Gary Alexander
Deputy Director for Academic Affairs, Illinois Board of Higher Education
Mr. Alexander is a graduate of Transylvania University (B.A., Philosophy), Lexington Theological Seminary (M.Div.), and The University of Chicago Divinity School (M.A., Ph.D., Religion and Psychological Studies). He has served on the faculties of The Pennsylvania State University and the University of Wisconsin-Stevens-Point. While at UW-Stevens Point, he served two years as chair of the Faculty Senate and faculty representative to the University of Wisconsin System Administration. Before coming to IBHE in October 2001, Dr. Alexander was an Academic Planner in the Office of Academic Affairs of the University of Wisconsin System Administration. He has extensive experience with faculty governance, program development, program review, and policy development and analysis.

Samuel A. Attoh, Ph.D.
Graduate School Dean, Loyola University Chicago
In July 2005, Samuel Attoh, Ph.D., became Dean of the Graduate School at Loyola University Chicago. As leader of the school, Dr. Attoh is devoted to facilitating the university's commitment to academic excellence, service and the stimulation of organic and progressive change and innovation at the graduate level in all Loyola schools and colleges. Dr. Attoh also strongly supports the development of new programs, encouraging interdisciplinary and multidisciplinary initiatives that are intellectually stimulating and mission-focused, and fostering strategic partnerships and alliances within and beyond the university. His research and teaching interests lie in urban and regional planning, housing and community development and the geography of international development.

Most recently, Dr. Attoh served as Professor and Chair of Geography and Planning at The University of Toledo. He served as a fellow of the American Council on Education in 2003-04 and completed his administrative internship at Carnegie Mellon University. Dr. Attoh also received the College of Arts and Sciences Master Teacher Award for two consecutive terms in 1993-95 and 1995-97. Along with editing a book on Geography of Sub-Saharan Africa (Prentice Hall, 2003) and contributing chapters in Global Change in Local Places (University of Cambridge Press, 2004), World Regional Geography (Prentice Hall) and the Columbia Gazetteer (Columbia University Press), he has published more than 30 journal articles and technical reports and presented more than 40 papers at national and international conferences. Dr. Attoh received his Ph.D. from Boston University and his M.A. from Carleton University, Ottawa.

Robert M. Augustine
Dean of the Graduate School, Research and International Programs at Eastern Illinois University
Dr. Augustine is responsible for advancing the quality of graduate study, providing leadership for international education and study abroad and for advancing the quality of research and extramural funding to support faculty scholarship. He holds a Ph.D. in Communication Sciences and Disorders from Southern Illinois University at Carbondale and is a certified and licensed speech-language pathologist with specialized expertise in language development and disorders. He has 29 years of teaching experience and holds rank as a tenured full professor in the Department of Communication Disorders and Sciences at Eastern where he continues to teach in the area of childhood language disorders. He served as the Department Chair for 8 years. He received departmental distinguished alumnus awards from both Southern Illinois University at Carbondale and Illinois State University. Dr. Augustine is a former President and Vice President of the Illinois Speech-Language Hearing Association and is the recipient of Honors of the Association and is also a Fellow of ISHA. He has also served a variety of leadership roles for the American Speech-Language Hearing Association including 15 years as an Illinois Legislative Councilor, Chair of the Special Rules Committee, Chair of the Financial Planning Board, Member of the Task Force on Treatment Outcomes, Member of the Coordinating Committee for Professional Affairs, Member of the Honors Committee, Coordinator of the Speech-Language Pathology Assembly, and Council Floor Manager. He was inducted as a Fellow of the American Speech-Language-Hearing Association in 1999.

