Chancellor James H. McCormick
James H. McCormick is chancellor of the Minnesota State Colleges Universities System. Named in December 2000 by the Board of Trustees, he began his term of office in July 2001.
As chancellor, Dr. McCormick is responsible to the 15-member Board of Trustees for the administration of all facets of the system. With seven state universities and 25 two-year colleges on 53 campuses across the state, the Minnesota State Colleges and Universities System serves about 370,000 students each year. Employing approximately 16,500 full- and part-time faculty and staff, the system has an annual budget of about $1.4 billion.
Before coming to Minnesota, Dr. McCormick served as the founding chancellor of the Pennsylvania State System of Higher Education, created July 1, 1983. The state system comprises 14 universities with a billion-dollar budget. He left that position as the most senior system head in the country, having served continuously as the Pennsylvania public university system chief executive for 18 years.
Dr. McCormick was president of Bloomsburg University of Pennsylvania from 1973 to 1983, and served as a professor and administrator for Shippensburg University of Pennsylvania for the previous eight years. Prior to this, he worked as an assistant superintendent, high school administrator and teacher in Pennsylvania public schools. He is a native of Indiana County, Pennsylvania.
Dr. McCormick is the past chair of the Midwestern Higher Education Compact, and serves as a rotating chair of the Higher Education Advisory Council for the Higher Education Services Office in Minnesota. He is the founding chair and continuing member of the Minnesota P-16 Education Roundtable/Partnership. Additionally, he serves on the Governor's Education Council, the Governor's Workforce Development Council's board, the Minnesota Job Skills Partnership board, and the Great North Alliance board. Dr. McCormick maintains several professional memberships and has held leadership roles with numerous organizations, among them the American Association of State Colleges and Universities (AASCU) for which he has been the state representative and worked with several committees. Recently, he was asked to be part of an AASCU, National Association of System Heads (NASH), and The Education Trust commission to study graduation rate outcomes. Dr. McCormick has served on the State Higher Education Executive Officers (SHEEO) executive committee and currently works with the nominating and federal relations committees. He also is part of the Commission on Government and Public Affairs for the American Council on Education, and works with the Education Commission of the States' Postsecondary Education and Workforce Development Institute Advisory Committee. McCormick, a past president of the National Association of System Heads, now serves on the NASH executive committee.
McCormick was a president and member of the board of directors for the Pennsylvania Association of Colleges and Universities. He is a board member for the National Center for the Study of Sport in Society and holds membership in the Pennsylvania Black Conference on Higher Education, the American Association for Affirmative Action, the American Association of Higher Education, the American Association of University Administrators, the Pennsylvania Educational Policy Seminar, Phi Delta Kappa, and Kappa Delta Pi.
Academic, professional, and community recognitions have been frequent. McCormick House at the Dixon University Center, Harrisburg, Pennsylvania, was so named by the State System Board of Governors in 1994. Similarly, the Bloomsburg University Council of Trustees named the university's Human Services Center in McCormick's honor. He also carries the title President Emeritus for Bloomsburg University. Chancellor McCormick is the recipient of several awards, including the Outstanding Alumnus Award from the University of Pittsburgh and from Indiana University of Pennsylvania. In 1992, the Pennsylvania State Education Association selected him recipient of the Adler Award for outstanding contributions to education. And, in 1993 the American Association of University Administrators named Chancellor McCormick recipient of its Eileen Tosney Award for outstanding leadership. The Pennsylvania Association of Councils of Trustees recognized Chancellor McCormick with the organization's 1998 Distinguished Service Award. In April 2000, his leadership was commended by the Systemwide Board of Student Government Presidents and in 1999 by the College and University Public Relations Association of Pennsylvania. Also in 1999, both Bloomsburg and Lock Haven Universities of Pennsylvania recognized the Chancellor, the former for leadership acumen and appreciation for the presidential years served, and the latter a System Service award presented by the alumni association. The Chancellor was cited for a "model" leadership style in the 1992 AASCU publication, Shared Visions of Public Higher Education Governance. In 2001 the Pennsylvania School Boards Association awarded Chancellor McCormick with the association's Leadership Award for Commitment to K-16 Education in Pennsylvania.
In 1993, Chancellor McCormick was asked to join the teaching team for the Presidential Lecture series at Kuwait University. He also was selected by President Bill Clinton to participate with the Pennsylvania team for CIVITAS @ Prague, a 1995 international conference of government, education, and business leaders devoted to strengthening citizenship and civic education worldwide. The Newcomen Society of the United States honored the State System of Higher Education in 1997, recognizing then governing board Chairman F. Eugene Dixon, Jr. and Chancellor McCormick for their leadership.
Upon departure from the Pennsylvania state system, Dr. McCormick was recipient of numerous awards, recognitions and resolutions. Among those accolades were those from the following: Pennsylvania Association of Councils of Trustees, Board of Student Government Presidents, Association of Pennsylvania State Colleges and University Faculties, Latino Leadership Conference, Pennsylvania Council of Alumni Associations, Black Conference on Higher Education, Pennsylvania Association of Colleges and Universities, Pennsylvania State Athletic Conference, numerous university councils of trustees, the Tuition Account Program of the state treasurer, and the City of Harrisburg. Then Governor Tom Ridge recognized McCormick's years of service by personally hosting a retirement celebration in his honor.
Chancellor McCormick is a graduate of Indiana University of Pennsylvania. He earned the master's and doctoral degrees from the University of Pittsburgh. Further post-doctoral and study have been completed at Columbia University, the University of Michigan, and the John F. Kennedy School of Government, Harvard University. He has sought and entered into several industrial and business site internships, and in conjunction with AASCU leadership, has studied state owned higher education institutions across the country.
Most recently, Chancellor McCormick served with the Board of Trustees for the William Mitchell College of Law in St. Paul. He is active in the St. Paul Rotary, and in July 2002, the Ojibwe of the Fond du Lac Reservation in Cloquet, Minnesota, honored McCormick with the giving of an Indian name, Wabashee Maeenga -White Wolf. The prestigious Association of Pennsylvania State College and University Faculties Distinguished Friend of Higher Education Award was given to him in May 2005.
Chancellor McCormick and his wife, Dr. Maryan G. McCormick, are the parents of two adult sons, David Harold and spouse Amy Richardson; Douglas Paul and spouse, Michele. They have six grandchildren, Michael James, Kelly, Elizabeth Cora, Tess, Ava and Elise.
If this information will be used as an introduction, it may be edited to respect time demands and to personalize the presentation of Chancellor McCormick to select audiences. For further information, call the Public Affairs Division, 651-296-9595; write the Office of the Chancellor, Minnesota State Colleges and Universities, Wells Fargo Place, 30 Seventh Street East, Suite 350, St. Paul, MN 55101; or visit www.mnscu.edu.
11/06
