LeRoy V. Good

Anchorage Community College
First Director
1954-1957

Dr. LeRoy V. Good, the first director of the Anchorage Community College (ACC), recognized early the challenges of an entity responsible to both the Anchorage Independent School District and the University of Alaska, and worked to reconcile the differing missions. After leaving ACC, he was hired as the founding president of Monroe Community College in Rochester, New York in 1962, a position he held until his death in 1972. Monroe, part of the State University of New York System, dedicated The LeRoy V. Good Library at Monroe’s Brighton campus in his honor in 1973.

Melvin G. Huden

Anchorage Community College
Director
1957-1959

Dr. Melvin G. Huden served as Anchorage Community College’s second director. His challenges included accreditation for the fledging community college, mixed signals from both the university and local school boards regarding the best interests of the community college students, and the growing strength of Alaska Methodist University (now Alaska Pacific University).

Born in Columbus, Ohio, Huden earned his doctorate from the University of Southern California. His dissertation was titled, “Attitudes on Mobility in the Public Service: The Junior College Case.” He had a lengthy career in community college administration, serving at Barstow College in Barstow, California, and at Chapman College (now Chapman University) in Orange, California. He was a leader of the Anchorage Rotary Club serving as president, and remained an active Rotarian after leaving Alaska. He died in 2002 at the age of 91.

Eugene Francis Short

Anchorage Community College
Director
1959-1976

The longest-serving Anchorage Community College director, provost or chancellor, Eugene F. “Gene” Short came to Alaska in 1955 as a physics teacher at the Anchorage High School. He was appointed director of Anchorage Community College in 1959. Short was tireless in his promotion and support of the mission of the community college, and during his tenure enrollment grew from 800 to 7,000 students. His vision of the community college extended to seminars and conferences on topics of interest to the community including environmental concerns, early childhood development, and aging, among many others.

Born in San Francisco in 1916, he earned a bachelor’s degree from the College of the Pacific in Stockton, a master’s degree from Stanford University, and received an honorary doctorate from the University of Alaska in 1979. Eugene F. Short Hall, one of the original five buildings of the Anchorage Community College, was named in his honor in 1972. After he retired, he focused on his interest as a bibliophile, becoming the only Alaska antiquarian book appraiser and operating the Alaskana bookstore specializing in books about Alaska, the Arctic and the Pacific Northwest. He died in February 2000 at the age of 83.

Donald Dafoe

University of Alaska, Anchorage
First Provost
1966-1969

Dr. Donald Dafoe was an early leader in education in Alaska. He served as assistant superintendent of schools in Anchorage from 1951-1953, commissioner of education for the Territory of Alaska from 1953-1959, and superintendent of schools in Anchorage in 1961. He was appointed provost of the University of Alaska in 1966 to establish upper division and graduate programs in Anchorage, a position he held until 1969. He was a professor of education at the University of Alaska until he retired from teaching with emeritus status in 1976.

Born in North Dakota, Dafoe began his education career as a high school teacher and athletic coach in Bliss, Idaho where he became superintendent of schools and earned a master’s degree in education at the University of Idaho. He earned his doctorate in education at Stanford in 1961 and served as an education consultant for the U.S. Office of Education State School Systems in Washington D.C. His many honors include the Alaska Hall of Fame and U.S. Office of Education Distinguished Service to American Education Award. He lived in Alaska until his death in 1999 at the age of 84.

Lewis E. Haines

University of Alaska, Southcentral Region
Provost
1969-1975

Dr. Lewis Edgar “Lew” Haines began his career at the University of Alaska in 1964 as director of student affairs, dean of students and associate professor of education in Fairbanks. In 1969 he was named provost of the University of Alaska, Southcentral Region and later became the first CEO of the University of Alaska, Anchorage.

He proved to be one of the most important figures in the foundation and growth of UAA. During his tenure, separate programs grew into a full-fledged accredited university. The five original buildings of the west campus, plus the Professional Studies Building, Wendy Williamson Auditorium, Wells Fargo Sports Complex, Student Union, Science Building, Social Sciences Building and the original UAA/APU Consortium Library were either completed or started during his tenure. Room 307 in the Consortium Library is named the Lewis Haines Room in his honor. Haines also oversaw the development of athletic programs at the university, including the six original NCAA sports teams. After stepping down as provost, Haines continued teaching at UAA until 1989.

