Committee Members

Dr. Charles B. Reed is chancellor of the 23-campus California State University system, the country’s largest system of higher education with nearly 450,000 students, 47,000 faculty and staff, and an annual budget of nearly five billion dollars.

Morton Schapiro was named the 16th president of Northwestern University on December 16, 2008 and began his term on September 1, 2009. He is a Professor of Economics in Northwestern’s Judd A. and Marjorie Weinberg College of Arts and Sciences and also holds appointments in Northwestern’s Kellogg School of Management and School of Education and Social Policy.

On June 1, 2009, Dr. Zimpher became the 12^th Chancellor of the State University of New York by unanimous vote of the SUNY Board of Trustees. With more than 440,000 students, SUNY is the nation’s largest comprehensive public university system.

A dynamic and nationally-recognized leader, Chancellor Zimpher is known as an effective agent of change in higher education.  The Chancellor began her career as a teacher in a one-room schoolhouse in the Ozarks and has never lost her passion for providing accessible, quality education for every student.

The Honorable Roy Romer was Governor of Colorado for three terms, from 1986 to 1998, and was the General Chairman of the Democratic National Party from 1997 to 2000. Romer was Chairman of the National Governors Association, Chair of the Educational Commission of the States and the National Education Goals Panel. He served as Superintendent of Schools for the Los Angeles Unified School District from 2000 to 2007. Additionally, he served the state of Colorado as State Representative, State Senator, Commissioner of Agriculture and State Treasurer.

Michael S. McPherson is the fifth President of the Spencer Foundation. Prior to joining the Foundation in 2003 he served as President of Macalester College in St. Paul, Minnesota for seven years. A nationally known economist whose expertise focuses on the interplay between education and economics, McPherson spent the 22 years prior to his Macalester presidency as professor of economics, chairman of the Economics Department, and dean of faculty at Williams College in Williamstown, Massachusetts. He holds a B.A. in Mathematics, an M.A. in Economics, and a Ph.D.