Stephen H. Balch is the founder and president of the National Association of Scholars, America’s largest membership organization of scholars committed to higher education reform. He holds a Ph.D. in political science from the University of California at Berkeley and for fourteen years taught at John Jay College of Criminal Justice of the City University of New York. He is a trustee of the American Council of Trustees and Alumni and has helped found four other higher education reform organizations.
Richard J. Bishirjian is president and professor of government at Yorktown University, an online university that espouses classical education. Bishirjian has a Ph.D. in government and international studies from the University of Notre Dame and has studied under philosopher Eric Voegelin and political theorist Michael Oakeshott. He is the author of a history of political theory and editor of A Public Philosophy Reader.
James “Earl” Danieley was president of Elon College (now Elon University) from 1957 to 1973, after serving as a professor of chemistry and dean of the college. He joined the Elon faculty in 1946, the year he received his bachelor’s degree in chemistry. He received his Ph.D. in chemistry from the University of North Carolina. Danieley has a special interest in parliamentary procedure, which he has taught as a college course since 1947.
Candace de Russy is a nationally recognized writer and lecturer on education and cultural issues and a frequent commentator on the Phi Beta Cons blog of National Review Online. She has just completed twelve years as a trustee of the State University of New York, where she served on the executive committee for several years. She is chair of the Ave Maria University Board of Regents and an adjunct fellow at the Hudson Institute. She has a doctorate in French from Tulane University.
Willie J. Gilchrist has been chancellor of Elizabeth City State University since March 2007. Before becoming interim chancellor in 2006, he was superintendent of Halifax County (N. C.) Schools and served on the UNC Board of Governors from 2001 until 2006. He has a bachelor’s degree from Elizabeth City State, a master’s degree from Brockport State University in New York, and a doctorate of education in administration from Nova Southeastern University in Florida.
Elizabeth Kantor, author of The Politically Incorrect Guide to English and American Literature (Regnery, 2006), is editor of the Conservative Book Club and a frequent blogger and commentator on education. She earned her M.A. and Ph.D. in English from the University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill (she also has an M.A. in philosophy from Catholic University).
Jean Kitchin recently completed eight years of service on the UNC-Chapel Hill board of trustees, where she was secretary for four years and vice chairman for two. A graduate of UNC-Chapel Hill, Kitchin has hosted and produced numerous television shows including “Tar Heel Chefs” on UNC-TV and ”Tar Heel People” on WRPX. She is the author of two cookbooks.
Harry R. Lewis was dean of Harvard College from 1995 to 2003. He is the author of Excellence without a Soul: How a Great University Forgot Education, published in 2005 (the paperback appeared this August). Lewis has a bachelor’s degree form Harvard and a Ph.D. in Applied Mathematics from Harvard. He became the Gordon McKay Professor of Computer Science at Harvard in 1981 and in 2003 was named Harvard College Professor. During the Vietnam War, Lewis served as a commissioned officer in the U.S. Public Health Service and also worked at the National Institutes of Health in Bethesda, Maryland. He is the author of five books and numerous articles on computer science.
Harold Lee Martin Sr. is senior vice president for academic affairs for the University of North Carolina. Before joining the UNC general administration in 2006, he was chancellor of Winston-Salem State University, where he guided the university as it moved from classification as a “Baccalaureate I” school to a “Master’s II” institution. Martin received his bachelor’s and master’s of science degrees in electrical engineering from N.C. A & T State and has a Ph.D. from Virginia Polytechnic Institute and State University.
Velma Montoya is a consultant and writer about higher education. She was a member of the University of California Board of Regents from 1994 to 2005. She received her bachelor’s degree from Occidental College, has master’s degrees from both the Fletcher School of Law and Diplomacy and Stanford, and received her Ph.D. in economics from U.C.L. A. She has taught economics or finance at California State Polytechnic University, Pepperdine, and U.C.L.A.
Michael Munger is a professor of political science and the chair of the political science department at Duke University. Known for his free-market views, he is a candidate for governor of North Carolina on the Libertarian Party ticket. He received his Ph.D. in Political Economy from Washington University in St. Louis and has taught at several colleges since, including UNC-Chapel Hill.
James Bernard Murphy is a professor of government at Dartmouth College. He is the author of The Philosophy of Positive Law (Yale Press, 2005) and The Moral Economy of Labor: Aristotelian Themes in Economic Theory (Yale Press, 1993). He has a Ph.D. in philosophy and political science from Yale. He is an advocate of a strong core curriculum for undergraduates.
Russell K. Nieli is a lecturer in Princeton University’s politics department. Author of a major study of the philosopher Ludwig Wittgenstein, Nieli has written numerous articles on public policy topics and edited an anthology of writings on affirmative action. A Duke graduate, Nieli received his Ph.D. from Princeton in 1979. He has written two studies for the J. W. Pope Center. The most recent is “From Christian Gentleman to Bewildered Seeker: The Transformation of American Higher Education.”
Robert L. Paquette is Publius Virgilius Rogers Professor of American History at Hamilton College. In 2006, he co-founded the Alexander Hamilton Center for the Study of Western Civilization, but administration of Hamilton reneged on its original agreement, and the project collapsed. Paquette received his B. A. from Bowling Green State University and his Ph.D. from the University of Rochester. He has published numerous books on the history of slavery.
Todd J. Zywicki is a professor of law at George Mason University School of Law. From 2003-2004, he was director of the Office of Policy Planning at the Federal Trade Commission. He is one of the “Top 50 Most Downloaded Law Authors“ in the Society Science Research Network. Zywicki was elected an alumni trustee at Dartmouth College in 2005, winning a hotly contested race as a “dark-horse” candidate whose name was put on the ballot by petition.