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Speakers:
Cynthia G. Baum, Ph.D., President, Walden University
Dr. Cynthia G. Baum, the president of Walden University, has more than 20 years of leadership experience in postsecondary education, developing and implementing academic programs, and leading programmatic and regional accreditation processes.
Dr. Baum has been with Walden University for almost five years, having served as vice president of Walden’s Colleges of Health Sciences and Social and Behavioral Sciences, and most recently as executive vice president. Prior to joining Walden, she was regional vice president for Kaplan Higher Education Corporation as well as for Education Management Corporation. During her tenure with EDMC, she also served as vice president of national partnerships and clinical education, and campus president of both Argosy University, Washington D.C., and the Art Institute of Washington.
Dr. Baum has also worked in the nonprofit sector, where she held full-time graduate faculty appointments at Virginia Tech and The Catholic University of America. She served as assistant executive director for education at the American Psychological Association (APA), where she was responsible for the development and implementation of programs for high school through post-doctoral level education.
Dr. Baum has published and presented to professional organizations on diverse topics in psychology, and she has been recognized for her work in psychology education with several honors and awards, including a Presidential Citation from the APA and the Advocacy Award of the Association for the Advancement of Psychology. She held leadership positions in organizations such as the Association for the Advancement of Behavior Therapy and the Society for the Teaching of Psychology, and is a past president of the National Council of Schools and Programs in Professional Psychology.
Dr. Baum holds an M.S. and Ph.D. in Psychology (Clinical) from the University of Georgia.
Scott Bass, Ph.D., Provost, American University
Dr. Scott A. Bass is Provost at American University (AU), where he is the chief academic officer providing leadership for AU’s six schools and colleges, the University Library, professional development, enrollment management, and other academic affairs units. Dr. Bass also holds the appointment of Professor of Public Administration & Policy in the AU School of Public Affairs. As Provost, Dr. Bass has advanced the American University mission through institution building, shared governance, diversity initiatives, and strategic planning. A sample of his accomplishments include hiring over 100 new tenure and tenure line faculty; increasing racial, ethnic and socioeconomic diversity; establishing the Global Scholars Program, which is a 3-year bachelors degree with a 4th year master’s degree option; establishing the Frederick Douglas Distinguished Scholars Program; transforming the University Honors Program into a living learning program; expanding the University College Program; and revising the General Education Program.
He began his academic career at the University of Massachusetts Boston, where he was the founding Director and Administrator of the Gerontology Institute and the founding chair of the Gerontology program. There, he also established and directed one of the nation’s first PhD programs in Gerontology. He later served as the Vice President for Research and Dean of the Graduate School at University of Maryland Baltimore County (UMBC), playing a leadership role in UMBC’s dramatic expansion in research and graduate education. A Fellow of the Gerontological Society of America, Dr. Bass has written or edited 8 books and 45 articles, earned a Fulbright Research Scholarship to Japan, and was a visiting professor at Stanford University in 2004. Last year, Dr. Bass received the prestigious Donald P. Kent Award for his professional leadership in gerontology through teaching, service, and interpretation of gerontology to the larger society.
He is widely recognized as an innovator in higher education. Dr. Bass currently serves on the Educational Testing Service (ETS) Higher Education Advisory Council and on the Council of Graduate Schools Professional Science Master’s Project Team. Most recently, he served on the Commission on the Future of Graduate Education in the United States, a Joint Commission of the ETS and the Council of Graduate Studies; on the Executive Committee and as Chair of the ETS Graduate Record Examinations Minority Graduate Education Committee; and on the boards of the Council for Research and Graduate Education and the Council of Graduate Schools. He received his PhD in the combined program in psychology and education at the University of Michigan.
Debra Stewart, President, Council of Graduate Schools
Debra W. Stewart became
President of the Council of
Graduate Schools in July 2000.
She holds degrees from Marquette
University, University of
Maryland and the University of
North Carolina, Chapel Hill. In
1975 she joined the North
Carolina State University
faculty and was professor of
Political Science and Public
Administration from 1984 to
2000. In 1983 she became
Associate Dean of the Graduate
School at North Carolina State
and Dean of the Graduate School
in 1988. In 1994 she served as
Interim Chancellor at the
University of North Carolina,
Greensboro. Prior to CGS, she
was Vice Chancellor and Dean of
the Graduate School at North
Carolina State University.
Stewart's service to graduate
education includes chairing the
Graduate Record Examination
Board, the Council on Research
Policy and Graduate Education,
the Board of Directors of Oak
Ridge Associated Universities,
and the Board of Directors of
CGS. She also served as Trustee
of the Triangle Center for
Advanced Studies, and member of
the American Council on
Education Board and several
National Research Council
Committees and is currently on
the ETS Board of Trustees. In
November 2007, her leadership in
graduate education was
recognized by the Universite
Pierre et Marie Curie with an
honorary doctorate. Her alma
mater, the University of North
Carolina Chapel Hill, honored
her in October 2008 with the
Distinguished Alumna Award.
Stewart is author, coauthor, and
editor of books and numerous
scholarly articles on
administrative theory and public
policy. She lectures nationally
and internationally on graduate
education issues and challenges.
Her research focuses on ethics
in managerial decision-making.
