Converse College President Krista Newkirk has been appointed to the Board of Directors of the National Association of Independent Colleges and Universities (NAICU). Newkirk is elected to a three-year term ending in June 2024 and is appointed as the Region IV representative (Florida, Georgia, North Carolina, South Carolina, Virginia) alongside eight individuals representing the Association’s eight national regions.
NAICU serves as the national voice of independent higher education and reflects the diversity of private, nonprofit higher education in the United States. Member institutions include major research universities, church-related colleges, historically black colleges, art and design colleges, traditional liberal arts and science institutions, women’s colleges, two-year colleges, and schools of law, medicine, engineering, business, and other professions.
“I am honored to serve on the NAICU Board of Directors and represent the southeast regional states,” said Converse President Krista Newkirk. “Their advocacy focus of securing COVID financial relief and increasing federal student aid – among many issues – has far-reaching implications for our institutions and our students. I look forward to working with the NAICU team and member presidents to achieve our goals.”
Newkirk joins the NAICU Board of Directors along with a new board chair, four new board officers, and fourteen new board members who will take office on July 1, 2021. NAICU board members set the Association’s agenda on federal higher education policy, actively encourage support for the Association’s priorities and initiatives, and oversee the organization’s financial administration.
About NAICU
NAICU serves as the unified national voice of independent higher education and reflects the diversity of private, nonprofit higher education in the U.S. NAICU member institutions include major research universities, faith-based colleges, historically black colleges and universities, minority-serving institutions, art and design colleges, traditional liberal arts and science institutions, women’s colleges, two-year colleges, and schools of law, medicine, engineering, business, and other professions. With more than 5 million students attending 1,700 independent colleges and universities in all 50 states, and more than 1 million employees, the private sector of American higher education has a dramatic impact on our nation’s larger public interests.