ecology from Michigan State University, and a PhD from the University of Nebraska in ecology and evolutionary biology.

President-Elect, Term 2017-2020
Dr. Kathy Johnson serves as Executive Vice Chancellor and Chief Academic Officer at Indiana University-Purdue University Indianapolis (IUPUI), a core campus of Indiana University and the state’s urban research and academic health sciences campus. She is a professor of psychology and has previously served as Dean of University College and Associate Vice Chancellor for Undergraduate Education, where she led the creation of a Division of Undergraduate Education as well as a number of initiatives aimed at enhancing the quality of the undergraduate experience while also improving on-time graduation rates. 

Nationally, Dr. Johnson has served on steering committees for the Coalition of Urban-Serving Universities, as president of the Association of Deans and Directors of University Colleges & Undergraduate Studies, and as Indiana’s state liaison for AAC&U’s Faculty Collaboratives Project. 

Kevin Carman, University of Nevada, Reno
Secretary, Term 2016-2019
As the Executive Vice President and Provost, Dr. Kevin Carman oversees the University of Nevada, Reno’s six colleges, Division of Health Sciences, Division of Extended Studies, Office of Research, and the University of Nevada Cooperative Extension. Dr. Carman was appointed to the role by President Marc Johnson in February 2013.  He served as dean of the College of Science at Louisiana State University from 2004-2012.

Dr. Carman has served in numerous leadership roles for regional and statewide higher-education and research initiatives. At the national and international levels, he has served on the Education Committee of the American Institute for Biological Sciences, the National Council of Environmental Deans and Directors, and the Executive Committee of the International Association of Meiobenthologists. He was vice-chair of the Louisiana Board of Regents EPSCoR Committee.  Dr. Carman currently serves on the Nevada System of Higher Education Statewide Committee on Medical Education and the “Nevada Succeeds” statewide task force on K-12 education. 

Dr. Carman's research interests are in the area of marine ecology and ecotoxicology. He earned his undergraduate degree in biology from McPherson College in 1982, and his M.S. (1984) and Ph.D. (1989) in biological oceanography from Florida State University.  Dr. Carman is a Fellow of the American Association for the Advancement of Science.

 
Mary Boyd, Berry College
Treasurer, Term 2018-2021
Dr. Mary Boyd serves as Provost and Professor of Chemistry at Berry College. Dr. Boyd received her Ph.D. in Chemistry from the University of Toronto. Among her previous administrative appointments, Dr. Boyd served as Dean of the College of Arts and Sciences at the University of San Diego.

BJ Reed, University of Nebraska, Omaha
Past President, Term 2016-2019
BJ Reed has been on the faculty of the University of Nebraska at Omaha (UNO) since 1982. He served as Chair of the Department of Public Administration from 1985 to 2000, and as Dean of the College of Public Affairs and Community Service from 2000-2011. Reed served as Interim Senior Vice Chancellor of Academic and Student Affairs in September 2011, and was formally appointed in 2012. He has served as Executive Associate to the Chancellor since 2006.

Reed received both his Bachelor of Arts and Master of Science in political science from Fort Hays State University in Kansas, and his Ph.D. in public administration from the University of Missouri.

Connie Johnson, Colorado Technical University
Term 2016-2019
Dr. Connie Johnson is Colorado Technical University's (CTU) chief academic officer and provost, working with both online and ground degree programs. She has oversight of academic affairs, including faculty, curriculum, classroom experience, and accreditation. During her time at CTU, Connie has initiated adaptive learning technology implementation, effective leadership of academics, women's leadership, leading academics through change, and effective technology implementation in the online classroom including the promotion of academics, faculty and student engagement through social media.

Connie has served in higher education for over 20 years with extensive experience in online and ground teaching, administration, and leadership. Additionally, Connie has extensive experience in regional accreditation, curriculum implementation, and faculty training and development. She is a trained peer evaluator for the Higher Learning Commission (HLC), has completed and served as a facilitator in the ACE Chief Academic Officer Institute, and is a member of the CTU Board of Trustees. Additionally, Connie serves on the advisory committee for the Online Learning Consortium Innovation Award and as an advisory board member for Excelsior College’s Extended Education Center.  Her educational background includes a Doctorate of Education, organizational leadership emphasis (2010), and a Master of Business Administration in management (1991) from Nova Southeastern University; and a Bachelor of Science with honors in criminal justice from Florida State University. 

 
Rick Miranda, Colorado State University
Term 2016-2019
Provost and Executive Vice President Rick Miranda received his bachelor’s degree from the College of the Holy Cross and his Ph.D. from the Massachusetts Institute of Technology. He joined the faculty at Colorado State University as an Assistant Professor in 1982. He became Chair of the Department of Mathematics in 1997 and dean of the College of Natural Sciences in 2002.

As Provost and Executive Vice President, Dr. Miranda oversees academic programming and faculty affairs on campus. The responsibility of the Office of the Provost and Executive Vice President is to provide academic vision and leadership to fulfill the land-grant mission of Colorado State University. The Office will articulate, communicate, and facilitate the development of fundamental values basic to the University’s mission and administer academic programs and policies with utmost respect for and attention to our constituents’ needs.

