CUMU Holds Executive Committee Elections in Denver

The Coalition of Urban and Metropolitan Universities (CUMU) is proud to announce its 2017/18 executive committee. Elections were held October 9, 2017, at the CUMU Annual Conference, which was hosted in Denver, Colorado. Executive committee members are presidents and chancellors of CUMU member institutions and serve two-year terms in their respective positions.

The executive committee members were selected for their demonstrated commitment to the CUMU mission of promoting and enhancing urban and metropolitan universities. In particular, these newest appointees are distinguished for their dedication to building relationships between higher education institutions and their communities through civic engagement, economic development, and public policy objectives.

Welcome Bill Fritz

Dr. William J. Fritz, president of the College of Staten Island, has been elected to the executive committee as a member-at-large. Dr. Fritz was appointed as president of the College of Staten Island in 2014. He received his B.S. and M.S. in biology from Walla Walla College and a Ph.D. in geology from the University of Montana. Dr. Fritz serves as the seventh president of the College of Staten Island and its predecessor institutions Staten Island Community College and Richmond College.

I am pleased and excited to have been elected as a member at large of the executive committee of the Coalition of Urban and Metropolitan Universities (CUMU). During my tenure, I will strive to advance CUMU’s mission of promoting and strengthening urban universities and their communities through economic progress, inclusion, civic education and participation, public policy achievements, and improved relationships between member institutions.
—William J. Fritz

Re-elections

Dr. Linda Bennett, president of the University of Southern Indiana was re-elected to a member at large position for the 2017–2019 term. Dr. Bennett became the third president of the University of Southern Indiana in July 2009, after having served as provost and vice president for academic affairs since 2003. In her first year as president, she led the effort to establish the university’s first strategic plan.

Dr. Tomas D. Morales, president of California State University, San Bernardino, was also re-elected as a member at large. He is the university’s fourth president since it opened in 1965. Previously, Morales was president of the College of Staten Island, The City University of New York (CUNY), since 2007.

Welcome to Bill Fritz and congratulations to Drs. Bennett and Morales on their re-election to the board. We look forward to the 2017–2019 term!