Born and raised on the East Coast, Haines earned a B.A. from Middlebury College in 1943, a master’s of arts from Columbia Teacher’s College in 1950, and a Ph.D. in educational administration from Washington State University in 1961. He served in the U.S. Army Air Corps from 1943 to 1945, the U.S. Army from 1945-1946 and remained in the Army Reserves until 1981. He passed away at age 87 in 2009.

William Stewart

Anchorage Community College
President
1976-1978

William “Bill” Stewart came to Alaska from Mount Hood Community College where he was dean. He succeeded Eugene Short who resigned in 1976.

Edwin L. Biggerstaff, Jr.

Anchorage Community College
President  1979-1984

Dr. Edwin L. “Ed” Biggerstaff was appointed president of the Anchorage Community College (ACC) in fall 1979, succeeding Edward Cordova who served as acting president upon the departure of William Stewart in mid-1978. He came from Texas where he was president of Richland College, a unit of the Dallas County College District, where he had also served as dean of student services. He had also served as an administrator and teacher at Ball State University and as a professor and head of the Department of Education at Oklahoma State University. While at ACC, Biggerstaff oversaw the separation of ACC from the University of Alaska, Anchorage.

Biggerstaff earned his bachelor of science, master of science degrees and his education doctorate from North Texas State University with majors in psychology, clinical psychology, and counseling psychology. As of 2016, he was at the University of Wisconsin-Stout where he serves as the Psychology of Field Experience Coordinator. He was named Outstanding Teacher in the College of Education, Hospitality, Health, and Human Services at UW-Stout in 2009-10.

John H. Lindauer

University of Alaska, Anchorage
First Chancellor
1976-1978

Dr. John H. Lindauer came to Alaska in 1976 as the first chancellor of the University of Alaska, Anchorage with big ideas, including a vision of making UAA an NCAA Division I powerhouse. He supported the development of the Great Alaska Shootout, a legacy of his 18 months as chancellor.

Lindauer earned his bachelor of science in business administration from Arizona State University and his doctorate in economics from Oklahoma State. He was assistant professor of economics at Occidental College from 1964 to 1966, and associate professor and professor at Claremont McKenna College and the Claremont Graduate School from 1966 to 1974. After leaving UA,A, he was active in local Alaska media and was elected to the Alaska House of Representatives for one term in 1982. He served as a pipeline commissioner and later on the Alaska Commission on Post-Secondary Education. He left Alaska in 2002 after an unsuccessful bid for governor. As of 2016, he was living and working in Chicago as an economist and author.

Wendell W. Wolfe

University of Alaska, Anchorage
Acting Chancellor
1978

Dr. Wendell W. Wolfe served as interim chancellor in 1978. He came to the University of Alaska, Anchorage in 1971 as the new dean of the Anchorage Senior College and served in that capacity until 1976 when he was named the vice chancellor of Academic Affairs when the university was reorganized.

Wolfe first came to Alaska in 1964 as a faculty member and director of the Department of Summer Sessions, Conferences, and Short Courses at the University of Alaska, Fairbanks. In 1968 he was appointed dean of the UA,F College of Behavioral Sciences and Education, a position he held until he joined UA,A in 1971. He earned a bachelor’s degree from North Texas University (1948), a master’s at Texas College of Arts and Industries (1952), and his doctorate from the University of Texas in 1964 under a W.K. Kellogg Foundation Fellowship in the Junior College Leadership Program.

After retiring from the University he served as program review officer for five years for the Alaska Commission on Postsecondary Education. He died in 2012 just short of his 87^th birthday.

Frank Harrison

University of Alaska, Anchorage
Chancellor
1978-1981

Dr. Frank Harrison came to the University of Alaska, Anchorage in 1978 with more than 20 years of experience in business management and teaching. He was dean and professor of management at Illinois State University where he led the creation of the Master of Business Administration, Master of Science in Accounting, and the Bachelor in Office Administration programs. Earlier, as director of the School of Business and Public Administration at the University of Puget Sound, he created the Master of Public Administration program. Before entering academia, he served as chief financial analyst for NASA’s Aerospace Division and as Management Systems manager for all planning and scheduling for the Voyager Project. He left UAA to become president of Southern Connecticut State College in New Haven.

He earned his Ph.D. in management at the University of Washington where he graduated magna cum laude. Born in Seattle in 1929, Harrison lives in Northern California.