Robert Bolla
Associate Provost for Research & Dean of the Graduate School, Bradley University
Dr. Robert I. Bolla, Associate Provost and Dean of the Graduate School, Bradley University has conducted research on the biochemistry and molecular biology of parasitism parasitology. He received his Ph.D. from University of Massachusetts and has held positions at the University of Notre Dame, the Roche Institute of Molecular Biology, University of Missouri St. Louis, Department of Microbiology and Immunology at Washington University, the Forestry and Forest Products Institute in Tsukuba Japan, St Louis University, the Department of Molecular Microbiology at the St. Louis University School of Medicine, and Youngstown State University. While in St. Louis, Dr. Bolla was involved in development of the Missouri Bio Belt economic development program and the statewide BIO initiative, and currently works with the Peoria NEXT technology economic development initiative in Peoria. Dr. Bolla is the founding partner of NFD LLC an agricultural biotech consulting company and Shovler LLC, an agricultural crop products use development company. Dr. Bolla has over 100 research publications including publications on scientific ethics. He is a member of the Society of Nematologists, of which he has served as President, the European Society of Nematologists of which he has been on the Board of Governors and serves as a reviewer for the Journal Nematology, the Japanese Society of Nematologists of which he is a member of the editorial board, the Society of Research Administrators for whom he teaches in the areas of intellectual property and research ethics, the American Microbiological Society, the Russian Society for Nematology, ONTA, the New York Academy of Science, Council of Graduate Schools and AAAS.

Andrew Cittadine
CEO American BioOptics, LLC in Chicago
Andrew is a successful entrepreneur with ten years experience in senior management roles in early stage technology companies. He is a co-founder and CEO of American BioOptics, a medical device startup commercializing optical backscattering technology from Northwestern University and Evanston Northwestern Healthcare for population-wide screening of colon cancer. Previously, Andrew co-founded Sensant Corp, a Silicon Valley startup that developed diagnostic quality 3D ultrasound based on silicon MEMS (micro electro-mechanical systems) technology from Stanford University and was acquired by Siemens in June 2005. He has served previously as Interim CEO for SonarMed, an Indianapolis venture-backed firm that is commercializing an intensive care airway device developed at Purdue University. Andrew holds a BA in History and a BS and MS in Electrical Engineering from Stanford University and an MBA with distinction from the Kellogg School of Management at Northwestern University.

Rev. Michael J. Garanzini, S.J.
President, Loyola University Chicago
Fr. Garanzini has served as the 23rd president of Loyola University Chicago since June 2001. A seasoned university administrator, professor, author, and scholar, Father Garanzini has spent the majority of his career working in higher education.

Prior to becoming president of Loyola, Fr. Garanzini was a full professor of psychology at Georgetown University in Washington, DC, where he had been special assistant to the president for two years. Before joining Georgetown, Fr. Garanzini was a visiting professor at Fordham University in New York.

A native of St. Louis, Fr. Garanzini received his BA in psychology from Saint Louis University in 1971, the same year he entered the Society of Jesus. From 1984 to 1988, he divided his academic responsibilities between the University of San Francisco and Gregorian University in Rome. He received a doctorate in psychology and religion from the Graduate Theological Union/University of California, Berkeley in 1986. In 1988, he returned to Saint Louis as an associate professor of counseling and family therapy. He then served as assistant academic vice president from 1992 to 1994. He was appointed academic vice president in 1994, a post he held until 1998.

John S. Haller, Jr., Ph.D.
Vice President for Academic Affairs, Southern Illinois University
Dr. Haller, professor of history and medical humanities at Southern Illinois University Carbondale, has authored eleven books and numerous articles. He is former editor of Caduceus and, for the past seventeen years, has served as vice president for academic affairs for the Southern Illinois University system.

Carrie J. Hightman
Chair, Illinois Board of Higher Education
Carrie J. Hightman is an attorney and business leader with a history of building connections between business and government. Experienced both as an attorney and as Illinois President for AT&T, Ms. Hightman's work in community, regulatory, and government relations has led her to take leadership roles in the Communications Committee of the Public Utility, the Communications and Transportation Law Section of the American Bar Association, and the Public Utility Law Section of the Chicago Bar Association. Most recently, Ms. Hightman was appointed to lead the 15-member Illinois Board of Higher Education, which coordinates higher education policy and planning in Illinois. Ms. Hightman received her undergraduate training in Illinois, earning a B.A. in Finance from the University of Illinois in 1979 and a J.D. in 1982 from Florida State University.

