Stephen Freedman, Ph.D., senior vice president/chief academic officer at Fordham University, has been named a full member of the Administrative Board of the International Association of Universities (IAU), the organization announced in November.
“It is critical for the IAU Administrative Board to be as reflective of a global and inclusive association of higher education institutions and university organizations as possible,” said IAU Secretary-General Eva Egron-Polak, executive director, ex-officio, of the International Universities Bureau. “Dr. Stephen Freedman, a board member from the U.S., will play an important role in keeping his fellow board members and the IAU Secretariat aware of the current trends and developments in the American higher education sector. As well, Dr. Freedman will, I am hopeful, help IAU grow its membership in the USA, by successfully engaging in the issues that matter to U.S. university leadership. The IAU President, Dr. Juan Ramon de la Fuente and I look forward to the June 2010 IAU Board Meeting in Vilnius, Lithuania, where Dr. Freedman will be taking an active part in the discussions.”
Freedman is a biologist with a doctorate in ecology and evolutionary biology. Before coming to Fordham in August 2007, he was academic vice president at Gonzaga University. He has 30 years of experience as an educator, researcher and university administrator, joining the faculty at Loyola University of Chicago after completing his Ph.D. at the University of California at Irvine in 1978. Freedman spent 24 years at Loyola, the last eight as dean of Mundelein College of Loyola University. During his tenure at Loyola, Freedman was a professor in the Department of Natural Science, and a member of the graduate faculty in the Department of Biology.
Founded fifty years ago, IAU is a global forum where higher education leaders come together to discuss, examine and take action on issues of common interest and achieve shared goals through cooperation. The organization has 605 member institutions from around the globe, representing almost every continent. IAU’s core values include academic freedom and institutional autonomy; the responsibility to respond to the needs of society; and to promote justice, freedom, respect for human rights, human dignity and solidarity.
“I am very honored to accept the kind invitation to become a full member of the Administrative Board of the IAU,” Freedman said. “I passionately believe in IAU’s mission: the critical issues in higher education are increasingly global in nature, and require global solutions. It has been a privilege to serve as a deputy member, and I look forward to furthering the IAU’s work.”