Ronald C. Smith

Anchorage Community College
Acting President
1982-1983

Dr. Ronald C. Smith worked as an educator for more than 42 years in public schools and community colleges and is the author of What Black Americans Must Do Now (December 2014). He came to Anchorage Community College as director of humanities and also served as vice chancellor of Instructional Services before his appointment as acting president.

Smith earned undergraduate and master’s degrees from Miami University in Oxford, Ohio, and a doctorate from the University of Massachusetts in Amherst, Massachusetts. His early educational experience include teaching in public schools in Cleveland and serving as special assistant to the president of Berkshire Community College in Pittsfield, Massachusetts. Dr. Smith is retired and lives in St. Louis, Missouri.

 Herbert C. Lyon

Anchorage Community College
Chancellor
1984-1987

Dr. Herbert C. Lyon came to Anchorage after founding and directing the University of New Mexico at Los Alamos for four years. Prior experiences included vice president and dean of academic affairs at Northland College in Ashland, Wisconsin, and academic positions at the University of Michigan in Flint and at Ann Arbor. He was a Fulbright Lecturer and UNESCO professor of mathematics at the University of Amman in Jordan in the early 1970s and entered the Fulbright Academy in 2003.

He graduated summa cum laude from Carroll College in Waukesha, Wisconsin in 1964 with his bachelor of science degree. He earned his master’s (1966) and doctorate (1970) degrees from the University of Michigan at Ann Arbor. After leaving ACC, Lyon served as president of Black Hawk College in Illinois from 1987 to 1993, and a professor of mathematics at the same institution until 2008.

David L. Outcalt

University of Alaska, Anchorage
Chancellor
1981-1986

Dr. David Lewis Outcalt moved to Alaska in 1980 as the vice chancellor of Academic Affairs for the University of Alaska, Anchorage and one year later was appointed chancellor. During his tenure, several new buildings opened: the first dorms, Allied Health Sciences, Administration, and Fine Arts. The new buildings helped ease a classroom crunch created by the separation of ACC from the university.

Outcalt came to Alaska from the University of California, Santa Barbara where he had worked for 15 years as a math professor and dean of instructional development. During that time he also served as an exchange professor with the University of Hawaii. He left Alaska for a leadership position at the University of Wisconsin-Green Bay, serving as chancellor from 1986 to 1993 and then as a faculty member in Business Administration from 1993 to 1998.  Upon his retirement in 1998 he was conferred Chancellor Emeritus status.

He earned his bachelor’s degree from Pomona College, his master’s degree in mathematics from Claremont Graduate School and his doctorate, also in mathematics, from Ohio State University. A violin prodigy, he was a member of the San Diego Philharmonic Orchestra in high school and continued to play throughout his life. He died in November 2013 at the age of 78.

 Clark D. Ahlberg

University of Alaska, Anchorage
Interim Chancellor
1986-1987

Dr. Clark D. Ahlberg came out of retirement to serve as interim chancellor in 1986. He served as president of Wichita State University from 1968 to 1983, one of the longest-serving presidents of that institution. He led the transition of the municipal University of Wichita to a state university and its subsequent growth. A native of Wichita, Ahlberg earned his bachelor’s degree in political science from the University of Wichita in 1939. He earned his master’s and doctoral degrees from Syracuse University where he also served as an administrator and faculty member. After leaving Alaska, Ahlberg and his family returned to Kansas. He died at age 88 in 2007.

Marvin O. Looney

University of Alaska Anchorage
Chancellor
1987-1988

Dr. Marvin O. Looney became chancellor of the newly merged University of Alaska, Anchorage and Anchorage Community College in April 1987, after serving two years in Alaska as chancellor of the Community Colleges, Rural Education and Extension division (CCREE) of the University of Alaska. His tenure as chancellor was brief, just 10 months before the UAA/ACC Faculty Senate voted a resolution of “no confidence,” interpreted by some as an attempt to thwart the merger. Looney formally resigned in February 1988.

Looney grew up in Missouri and taught at Gainesville High School. He earned his doctorate in educational administration in 1962 from the University of Arkansas. Before coming to Alaska he served as president of Missouri Western State College from 1967 to 1983, where he transformed what had been a two-year institution into a four-year college. He returned to Missouri in 1990 and served as chancellor of the Southwest Missouri State University (now Missouri State University) campus in West Plains until retiring in 1998. In 2011, a renovated building for allied health and nursing programs at MSU was renamed in his honor. He continues to be active at the university.

