Contact:
Julia Kent
(202) 223-3791
jkent@cgs.nche.edu

Three New Members to Join Board in 2015

Washington, DC – The Council of Graduate Schools (CGS) Board of Directors has announced its officers for the 2015 term. CGS is governed by a 12-member Board of Directors drawn from member institutions. Board members serve for set terms.

Dr. Barbara Knuth, Vice Provost and Dean of the Graduate School at Cornell University, as the 2015 Board Chair was announced at the conclusion of the 2014 CGS Annual Meeting. Serving in her role at Cornell since 2010, Knuth has enhanced her university’s professional development program for graduate students to focus on supporting students to work effectively with their graduate committees and to foster transferable skills relevant to academic and non-academic career paths. Since she became dean, all graduate degree programs have articulated specific learning outcomes and have implemented assessment plans focused on program improvement. Knuth joined the Cornell faculty in 1986 as an assistant professor of natural resource policy. She holds a bachelor of philosophy degree in interdisciplinary studies, a bachelor’s in zoology, and a master’s in environmental science, all from Miami University, and a PhD in fisheries and wildlife sciences from Virginia Tech.   

“In her role as graduate dean, Dr. Knuth has been at the forefront of the pressing issues graduate schools are facing today,” said CGS President Suzanne T. Ortega. “Her expertise and leadership will help CGS chart ambitious goals for meeting the evolving needs of our member institutions.”

The new Chair-elect is Mark J. T. Smith, Dean of the Graduate School at Purdue University. Dr. Smith will serve in this role in 2015 and will become the board chair at the conclusion of the 2015 Annual Meeting. A member of the faculty in Electrical and Computer Engineering, Smith was appointed graduate dean in 2009. His scholarly interests are in the area of digital signal processing. He is a Fellow of the IEEE (Institute of Electrical and Electronics Engineers), and is a former IEEE Distinguished Lecturer. He has authored many technical papers, six international standards publications, three textbooks, and two edited books, the most recent of which is the 2014 edited book GPS for Graduate School—Students Share Their Stories.

Beginning three-year terms on the board on January 1 are Maria Di Stefano, Associate Provost and Dean, Graduate Studies at Truman State University; Janet Rutledge, Vice Provost and Dean of the Graduate School at the University of Maryland, Baltimore County; and Christopher Sindt, Vice Provost, Graduate and Professional Studies at Saint Mary’s University of California.

James Wimbush, Vice President for Diversity, Equity, and Multicultural Affairs and Dean of the University Graduate School at Indiana University, will remain on CGS’s Executive Committee for one year as immediate past chair.

“I am honored to have worked with Dr. Wimbush during his term as CGS Board Chair,” Ortega said. “He has contributed greatly to the success of graduate students at his institution and to the enterprise of graduate education worldwide.”