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UNCA Chancellor named to national Campus Compact board

chancellor_grantMary K. Grant, Ph.D., Chancellor of the University of North Carolina at Asheville, was recently named Vice Chair of the Board of Directors of Campus Compact, the nonprofit coalition of more than 1,100 college and university presidents – representing some 6 million students – who are committed to fulfilling the civic purposes of higher education.

Dr. Grant assumed her post on July 1 and serves as one of two Vice Chairs, along with Dr. Shouan Pan, president of Mesa Community College in Arizona.

“I’m honored to serve as vice chair of the board of such an important coalition of colleges and universities,” said Mary K. Grant, Chancellor, UNC Asheville.  “The values of Campus Compact are at the very core of higher education’s service to the public good and I look forward to my new role with this outstanding organization as we continue the important work of putting those values to practice.”

At the same meeting, Campus Compact’s Board of Directors elected four new members: Dr. Charlene Dukes, president of Prince George’s Community College; Dr. Robert J. Jones, president of the University at Albany; Dr. Jean MacCormack, president of the Edward M. Kennedy Institute for the United States Senate; and Dr. Karen A. Stout, president and CEO of Achieving the Dream, Inc.  All were elected to serve three-year terms.

“A respected colleague in higher education, Mary will be a great addition to our board’s leadership,” said Campus Compact Board Chair Richard Guarasci, Ph.D., president of Wagner College.  “Her expertise and dedication will help us ensure the effectiveness of our work as we look to advance initiatives to support campuses as they prepare students for lives of citizenship and develop strong community partnerships.”

The Campus Compact board consists of a distinguished group of college and university presidents from across the country representing all segments of higher education, as well as representatives from the philanthropic, business, and public interest communities.  The Board guides the organization in its mission of deepening higher education’s ability to improve community life and educate students for civic and social responsibility.

“Mary Grant is an insightful and experienced leader who is deeply committed to the public purposes of higher education,” said Campus Compact President Andrew J. Seligsohn, Ph.D.  “She has made major contributions to our network as Chair of the Board of Massachusetts Campus Compact and a member of our national board, and I am thrilled that she has agreed to take on this national leadership role.”

Grant was appointed UNC Asheville’s seventh chancellor in August 2014 and began leadership of UNC Asheville in January 2015. Before coming to Asheville, she served for 12 years as president of Massachusetts College of Liberal Arts (MCLA), in North Adams, Massachusetts.

North Carolina Campus Compact Executive Director Leslie Garvin is excited that Dr. Grant is now part of the North Carolina network.

“My colleagues from Massachusetts Campus Compact have raved about Chancellor Grant and have told me how lucky we are to have her now in North Carolina,” says Garvin. “I spent some time with her at the national meeting in June and I can see that she is a great champion for higher education engagement.”

UNC Asheville first joined North Carolina Campus Compact (and thus national Campus Compact) in 2007 under former Chancellor Anne Ponder. The university is an active member of the statewide network, and service-learning and community engagement programs have continued to expand with support from offices like the Key Center for Service-Learning and the Office of School and Community Outreach Programs and Partnerships. For the past four years, the Key Center has hosted a North Carolina Campus Compact AmeriCorps VISTA to support the development of new campus-community partnerships and expand engagement opportunities like MLK Day of Service.

Grant holds a Ph.D. in social policy from The Heller School at Brandeis University, a master’s degree in public affairs from the John W. McCormack Graduate School of Policy and Global Studies at UMass Boston, and a bachelor’s degree in sociology from Massachusetts College of Liberal Arts.  In 2012, Grant received an honorary degree from Williams College.

In addition to her work with Campus Compact, Grant’s service includes Campus Commonwealth Covenant Fund, MassINC, Norman Rockwell Museum, John Adams Innovation Institute, and University of Massachusetts Boston Board of Visitors, among others. She also served on the Massachusetts Governor’s Science, Technology, Engineering and Math (STEM) Advisory Council and was chair of the Council of Presidents of the Massachusetts Statewide University System; chair of the board of the Massachusetts Campus Compact; and president of the board of the Council of Public Liberal Arts Colleges (COPLAC), of which MCLA and UNC Asheville are members.

This post is an slightly edited version of a press release issued by national Campus Compact on July 22, 2015.

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