National Association of Governing Boards Hires Former UL System President Sally Clausen

WASHINGTON, D.C. – Former University of Louisiana System President Sally Clausen has been named executive director of the Ingram Center for Public Trusteeship and Governance for the Association of Governing Boards of Universities and Colleges (AGB).  In this role, Clausen will travel across the country to assist governing and foundation boards In strengthening their relationships with state officials and campus leaders.

 

“We are very pleased to have someone of Dr. Clausen’s stature, knowledge, and experience in this strategically important position,” said AGB President Richard D. Legon. “She has strong ties to AGB, having served as the chair of our Council of Presidents, and will be an excellent leader for our public policy and state-based work.”

 

Clausen’s background in higher education is varied.  In addition to serving seven years as UL System President, she was an adjunct faculty member, secretary of education, university president, and commissioner of higher education. She holds a doctorate of education in school administration, a master’s degree in special education/ psychology, and a bachelor’s degree in education from Louisiana State University.

 

“Louisiana higher education is still reaping the rewards from the hard work and leadership of Sally Clausen, and I have personally benefitted over the past year from her friendship and wise counsel. I have such great respect for her accomplishments as she blazed a trail for women in Louisiana higher education, and I am happy we can all continue to learn from her in this new role,” said Sandra Woodley, who became President of the UL System in 2013 after serving in top higher education administrative roles in Texas, Arizona, Kentucky, and Alabama.

 

As Louisiana’s Commissioner of Higher Education, Dr. Clausen spearheaded the creation of a performance-based funding formula that rewards outcomes for all two-and four-year universities.  She also collaborated with legislators to pass a state law that guarantees all students who earn an associate’s degree can transfer to any public four-year university in the state.  As UL System President, she oversaw the raising of standards for all system universities, led an inaugural pilot study on the role of system head leadership in addressing barriers to college student success, initiated a presidents’ task force to improve graduation rates, and secured a $1.2 million federal grant to establish a system wide service-learning initiative.

 

“It comes as no surprise that Dr. Sally Clausen has been tapped by a national higher education organization as she was consistently on the forefront of national initiatives like Access to Success and performance funding years before her peers across the country.  I am happy to know others will benefit from her dynamic leadership,” said D. Wayne Parker, who served as chair from 2012-2013 and is a current member of the UL System Board of Supervisors.

 

“I have had the privilege of serving on multiple private and state higher education boards over the years, working directly with Sally Clausen while she was a university president and a system leader. Dr. Clausen is hands-down the best educator I have worked with, and she will be a fantastic addition to AGB’s team,” said Michael Woods, who served as chair of the UL System Board of Supervisors from 2004-2005.

 

In addition to her work in Louisiana, Clausen has served in a variety of prestigious national appointments including on the College and Career Ready Policy Institute, as a member of the Lumina Foundation Research Advisory Committee, on the executive committee of the State Higher Education Executive Officers (SHEEO), as vice president of the National Association of System Heads (NASH), as a member of the New York-based College Board’s Center for Innovative Thought, and as vice chair of the Southern Regional Education Board’s executive and finance committees. She was cited in the book, The Entrepreneurial College President (ACE, 2004) for her “entrepreneurial leadership and prudent risk taking.”

 

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ABOUT AGB: The Association of Governing Boards of Universities and Colleges is the only national association that serves the interests and needs of academic governing boards, boards of institutionally related foundations, campus CEOs, and other senior-level campus administrators on issues related to higher education governance and leadership. See www.AGB.org.

 

ABOUT THE UL SYSTEM: The largest higher education system in Louisiana, the UL system enrolls 90,000 students at Grambling State University, Louisiana Tech University, McNeese State University, Nicholls State University, Northwestern State University, Southeastern Louisiana University, the University of Louisiana at Lafayette, the University of Louisiana at Monroe, and the University of New Orleans.  For more information about the UL System visit www.ulsystem.edu.