It is always astonishing to comprehend what a small world this is, and how we remain connected to each other across space and time. In 2004, Patrick Awuah, the co-founder of Ashesi University in Ghana, was awarded an honorary degree at his (and my) alma mater of Swarthmore College. At the time, I was working at the college and it was my…Continue readingPit Stop #95: Ashesi University
Category: Uncategorized
This was an unusual trip for me — not to visit a particular university, but to attend athree-day summit sponsored by the Ministry of Higher Education, Science, Research and Innovation (MHESI), Thailand. In the fall of 2025, after extensive research into international accrediting agencies across the globe, the Ministry selected NECHE to assist as it…Continue readingPit Stop #94: Thailand!
A few days before the holiday season began in earnest, I made a trip to Geneva to visit the Geneva School of Diplomacy (GSD), an institution just starting on the path to NECHE accreditation. What a charming time of year to visit! The Geneva School of Diplomacy was founded in 2003 by one career diplomat with a passion for international relations, and one…Continue readingPit Stop #93: Geneva School of Diplomacy
Recently, I had the opportunity to visit with an old friend, President Arthur Levine, on the campus of Brandeis University. Arthur, a Brandeis alum, stepped into the presidency in the Fall of 2024 –after happily retiring and promising himself he would never take on a third college presidency. I suppose such promises are destined to be broken, because when duty called, Arthur (who had remained incredibly loyal and…Continue readingPit Stop #92: Brandeis University
In Greece, my first stop of four visits was to The American College of Greece in Athens. Founded in 1875, ACG is the oldest American-accredited college in Europe and the largest private college in Greece. It has been accredited by NECHE since 1981 and is an independent, not-for-profit, nonsectarian, co-educational academic institution. (Whew– that’s a lot of adjectives!). This…Continue readingPit Stop #87: The American University of Greece
In May, I began a two-week trip to visit six universities: two in Turkey and four in Greece. (Yes, I know, work can sometimes be a real burden!) My first stop was Istanbul, where I made an initial visit to Bahçeşehir University, commonly known as BAU. (When a new institution applies for NECHE membership, it requires a 2-3 day visit…Continue readingPit Stop #86: Bahçeşehir University
I suspect few of you have visited the part of India from which I recently returned: the state of Chhattisgarh and the city of Raigarh in central India. Raigarh is a two-hour flight from Delhi (which is a 20-hour flight from Boston), followed by a 100-km car ride from the regional airport in Jharsuguda. Long story short, I was…Continue readingPit Stop #85: OP Jindal University
My recent trip west across the Commonwealth had a dual purpose: to make my first visit to Western New England University (WNE) and to meet its Provost, Maria Toyoda, soon to become President of the Western Senior College & University Commission, or WASC. WASC is NECHE’s western counterpart responsible for accrediting four-year colleges in California, Hawaii, and the Pacific Islands. Where both organizations were once strictly regional,…Continue readingPit Stop #83: Western New England University
My second stop in Hartford was at Trinity College, a school I knew well by reputation but had never visited in person. One of my nieces attended Trinity years ago and loved the school, and I was also aware that Trinity is perennially found on the list of America’s most beautiful campuses, so I was eager to see the place for myself. First impression: that honor is well deserved! …Continue readingPit Stop #82: Trinity College
Maybe it’s just end-of-the-year insouciance, but here comes another slightly unconventional post! One day after NECHE’s annual December meeting in Boston (a terrific gathering!), I flew to Austin to celebrate the upcoming retirement of one of my accrediting colleagues, Belle Wheelan. Belle has been President of SACSCOC, the accrediting association of eleven southern states, for twenty years and back when I was President of Oglethorpe University in Atlanta, I was…Continue readingPit Stop #78: On the Road to Texas