Frank Ashley of Texas A&M and Paul Sechrist of Oklahoma City Community College Become College Board Trustees

At the Annual Meeting of the Members of the College Board on Nov. 7, three members were elected to serve as Trustees on the 31-member governing board of the association. In addition, three members who were elected by regional assemblies last winter to serve as Trustees were installed. The meeting occurred at the College Board Forum, held Nov. 5-8 at the Hilton Americas
in Houston.

The Southwestern Regional Assembly elected Frank B. Ashley III, vice chancellor of the Texas A&M University System in College Station, Texas. Paul W. Sechrist, president of Oklahoma City Community College in Oklahoma City, Okla., was one of the three nationally elected trustees and will serve as vice chair of the Board of Trustees for a two-year term from 2008 to 2010.

Ashley had previously served as a Trustee of the College Board and on the Trustee Task Force on College Access for Students from Low-Income Backgrounds. He is a past chair of the College Board Southwestern Regional Council and of the Academic Assembly.

Ashley has been with the Texas A&M System for nearly 23 years, including 18 years at Texas A&M University and three years at Texas A&M University-Commerce. As vice chancellor for academic affairs, he coordinates academic and student affairs program development, implementation and accountability, including performance-based funding. He also oversees the academic program development process for system universities from inception to approval by the Texas Higher Education Coordinating Board. In addition, he works to expand enrollment of community college transfer students to system universities and leads the development of comprehensive distance education initiatives.

Sechrist serves as the president and chief executive officer of one of the largest single-campus community colleges in the nation. As a comprehensive community college, OCCC offers a wide range of transfer and technical/professional academic programs to over 20,000 students. Sechrist is also leading the effort in the state of Oklahoma to significantly improve the retention and graduation rates of community college students. Throughout his 30-year career as an educator, he has remained focused on increasing the number of students prepared for success in college, and he is deeply committed to making a difference in the life of every student. As a former classroom teacher in a public middle-high school, a professor of teacher education and dean at a private university, and a chief academic officer of a community college, Sechrist brings broad experience that bridges high schools with college and universities.

Sechrist has held numerous leadership roles in state and national educational associations, including service to the College Board. He has served as a member of the Academic Assembly Council, the Community College Advisory Panel, the Trustee Committee on Membership, the National Commission on Community Colleges, the National Forum Planning Committee, the Southwest Regional Council and most recently as a regionally elected member of the Board
of Trustees.

VP Ann B. Wright

The Southwestern Region was pleased to welcome the annual College Board Forum to Houston, right here in our own backyard. More than 1,600 participants, presenters, honored guests and College Board staff collaborated and celebrated the initiatives we embarked on over the last year. Some of the opportunities we shared were honoring the winners of the 2008 Bob Costas Grants for the Teaching of Writing and the four College Board Inspiration Schools, including Edinburg High School in Texas. We were very proud of the turnout for our regional breakfast, which attracted almost 500 members from our four states. In fact, Gaston was startled to see such a big room full of Southwesterners, and he congratulated us on the turnout. Thanks to Southwestern Regional Council members, who helped with greeting and hosting the record-breaking crowd.

While the national Forum is recently behind us, we are already planning an excellent experience for our area constituents at the Southwestern Regional Forum, which will be held Feb. 4-6, 2009, at the Renaissance Oklahoma City Convention Center Hotel in Oklahoma City, Okla.

The SWRO is excited and delighted to provide some of the most engaging and thought-provoking sessions that will provide you with the following opportunities:

• Learning about the latest tools and resources to effect change within your community;
• Discovering proven strategies for improving AP® programs in your region;
• Listening to Gaston’s views on education and the economy;
• Getting the inside story on the new College Board report, “Rethinking Student Aid”;
• Enjoying a sneak preview of the College Board's highly anticipated new college-readiness assessment tool—ReadiStep™; and
• Hearing from keynote speakers David Boren, former U.S. senator and current president of the University of Oklahoma; acclaimed author and flautist Da Chen; and renowned speaker and newspaper editor Forrest J. “Frosty” Troy.

We know you will enjoy the Oklahoma City area and the great entertainment and food in Bricktown. Further information is available and registration can be printed from the new Southwestern Regional Forum Web site at www.collegeboard.com/swforum.

At this year’s Forum, held in Houston in early November, 266 new members were elected to the College Board, bringing the total number of members to 5,653. Forty-eight of these newly elected member institutions are from the Southwestern Region.

Click here to see the list of new members.

Click here to see events and workshops in the Southwestern Region.