Great Lakes Colleges Association, Strengthening Education in the Tradition of the Liberal Arts
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About Us

The Great Lakes Colleges Association, Inc. was chartered in the state of Michigan and incorporated as a 501(c)(3) non-profit in 1962, and works on behalf of the thirteen member colleges located in Indiana, Michigan, Ohio, and Pennsylvania.

 

Our Mission

The mission of the Great Lakes Colleges Association is to take actions that will help strengthen and preserve our colleges; and by being a leading force on behalf of education in the tradition of the liberal arts and sciences. Rich in tradition, GLCA will continue to enhance our colleges by leading as new areas of opportunity and challenge emerge.

 

Leadership Groups

The Board of Directors is the primary governing body of the Great Lakes Colleges Association and consists of the presidents of the member colleges, the chair of the Deans’ Council, three faculty representatives of the Academic Council, and the President of the Association, ex officio. The Board approves the programs and projects undertaken by the Association and sets the annual budget.

Joseph Calvaruso
Interim President
Albion College

Ron Cole
President
Allegheny College

Jane Fernandes
President
Antioch College

Adam Weinberg
President
Denison University [Chair]

Lori White
President
DePauw University [Executive Committee Member-at-Large]

Anne Houtman
President
Earlham College [Secretary/Treasurer]

Matthew Scogin
President
Hope College

Jorge G. Gonzalez
President
Kalamazoo College [Vice Chair]

Sean Decatur
President
Kenyon College [Past Chair]

Carmen Twillie Ambar
President
Oberlin College [Executive Committee Member-at-Large]

Rockwell Jones
President
Ohio Wesleyan University 

Scott Feller
President
Wabash College

Wayne Webster
Interim President
The College of Wooster

David Kamitsuka
Deans’ Council Chair
Dean, College of Arts and Sciences
Oberlin College

Brooke Bryan
Academic Council Representative
Antioch College

Abby Cahill
Academic Council Representative
Albion College

Ferit Guven
Academic Council Representative
Earlham College

Michael McDonald
President
GLCA

The Chief Academic Officers of the member colleges meet twice annually to review existing and consider new programming related to faculty, curricular and pedagogical development.

Lisa Lewis
Interim Provost and Vice President for Academic Affairs
Albion College

Angela Haddad
Provost and Dean of the Faculty
Allegheny College 

Brian Norman
Vice President for Academic Affairs
Antioch College

Kim Coplin
Provost
Denison University

Dave Berque
Vice President for Academic Affairs
DePauw University

Tara Natarajan
Provost/Vice President of Academic Affairs
Earlham College

Gerald Griffin
Provost
Hope College

Danette Ifert Johnson
Provost
Kalamazoo College

Sheryl Hemkin
Interim Provost
Kenyon College

David Kamitsuka
Dean
Oberlin College [Chair]

Karlyn Crowley
Provost
Ohio Wesleyan University

Todd McDorman
Dean of the College
Wabash College

Lisa Perfetti
Provost
The College of Wooster

The Academic Council consists of two faculty from each member college. Academic Council discusses issues of importance to faculty across the campuses and advises the Board, Deans’ Council, and GLCA staff on current and emerging issues of importance for faculty. Members share Council discussions with their campus community. Three members serve on the Board of Directors.

Abby Cahill
Assistant Professor of Biology
Albion College

Ian MacInnes
Professor of English
Albion College

Alexis Hart
Professor of English
Allegheny College

Adrienne Krone
Assistant Professor of Religious Studies
Allegheny College

Brooke Bryan
Associate Professor of Writing, Aesthetics & Digital Studies
Dean of Cooperative, Experiential, and International Education
Antioch College

Jennifer Grubbs
Assistant Professor of Anthropology
Antioch College

Jeremy Rapport
Associate Professor of Religious Studies
College of Wooster

Rebecca Williams
Assistant Professor of Biology
College of Wooster

Nestor Matthews
Professor of Psychology
Denison University

TBD
Denison University

Jacob Hale
Professor of Physics
DePauw University

Glenn Kuecker
Professor of History
DePauw University

TBD
Earlham College

Ferit Guven
Professor of Philosophy
Earlham College

TBD
Professor of Chemistry
Hope College

Jesus Montano
Associate Professor of English
Hope College

Leihua Weng
Assistant Professor of Chinese Language and Literature
Kalamazoo College