Michaela Whelan, Emerson College
Term 2016-2019
Michaele Whelan, Provost and Vice President for Academic Affairs at Emerson College, has a B.A., summa cum laude, from Cornell University, and an M.A. and Ph.D. in English and American Literature from Harvard University. A humanist with over twenty years of experience in higher education, first in academic and then administrative roles, she has worked with school deans, faculty, students, staff and trustees to shape an academic vision and academic priorities for Brandeis University and Tufts University.

Ms. Whelan has taught in English departments and programs in American Studies and Women’s Studies at The Pennsylvania State University, Harvard University, Tufts and Brandeis. Her area of expertise is modern and postmodern American literature with a focus on gendered narratology. She is the recipient of teaching awards, has published in her field, and is a member of the academic honor societies Phi Beta Kappa and Phi Kappa Phi.

 
Kelli Brown, Georgia College & State University
Term 2017-2020
Dr. Kelli Brown, Provost and Vice President of Academic Affairs, arrived at Georgia College on June 1, 2013.  Dr. Brown served as the interim dean of the College of Health and Human Performance at the University of Florida and was the Associate Dean in the College of Health and Human Performance for over five years.  From 2003 to 2006, Dr. Brown served as the Interim Associate Provost and Dean of the Graduate School at the University of Florida.  In each of these roles, Dr. Brown provided leadership for the employees and students enrolled in the graduate and undergraduate programs. 

Dr. Brown earned her Ph.D. in Education (concentration in Health Education) at Southern Illinois University - Carbondale; a Master of Science & Education with a Major in Public Health Education from The University of Toledo; and a Bachelor of Science in Public Health Services from The University of Toledo.

Dr. Brown’s faculty credentials are diverse; and her publications include textbooks, book chapters, manuals, and journals.

Todd Diacon, Kent State University
Term 2017-2020
Todd Diacon is completing his fifth year of service as the Senior Vice President for Academic Affairs and Provost at Kent State University, an institution enrolling 42,000 students across eight campuses. Previous administrative appointments have included serving as Deputy Chancellor of the University of Massachusetts, Amherst, and as Vice Provost for Academic Affairs at the University of Tennessee, Knoxville.

Since his arrival at Kent State, freshman-to-sophomore retention has increased from 77% to 83%, and, for the first time ever, in 2016 the entering freshman class of 4,250 students on the Kent campus reflected the diversity of the State of Ohio with 17% of the students coming from underrepresented groups. Under his direction international enrollment on the Kent campus reached 11% of the student body, the highest percentage in the state of Ohio. In 2016 Diacon created and led a program to diversify the faculty, which resulted in a 28% increase in underrepresented tenure-stream faculty on the Kent campus.

Diacon completed the ACE Institute for New Chief Academic Officers, as well as Harvard’s Institute for Educational Management. He currently is directing the creation of the Mid-American Conference Academic Leadership Development Program.

Charles Cook, Austin Community College
Term 2018-2021
Dr. Charles M. Cook joined Austin Community College (ACC) as Provost & Executive Vice President for Academic Affairs on August 1, 2014. As the chief academic officer, Dr. Cook guides and oversees all programs relating to instruction and student services. He is currently focused on leading the implementation of guided pathways for ACC.

Laura Niesen de Abruna, York College of Pennsylvania
Term 2018-2021
Laura Niesen de Abruna currently serves as immediate Past President and Chair of the Nominations Committee of the Association of Chief Academic Officers and as a member of the CAO Task Force of the CIC.  She has also served a three-year term on the board of directors of ACAD of the AAC&U and as President of the Northeast Modern Language Association.

Dr. Niesen de Abruna graduated from Smith College with a major in English and a minor in French, having spent a year at the University of Paris. She received the M.A. and the Ph.D. in English from the University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill and a M.S. Ed. in higher education management from the University of Pennsylvania.

Peter Nwosu, Clark Atlanta University
Term 2018-2021
Peter 0. Nwosu, American Council on Education Fellow and Fulbright Scholar, is provost and vice president for Academic Affairs at Clark Atlanta University, Atlanta, Georgia. Dr. Nwosu brings more than 20 years of experience in higher education to his role, overseeing the strategic and operational initiatives of four academic schools, as well as enrollment services, student affairs, research and sponsored programs, cancer center, center for undergraduate research, and the radio station, among other responsibilities.

Patricia Rogers, Winona State University
Term 2018-2021
Dr. Rogers is currently the Provost and Vice-President for Academic Affairs at Winona State University.  Her doctoral preparation is in both Art Education and Instructional Systems and Technology from the University of Minnesota. She is a graduate of the HERS Academy (2011), completed American Council on Education 78th National Leadership Forum in Washington, DC, (2012) and the American Association of State Colleges and Universities (AASCU) becoming a Provost Academy in 2013. She is the recipient of the 2014 Minnesota American Council on Education Networks Women Helping Women Award.