Donald D. O’Dowd

University of Alaska Anchorage
Interim Chancellor
1988

Dr. Donald D. O’Dowd was appointed president of the University of Alaska system in 1984 and is the architect of the current University of Alaska system and today’s UAA. With the departure of Marvin Looney, O’Dowd served as UAA’s interim chancellor and UA president, commuting between Fairbanks and Anchorage.

President O’Dowd initially led an expanded and dispersed UA system of 14 separately accredited institutions. Within two years, the price of oil collapsed on world markets and O’Dowd was confronted with a major financial crisis caused by a dramatic fall in general fund revenues from the state. To deal with this he embarked on a highly controversial restructuring of the university. With the support of the Board of Regents, he merged the existing UA,A and ACC into the Anchorage campus of today’s UAA. Kenai Peninsula, Kodiak, and Mat-Su community colleges were added to form the new University of Alaska Anchorage.

O’Dowd served two years in the U.S. Army, earned a bachelor of arts, graduating summa cum laude, from Dartmouth College and was a Fulbright Scholar at the University of Edinburgh in Scotland. He earned his master of arts and doctorate in social psychology from Harvard University. From 1970 to 1979, he served as Oakland University’s president, and in 1981 its O’Dowd Hall was dedicated in his honor. O’Dowd served as the State University of New York system’s executive vice chancellor from 1980 to 1984. After leaving the University of Alaska in 1990, O’Dowd served as chair of the U.S. Arctic Research Commission until 1995 and as a senior consultant for the Association of Governing Boards of Colleges and Universities from 1991 to 1998. He lives in California.

Donald F. Behrend

University of Alaska Anchorage
 Chancellor
1988-1994

Dr. Donald Fraser Behrend came to Alaska in 1985 to serve as provost and vice president for academic affairs for the University of Alaska (UA) statewide system in Fairbanks. In 1988, he was named executive vice president and provost for the UA system. Behrend was a key figure in the statewide leadership team that addressed the 1986-87 fiscal crisis by reorganizing the university into its present form. In September 1988 he was named chancellor of UAA, after serving as temporary vice chancellor for academic affairs in addition to his full-time job in Fairbanks. He retired in 1994.

Behrend served in the U.S. Navy, then earned his bachelor’s in agriculture and wildlife management and a master’s in wildlife management from the University of Connecticut. He earned his doctorate in forest zoology from Syracuse University. After working as a wildlife manager, he became a senior research associate and director of the Adirondack Ecological Center at the State University of New York College (SUNY) of Environmental Science and Forestry, and went on to become vice president for academic affairs and professor for the environment and forest biology at SUNY. After retiring from UAA, Behrend returned to New York where he died in July 2010.

Edward Lee Gorsuch

University of Alaska Anchorage
Chancellor
1994-2004

Edward Lee Gorsuch joined the university in 1976 as the director of the Institute of Social and Economic Research, served as dean of the School of Public Affairs from 1988-1994, and was named chancellor in 1994, a position he held until June 2004.

The longest-serving chancellor, Gorsuch focused on long-range plans to improve the institution, including an academic plan, information technology infrastructure, and a master land use plan. The Student Commons is named Edward Lee Gorsuch Commons in his honor.

In addition to his work at the university, Gorsuch served as a frequent advisor to the executive and legislative branches of federal, state and local government on a number of public policy issues. He served six years on the Anchorage School Board and in 1996 was appointed by President Bill Clinton to the U.S. Arctic Research Commission.

He earned his bachelor of arts and master of arts from the University of Missouri at Columbia. After leaving UAA, Gorsuch served as president of City University of Seattle from 2006 to 2013 where he was lauded for advancing that institution’s academic rigor, international vision, and global partnerships. The Edward Lee Gorsuch Collaboration Room at City University is a tribute to the spirit of collaboration and gathering that he inspired there.

Elaine P. Maimon

University of Alaska Anchorage
Chancellor
2004-2007

Dr. Elaine P. Maimon was selected as chancellor in 2004. Before coming to UAA, she served eight years as vice president of Arizona State University and provost for ASU’s West Campus. During her tenure there, the campus transitioned from offering only upper division courses to a four-year undergraduate program.

