Woodbury University President Luis Calingo Invited to Join Presidents' Trust, AAC&U Leadership Initiative in Liberal Education

Move by Association of American Colleges & Universities Underscores Woodbury's Growing Role in Advancing Liberal Arts-Based Professional Programs. End Quote

Los Angeles-Long Beach, CA (1888PressRelease) March 20, 2015 - The Association of American Colleges & Universities (AAC&U) has invited Luis Maria R. Calingo, Ph.D, outgoing president of Woodbury University, to join the Presidents' Trust (http://www.aacu.org/leap/presidentstrust), a select network of roughly 100 presidents of AAC&U member institutions who are committed to providing vocal and influential leadership for liberal education in American higher education, the university announced today.

AAC&U is the leading national association concerned with the quality, vitality, and public standing of undergraduate liberal education. Its members are committed to extending the advantages of a liberal education to all students, regardless of academic specialization or intended career. Founded in 1915, AAC&U now comprises more than 1,300 member institutions - including accredited public and private colleges, community colleges, research universities, and comprehensive universities of every type and size.

AAC&U organizes its work around four broad goals:
o LEAP: Liberal Education as a Global Necessity
o Quality: 21st Century Markers for the Value of US Degrees
o Equity: Innovation, Inclusive Excellence, and Student Success
o Social Responsibility: Integrative Liberal Learning for the Global Commons

The Presidents' Trust is a leadership group within the LEAP initiative. The Trust consists of presidents from all sectors of higher education who are committed to advocating for the vision, values, and practices that connect liberal education with the needs of the 21st Century. The role of Trust members is to engage with campus and key external stakeholders about the core purposes and practices of liberal education, and to provide leadership for advancing reforms in the practice of liberal education both on campus and with other groups and organizations with which they are affiliated.

Last year, Dr. Calingo was named to a new steering committee of university presidents, chartered to assess the future of independent colleges. That panel is a joint project of the Council of Independent Colleges (CIC) and the Lumina Foundation, the nation's largest private foundation focused solely on increasing Americans' success in higher education.

"The significance of the AAC&U invitation is the recognition that Woodbury University is a school that is committed to liberal education," Dr. Calingo said. "Membership on the CIC and AAC&U leadership groups demonstrates peer recognition that Woodbury is no longer a business training school, but an institution that has not only truly embraced, but has also assumed a leadership role in advancing, liberal arts-based professional education."

An international expert in strategic planning and quality management, Dr. Calingo has assisted the governments of Indonesia, Mongolia, Pakistan, the Philippines, Sri Lanka, Thailand, and Vietnam on the establishment and implementation of their national awards for quality and business excellence, as well as the infusion of quality assurance into their higher education systems. He has served as a member of the Board of Examiners of the Malcolm Baldrige National Quality Award, the country's highest award for quality and performance excellence, since 1997. In February, the university announced that Dr. Calingo will step down at the conclusion of the current academic year rather than seek another term.

Dr. Calingo's professional interests include servant leadership, strategic planning, total quality management and international business with a focus on Southeast Asia. He holds a Ph.D. from the University of Pittsburgh, an MBA from the University of Pittsburgh, a Master of Urban and Regional Planning from the University of the Philippines, and a B.S. in industrial engineering from the University of the Philippines.

About Woodbury University
Founded in 1884, Woodbury University is one of the oldest institutions of higher education in Southern California. Woodbury offers bachelor's degrees from the School of Architecture, School of Business, School of Media, Culture & Design, and College of Transdisciplinarity, along with a Master of Arts (MA) in Media for Social Justice, Master of Architecture (MArch), Master of Interior Architecture (MIA), Master of Science in Architecture (MSArch), and Master of Leadership. The San Diego campus offers Bachelor of Architecture and Master of Architecture degrees, as well as an MSArch degree with concentrations in Real Estate Development and Landscape + Urbanism. Woodbury ranks 15th among the nation's "25 Colleges That Add the Most Value," according to Money Magazine. Visit www.woodbury.edu for more information.

Media Contact:
Ken Greenberg
Edge Communications, Inc.
(323) 469-3397
ken ( @ ) edgecommunicationsinc dot com

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