UH vice president elected to WASC Accrediting Commission for Senior Colleges and Universities

University of Hawaiʻi
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Posted: May 21, 2007


HONOLULU — University of Hawaiʻi Vice President for Academic Planning and Policy Linda Johnsrud has been elected to the Western Association of Schools and Colleges‘ (WASC) Accrediting Commission for Senior Colleges and Universities. Johnsrud is one of eight new commissioners elected to the Commission for a three-year term, to begin in July.

"Dr. Johnsrud will be joining the Accrediting Commission at a significant time in the history of WASC and accreditation. The federal government is currently developing new regulations affecting accreditation and higher education on accountability issues, and the Senior College Commission is in the process of revising and updating its Handbook. Both processes will have significant impact on all higher education in the WASC region, and the University of Hawaiʻi," said Ralph Wolff, president and executive director of WASC‘s Accrediting Commission for Senior Colleges and Universities. "Dr. Johnsrud brings to the Commission considerable expertise in academic and strategic planning, outcomes assessment and accountability.

"The Senior College Commission accredits 149 institutions serving over 800,000 students in California, Hawaiʻi and the Pacific Islands. It is one of seven regional accrediting commissions, and is recognized by the U.S. Department of Education and the Council on Higher Education Accreditation. The Senior College Commission is widely regarded as one of the leading and most innovative accrediting agencies in the United States, particularly in its approaches to assessment of student learning and accountability," said Wolff.

As the chief academic officer for the University of Hawaiʻi, Johnsrud collaborates with lead campus academic officers to set forth the overall academic vision, goals, and strategic plan for the University of Hawaiʻi System. She also advises the president on matters relating to systemwide planning, policy development and analysis, and oversees institutional research, international education and P-20 initiatives.

Johnsrud was named vice president for academic planning and policy in March 2005, serving prior to that as interim vice president and interim associate vice president for planning and policy. She has also served as interim chancellor for UH West Oʻahu.

She was elected 2006—07 president of the Association for the Study of Higher Education (ASHE), an international association of scholars in the field of higher education. Author of more than 100 scholarly publications and refereed presentations, Johnsrud holds the rank of professor in the Department of Educational Administration in the College of Education at UH Mānoa. Selected as a 1998—99 fellow of the American Council on Education, she has also served as associate dean for academic affairs for the College of Education, past director of the University of Hawaiʻi Professional Assembly and chair of the UH Mānoa faculty senate. Johnsrud has over 18 years of service to the University of Hawaiʻi.

Johnsrud holds a BS in English education from the University of Wisconsin in Madison, MS in college student personnel administration from Western Illinois University, and a PhD in higher education with cognate in sociology from The Ohio State University.

For more information about the Commission, visit www.wascsenior.org.

For more information, visit: http://www.wascsenior.org