Contacts:
Julia Kent, CGS
(202) 223-3791 / jkent@cgs.nche.edu

Washington, DC — The Council of Graduate Schools (CGS) has announced that Robert M. (Bob) Augustine, Dean of the Graduate School, Research and International Programs at Eastern Illinois University (EIU), has been appointed to a two-year term as the Council’s Senior Vice President. In addition to serving two terms as President of the Illinois Association of Graduate Schools, Augustine served on the CGS Board of Directors from 2011 to 2014 and held the position of Board Chair in 2013. He will join CGS on August 1, 2015.

The newly created Senior Vice President’s role will expand the services that CGS provides to master’s-focused institutions. Working with colleagues in CGS’s Best Practices division, Augustine will be responsible for developing an infrastructure for research on issues related to the master’s degree and for delivering programs relevant to the needs of master’s-focused institutions. He will also be responsible for the management and convening of the CGS Master’s Committee.

“For a number of years now, Bob Augustine has shared his deep knowledge of trends in master’s education with CGS members through board service and voluntary leadership roles in CGS meetings,” said CGS President Suzanne T. Ortega. “I am delighted that he will be extending his impact in this important area, and in graduate education more broadly, as a member of CGS’s leadership staff.”

Augustine will bring to CGS diverse experience in developing best practices for serving master’s degree students. During his tenure as graduate dean, EIU’s graduate school earned the ETS/Midwestern Association of Graduate School’s Award for Excellence in Graduate Education for the First Choice Graduate Programs Initiative. His institution was also awarded the ETS/CGS Award for Promoting Success in Graduate Education for developing the Integrative Graduate Studies Institute, as well as the CGS/TIAA-CREF Award for Enhancing Financial Literacy, which allowed EIU to launch a center devoted to Literacy in Financial Education.

Commenting on the appointment, Augustine said, “I am energized by this fantastic opportunity to contribute to the mission and values of the graduate community through the work of the Council of Graduate Schools. I look forward to advancing my new priorities as Senior Vice President.”

Augustine holds a PhD in communication sciences and disorders from Southern Illinois University at Carbondale, where he earned a Department Distinguished Alumni Award. Following clinical experience in speech-language pathology, he launched an early intervention language clinic focusing on integrative language strategies at EIU. Augustine guided expansion of the program, launched the first technology-enhanced courses, and developed the program’s first international outreach efforts before becoming Dean of the EIU Graduate School in 2000.