Jana M. Hanson joined South Dakota State University in August 2015 as the Director of Institutional Assessment. Prior to this appointment, she was a research analyst in the Department of Institutional Effectiveness at Kirkwood Community College in Cedar Rapids, IA. She received her Ph.D. in Higher Education and Student Affairs from The University of Iowa in 2013. As the director, Hanson is responsible for leading, maintaining, and improving institution-wide assessment programs that focus on student learning outcomes and institutional improvement; interpreting assessment results and training others in assessment, including mentoring for the formation of measurable learning outcomes.
Archives: People
James Goodman is the dean of arts & sciences at Leeward Community College in Pearl City, Hawaiʻi. He has chaired his campus’ developmental education committee and has worked with his faculty to develop several programs including the A.S. in Natural Sciences. He participated in the Interstate Passport in 2012 as chair of the interstate faculty team for written communication and later recruited faculty to serve on the interstate teams for other knowledge and skill areas. Previously, he was an associate professor in art and served as faculty senate chair. Goodman earned his bachelor’s degree and master’s degree at the University of Hawai‘i at Mānoa.
George Mehaffy is a senior advisor for Sola Solutions, a position he has held since October 2019 when he retired after 20 years as the vice president for Academic Leadership and Change at the American Association of State Colleges and Universities (AASCU) in Washington, D.C., a higher education association representing 420 public colleges and universities and their 3.9 million students. He has directed a number of innovative projects, including international programs with China and Liberia; a technology transformation annual conference with EDUCAUSE and the University of Central Florida; a transfer articulation project with community colleges; two major national studies of student success, and a number of other initiatives. He has more than 20 years of teaching and administrative experience in higher education in Texas, New Mexico, and California, and served for 33 years in the United States Coast Guard Reserve, retiring as a Captain (0-6) in 2000. He earned a doctorate in education at The University of Texas at Austin.
Francisco Rodriguez, Co-Chair, began his tenure as chancellor of the Los Angeles Community College District (LACCD) on June 1, 2014. Prior to his appointment as head of the nation’s largest community college district, Dr. Rodriguez served as superintendent/ president at MiraCosta Community College District (Oceanside, CA) for five years and president at Cosumnes River College (Sacramento, CA) for six years. Born and raised in San Francisco, Rodriguez attended the University of California, Davis, where he earned a bachelor’s degree in Chicano studies and his master’s degree in community development. He received his Ph.D. in education from Oregon State University and serves as a lecturer in the doctoral education programs at Sacramento State University and at San Diego State University. He was a WICHE Commissioner from April 2017 until May 2020. LACCD’s nine colleges, which serve over 250,000 students, recently joined the Interstate Passport Network.
Dianne Harrison is the fifth president of California State University, Northridge and began her appointment in June 2012. From 2006 to June 2012, she served as president of California State University, Monterey Bay. She served for nearly 30 years at Florida State University in various capacities, first as a faculty member, then as dean of social work, associate vice president for academic affairs, dean of graduate studies and vice president for academic quality and external programs. She is known for her commitment to students, academic excellence and strategic leadership. She holds a Ph.D. in social work from Washington University in St. Louis and a Master’s of Social Work and a bachelor’s in American Studies, both from the University of Alabama. A prolific researcher and writer, Harrison has published dozens of articles and two books. She served as a WICHE Commissioner from May 2011 until May 2020.
Diana Natalicio was named president emerita of The University of Texas at El Paso (UTEP) in August 2019 and continues as a professor of language and linguistics. During her long and distinguished career with the university, she has served as vice president for academic affairs, dean of liberal arts, and chair of the Modern Languages Department. Natalicio is the recipient of the Harold W. McGraw, Jr. Prize in Education, was inducted into the Texas Women’s Hall of Fame, and was honored with the Distinguished Alumnus Award at The University of Texas at Austin. She is the recipient of honorary doctoral degrees from Georgetown University, Smith College, and the Universidad Autónoma de Nuevo León (Mexico). A graduate of St. Louis University, Natalicio earned a master’s degree in Portuguese and a doctorate in linguistics from The University of Texas at Austin.
Debora Halbert is the associate vice president for academic programs and policy at the University of Hawai‘i System where she works on student success and transfer related issues. Prior to her current position, she was the associate vice chancellor for academic affairs at the University of Hawai‘i at Mānoa. She received her B.A. and M.A. from Western Washington University and her Ph.D. in political science from the University of Hawai‘i at Mānoa. Prior to returning to Hawai‘i where she was a professor in the political science department teaching law, policy and also futures studies, she taught for 12 years at Otterbein University in Westerville, Ohio. The University of Hawai’i System is comprised of three universities and seven community colleges; all are members of the Interstate Passport Network.
Dave Woolstenhulme became Commissioner of Higher Education on July 1, 2020, after serving as Interim Commissioner of Higher Education since July 2019 for the Utah System of Higher Education. Previously, he served as vice president of statewide campuses for Utah State University, a position he held since 2018. Prior to that he served as the Utah commissioner of technical education where he was the CEO for the Utah System of Technical Colleges, providing state-level leadership and oversight for the eight technical colleges in Utah. He also served as executive vice provost at USU, as well as president of Uintah Basin Applied Technology College. Dr. Woolstenhulme received his bachelor’s and master’s degrees from Utah State University, and his doctorate of education from the University of Wyoming. He has served as a WICHE Commissioner from July 2019 to the present. The Utah State Higher Education system with its ten public colleges and universities are members of the Interstate Passport Network.
Dave Singleton is the academic officer and student ombudsman for the Nevada System of Higher Education. In this role, David oversees transfer and articulation policies and responds to questions and inquiries from students and faculty about transfer and articulation. Prior to joining the system office in 2018, David served as an academic advisor for nearly a decade at four institutions-three of which are in Nevada. David has a bachelor’s degree in communication from the University of Missouri, a master’s degree in education from Illinois State University, and is currently pursuing a doctorate in educational leadership from Grand Canyon University.