At UAA, Maimon championed community engagement and the role of the university as a public square for the community. In 2006 UAA earn recognition from the Carnegie Foundation as one of 62 universities nationwide to receive the first designation “Community Engaged University.” She broke ground for the new Integrated Science Building and opened the Alaska Native Science and Engineering Program building. UAA completed its first-ever capital campaign, raising $13 million. She also led a period of academic expansion, including the first joint-doctoral program with UAF.

After leaving UAA in July 2007 she became the fifth president of Governors State University in Illinois. As of 2016, she continues in that role, where she once again led the transformation from an upper-division institution to a full-service comprehensive university, and pioneered an award-winning Dual Degree Program.

She is an expert in the teaching of writing and has published multiple editions of “A Writer’s Resource.” She is an active leader in higher education organizations, serving on numerous boards, including the American Council of Education. She earned her B.A., M.A. and Ph.D. in English at the University of Pennsylvania.

Frances A. Ulmer

University of Alaska Anchorage
Chancellor
2007-2011

Frances Ann "Fran" Ulmer was named chancellor of the University of Alaska Anchorage in 2007 after serving four years as director of the UAA Institute of Social and Economic Research. During her tenure, the ConocoPhillips Integrated Science Building opened, construction began on the Health Sciences Building, and a statewide general obligation bond passed in 2010 that funded construction and renovation projects on all UAA campuses, including the Alaska Airlines Center.

Ulmer came to Alaska in 1973 and began her life in public service as a director of Policy Development and Planning for then governor Jay Hammond. She then served in elected office for 18 years, first as Mayor of Juneau, four terms as a state representative, and as the first female lieutenant governor.

Ulmer earned her bachelor’s degree in economics and political science at the University of Wisconsin-Madison and her Juris Doctor, cum laude, from the University of Wisconsin Law School. She has been a Fellow at the Institute of Politics at the Kennedy School of Government at Harvard University. In March 2011 she was appointed to a four-year term as Chair of the U.S. Arctic Research and was appointed to a second four-year term in 2015. She remains active in Alaska, serving on numerous boards.

Thomas R. Case

University of Alaska Anchorage
Chancellor
2011-2017

Thomas R. “Tom” Case, a retired three-star Air Force and a former Commander of the Alaskan Command, Lt. General, was appointed chancellor of UAA in 2011.

Case served nearly six years as dean of UAA’s College of Business and Public Policy (CBPP) before becoming president and chief operating officer of the state-owned and operated Alaska Aerospace Corporation. As dean of CBPP, Case played an instrumental role in the formation of the Experimental Economics Laboratory as well as the distinguished Rasmuson Chair in Economics.

As chancellor, Case focused on UAA’s core mission of serving the higher education needs of the state and supporting student success. UAA continued to earn recognition as a military friendly institution and its designation as a Community Engaged University was reaffirmed. The new Arctic Domain Awareness Center, a Department of Homeland Security Center of Excellence, was opened. UAA also saw the opening of facilities for students and the community, including the Alaska Airlines Center, the Engineering & Industry Building, and the Parrish Bridge spanning Providence Drive on the Anchorage campus. In addition, Kenai Peninsula College opened its first residence hall and the new Career and Technical Center; Mat-Su College opened the Glenn Massay Theater.

Case earned a Master of Science degree in Systems Management from the University of Southern California, a Bachelor of Science from the U.S. Air Force Academy, as well as additional education from the National War College, the U.S. Army Command & General Staff College, the Air War College, and Emory University’s Advanced Management Program.

Case remains an active member of the Anchorage community, serving on numerous boards. In 2015, Case was elected to a three-year term as a commissioner for the Northwest Commission on Colleges and Universities where he served on the executive committee.

Case was named Chancellor Emeritus at the Spring Commencement ceremony at the Alaska Airlines Center on Sunday, May 7, 2017.

Samuel B. Gingerich

University of Alaska Anchorage
Interim Chancellor
2017-2018

Samuel Gingerich was appointed interim chancellor at the University of Alaska Anchorage effective July 1, 2017, upon the retirement of Chancellor Tom Case. Dr. Gingerich was UAA’s provost and executive vice chancellor since 2015. 