Sandino Vargas Perez
Assistant Professor of Computer Science
Kalamazoo College

TBD
Kenyon College

Juan De Pascuale
Associate Professor of Philosophy
Kenyon College

Will Parsons
Assistant Professor of Chemistry
Oberlin College

Ben Linowitz
Associate Professor of Mathematics
Oberlin College

Stephanie Merkel
Associate Professor of Comparative Literature, Rebecca R. Brown Professor of Humanities
Ohio Wesleyan University

TBD
Ohio Wesleyan University

Adriel Trott
Associate Professor of Philosophy
Wabash College

Jim Cherry
Associate Professor of Theater
Wabash College

 

2022-2028 Strategic Plan

The strategic plan was endorsed by the GLCA presidents on May 3, 2022 and will guide our work through 2028.

 

GLCA Staff

Mickey McDonald

Simon J. M. Gray

Colleen Monahan Smith

Derek S. Vaughan

Charla J. White

Mickey McDonald

President

Michael (Mickey) McDonald is the president of the Great Lakes Colleges Association. He joined the GLCA staff on July 1, 2018. Just prior to joining the GLCA, Mickey served ten years as Provost of Kalamazoo College, including one term as Acting President, and before that he was a professor of mathematics and served in various administrative roles at Occidental College in Los Angeles. Mickey earned a B.S. from Davidson College and a Ph.D. in mathematics from Duke University. Mickey currently serves on the Boards of the Association of Collaborative Leadership and the National Association of Independent Colleges and Universities, and is chair-elect of the ACE Council of Fellows.

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Simon J. M. Gray

Program Officer, Global Liberal Arts Alliance

As Program Officer, Simon’s primary responsibility is programming for the Global Liberal Arts Alliance and currently oversees the Global Crossroads grant from the Andrew W. Mellon Foundation. He also works with GLCA faculty and staff groups. Prior to joining GLCA in July 2015, Simon taught Computer Science at The College of Wooster. Simon earned a B.A. in anthropology and philosophy and an M.A. in anthropology from the University of Virginia, then a Ph.D. in computer science from Kent State University.

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Colleen Monahan Smith

Assistant to the President

Colleen is assistant to the president and works on event planning for the Global Liberal Arts Alliance, Board of Directors, Deans’ Council, special summits and other meetings. She also is a coordinator of the New Writers Award. Previously, she worked as a Legislative Director on Capitol Hill in Washington D.C. Colleen earned her BS from Santa Clara University in Northern California where she studied Political Science with minors in Spanish and International Studies. Colleen joined the Great Lakes Colleges Association in 2012.

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Derek S. Vaughan

Vice President for Finance and Administration

Derek S. Vaughan is the Vice President for Finance and Administration where he serves as the chief financial and operating officer. He also serves as the program officer for several groups including Chief Financial Officers, Institutional Researchers, HR Officers, Chief Information Technology Officers, and Tuition Remission Exchange Officers. Additionally, Derek serves as the administrator for the consortial Tuition Remission Exchange (TRE) program and the primary data sharing officer. Derek earned a BS in math and a BBA in quantitative business analysis from Ohio University, an MS in student personnel services and an MBA in organizational behavior from Miami University, and a PhD in higher education administration from the University of Michigan. Prior to joining the GLCA in 2004, Derek held positions in student affairs at Northwestern University, University of Wisconsin-Eau Claire, and Miami University.

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Charla J. White

Program Officer, Controller

Charla White is a program officer and controller at the GLCA. Charla works closely with administrative and diversity groups, secures logistics for domestic meetings, helps the VP for Finance and Administration monitor and enforce policies and procedures, and assists in the auditing process. Charla was previously employed at Earlham College where she worked in the Student Life area and the grant funded Odyssey Program for rural, first-generation, college-bound students. Charla holds a Master’s Degree in Education with a focus on assessment and evaluation (American InterContinental University, 2010) and a Bachelor of Arts in English (Earlham College, 2008). Charla came to GLCA in 2002 following her work at Earlham College.

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