The Coalition of Urban and Metropolitan Universities is pleased to announce its 2023–2025 board of directors, which is made up of presidents and chancellors of CUMU member institutions. Elections were held on October 17, 2023 during the CUMU presidents’ council meeting.
“Urban and metropolitan campuses are on the front lines of many of higher education’s most critical issues. Members of the CUMU board of directors recognize the evolving and critical role their campuses play in the lives of their students and the well-being of their regions,” said CUMU Executive Director Valerie Holton. “I want to thank our newly elected and returning executive committee members for their leadership and commitment to the CUMU mission.”
Board members are nominated and elected to two-year terms by peers from CUMU member institutions. Each has a demonstrated commitment to the CUMU mission of promoting and enhancing urban and metropolitan universities.
Kristin Sobolik elected board chair
Kristin Sobolik, chancellor, University of Missouri–St. Louis
“The need for higher education to illustrate its relevancy and help enact positive results for people, and our communities is increasingly imperative. An essential partner in our efforts to amplify our impact nationally is the Coalition of Urban and Metropolitan Universities. As newly-elected chair of the CUMU Board of Directors, I look forward to working with our more than 120 member institutions who collectively advance educational access and degree attainment; elevate workforce and economic development; and build civic and cultural engagement across our nation’s most populous and economically important metropolitan regions.”
Ellen Neufeldt elected vice chair and treasurer
Ellen Neufeldt, president, Cal State University, San Marcos
“As an anchor university in our region, CSUSM is deeply committed to the idea that our success is intertwined with the success of the communities we serve. We’re proud to be a part of CUMU, an organization that understands the unique challenges and opportunities universities like ours face. Together, we strive to foster student success, upward social mobility, and workforce development, ensuring that our students and our region rise together.”
New members-at-large, 2022–2024
Steven Angle, chancellor, University of Tennessee at Chattanooga
“I am delighted to be elected as a member of the CUMU Board. The University of Tennessee at Chattanooga is one of the founding members of CUMU, and we remain committed to advancing the goals of the organization, which align directly with our mission as Chattanooga’s University. I look forward to sharing and learning about best practices of our member institutions as we strive to serve both our students and our communities.”
Loren Blanchard, president, University of Houston-Downtown
“To say that I am honored to join the board of the Coalition for Urban and Metropolitan Universities is an understatement. The urban university has the greatest power to restore the public’s confidence in higher education. Urban institutions are positioned to promote justice and increase sustainability through partnerships with local agencies on initiatives that aim, with intention, to influence positive outcomes for the greater social and economic good. Because CUMU brings together urban and metropolitan universities across our nation for discourse, research, and public advocacy, the Coalition has the greatest potential to restore not only local trust in higher education, but national trust as well, by fostering actual rather than merely aspirational impact. The campus I lead — the University of Houston Downtown — is situated in downtown Houston with a student body drawn largely from local, most-often impoverished, communities. For us, reciprocity between the city and the university isn’t simply appealing, it is morally imperative. As a new board member, I look forward to learning from and contributing to the great work of the Coalition for Urban and Metropolitan Universities.”
Kenneth Jessell, president, Florida International University
“As the president of one of the largest public, R1 universities in the nation, I look forward to serving on the board of CUMU. Our member institutions are breaking ground and have a responsibility to lead the way for the future of higher education. We are essential to the economic prosperity of our urban areas and CUMU is helping us share best practices in student success, research and so much more.”
Antonio Tillis, chancellor, Rutgers University–Camden
“Colleges and universities seated in urban and metropolitan areas have a fundamental responsibility to aid in the transformation of the communities in which they sit with access, affordability, and social mobility as north stars. Further, it is the role of these academic institutions to partner with municipal government and the private sector to educate and elevate for the common good.”
Members-at-large continuing their 2022–2024 terms
- Angelo Araimo, president, Wagner College
- Virginia (Ginny) Arthur, president, Metropolitan State University
- Frank D. Gilliam, Jr., chancellor, University of North Carolina at Greensboro
- Ken Iwama, chancellor, Indiana University Northwest
- Joanne Li, chancellor, University of Nebraska at Omaha
- Deidra Peaslee, president, Saint Paul College
- Paul Pribbenow, president, Augsburg University
Re-elected members-at-large, 2023–2025
- Sandra Haynes, chancellor, Washington State University, Tri-Cities
- Thomas Parham, president, California State University, Dominguez Hills
CEO of administrative headquarters (ex officio)
- Mark R. Ginsberg, president, Towson University