Dr. Gingerich previously served as system vice president for academic affairs for the South Dakota Board of Regents from 2006-2014, working to develop, implement and oversee academic programming for that state's public university system. In this role, he collaborated with faculty and administration, as well as with K-12 educators, to support an education enterprise to meet South Dakota’s needs and expectations.

He also served as provost and vice president for academic affairs at Mississippi University for Women from 2004 through 2006. He previously served as vice president for academic affairs and interim president at Mesa State College (now Colorado Mesa University) in Grand Junction, Colorado. 

Dr. Gingerich joined the faculty at Northern State University in Aberdeen, South Dakota in 1985, where he served as a tenured professor of Chemistry, chair of the Department of Math and Sciences, associate vice president for Research and Planning, and Vice President for Academic Affairs. 

Dr. Gingerich earned three degrees in chemistry: a Ph.D. from Montana State University, a M.S. from Cornell University and a B.A. from Goshen College. He has published more than 25 chapters, articles and abstracts about this work and made dozens of presentations at international and national meetings. 

He has worked with a number of programs sponsored by Chambers of Commerce in South Dakota and Colorado and been involved with and held a range of leadership positions with the United Way. 

Dr. Gingerich is most proud of the students with whom he's worked over the years who are now leading rewarding professional careers of their own as well as for the friends and colleagues he has mentored and who have mentored him.

Cathy Sandeen

University of Alaska Anchorage
Chancellor
2018-2020

Dr. Cathy Sandeen is an educational leader who is committed to providing opportunity for more Alaskans to earn degrees and credentials through strategic innovation. She began serving as chancellor of the University of Alaska Anchorage in September 2018.

Prior to joining the University of Alaska system, Sandeen was chancellor of the University of Wisconsin Colleges and UW-Extension for four years. As vice president for education attainment and innovation at the American Council on Education, she led ACE's nationwide effort to increase post-secondary educational attainment.

She also held leadership positions in the University of California system including at UCLA, Santa Cruz and San Francisco.

Sandeen earned a Ph.D. in communication from the University of Utah and a Master of Business Administration degree from the UCLA Anderson School of Management. She was named an American Council on Education Fellow in 2010-11.

A prolific writer and speaker, Sandeen has published and presented widely on the issues surrounding educational innovation and nontraditional students.

Bruce Schultz

University of Alaska Anchorage
Interim Chancellor
2021

Dr. Bruce Schultz served as UAA Interim Chancellor from Jan. 4 to June 11, 2021.

Prior to assuming the Interim Chancellor role, Schultz served as the Vice Chancellor for Student Affairs at the University of Alaska Anchorage (UAA) since 2009 and his career in ascending leadership roles at UAA spans nearly three decades. He began his professional career in student affairs in 1992 as the administrative coordinator of UAA’s Residence Life department. In 1995, he became the Associate Dean of Students and in 2005 the Dean of Students and Associate Vice Chancellor for Student Development. In February 2009, Schultz was appointed interim Vice Chancellor for Student Affairs with the full appointment occurring in June 2010.

As Vice Chancellor for Student Affairs, Schultz was responsible for advancing a student-centered agenda across the student life cycle in the functional areas of student affairs and campus services. As Vice Chancellor, he led the development of a culture of assessment in student affairs, championed the adoption of the EAB Student Success Collaborative, created the Military and Veterans Student Services Office, supported a multi-year transformation of UAA’s enrollment services operations and effectively restructured student affairs to improve effectiveness while addressing significant reductions in funding. From 2009 to 2020, Schultz co-chaired UAA’s Diversity Action Council which supported the development of UAA’s first Diversity and Inclusion Action Plan and the hiring of UAA’s first Chief Diversity Officer.

Schultz’s recent initiatives include serving on the UA Institutional Research Council, UA Human Resources Council and UA Student Services Council; managing UAA’s distribution of more than $5 million of CARES Act funding; leading the Anchorage campus transition to an online bookstore; transforming the transition to college experience for first-year students; creating synergy among student engagement and multicultural student programs; and, building more effective collaborations among the administrative services, academic affairs, university advancement and student affairs units to transform the total educational experience of students.

Dr. Schultz holds a bachelor's degree in International Business and German from the University of Wisconsin Oshkosh and a Master of Education in Student Affairs Administration in Higher Education from Ball State University. He received his doctorate in Educational and Organizational Leadership from the University of La Verne and his doctoral dissertation was a descriptive study of freshmen adjustment to college at the University of Alaska.