Blair Lord
Provost, Eastern Illinois University Dr. Lord was named Provost and Vice President for Academic Affairs in August 2001. His career spans 31 years beginning in 1976 as an Assistant Professor of Finance and Insurance with the University of Rhode Island. In his years at Rhode Island, he also served as department chairperson and as the Vice Provost for Academic Affairs. Dr. Lord received his bachelor's and Ph.D. in Economics from the University of California at Davis. His academic work has focused on the study of consumer behavior in insurance markets, while in his administrative career he has spanned a broad range of academic matters from accreditation to the re-engineering of enrollment services.

Senator Edward D. Maloney (D), 18th District
Chairperson of the Senate Higher Education Committee
Senator Ed. Maloney (D - Chicago) has served as Illinois' state senator for four years. He is an assistant principal and dean of faculty at Brother Rice High School in Chicago. He has also been a manager and professional development director for the Chicago Park District, and a teacher and school administrator. He served in the House for the last 4 months of the 87th General Assembly (1992-93). He has a bachelor's degree in political science from Lewis University, and a master's degree in education from Chicago State University. Senator Maloney serves on the Illinois Senate Committee Whole, the Higher Education Committee (Chairperson), Labor Committee (Vice-Chairperson), Appropriations I Committee and Local Government Committee.

Patricia McAllister
Patty McAllister currently serves as Vice President of Government Relations and External Affairs at the Council of Graduate Schools. Prior to that she served as the Executive Director of Public Affairs in the Communications and Public Affairs Division of Educational Testing Service (ETS) where she was responsible for directing a corporate wide initiative on teacher quality. She also served as Executive Director of State and Federal Relations at ETS for eight years. She holds a B.A. in political science and a Masters degree in Public Administration (M.P.A.).

She has authored articles on a variety of testing policies, conducted studies for various federal and state agencies, and provided presentations on assessment and public policy issues to numerous audiences. She has also conducted many workshops on specific assessment issues, including assessing students with disabilities, state assessment systems, and question and answer review policy for standardized postsecondary admission tests.

Caralynn V. Nowinski, M.D.
Associate with Arch Development Partners and Principal in Sanogene LLC
Caralynn Nowinski is a Venture Associate with ARCH Development Partners and the President and Co-founder of SanoGene Therapeutics, an early-stage biotechnology company. SanoGene has been recognized as the winner of seven business plan competitions, including the Illinois Business Schools' Plan Competition at the 2006 Midwest Venture Summit. Caralynn has authored several book chapters and peer-reviewed scientific articles, presented research at national academic conferences and invited meetings, and received a Young Investigator Award for her research in neurology and psychiatry. Caralynn graduated with honors (B.S.) from Northwestern University and received degrees in Medicine (M.D.) and Business Administration (M.B.A.) at the University of Illinois at Chicago, where she was invited into the James Scholar Program for Independent Study for Gifted Students in Medicine.

Congresswoman Jan Schakowsky
Jan Schakowsky has represented Illinois' 9th Congressional District since 1998, before which she served for eight years in the Illinois State Assembly. Currently she serves as Democratic Chief Deputy Whip, and as a member of the Steering and Policy Committee, the Energy and Commerce Committee, the Subcommittee on Health, the Subcommittee on Oversight and Investigations, and is Vice-Chair of the Subcommittee on Commerce, Trade, and Consumer Protection. She was recently appointed to serve on the House Select Committee on Intelligence. Congresswoman Schakowsky has worked for economic and social justice, advocating for the rights of abused women and children, immigrant women, low-income people, consumers, seniors, small business owners, and farmers. She continues to work to make education, health care, and housing equitable and accessible. Congresswoman Schakowsky was educated in Illinois, receiving a B.S. in Elementary Education in 1965 from the University of Illinois.

Dennis Serio
Principal in Falcon Capital Corporation, the Illinois Business & Investor Forum
Dennis F. Serio is the principal of Falcon Capital Corporation, a boutique investment banking company involved with securing equity and/or debt financing for start up, seed and early stage companies. Mr. Serio has spent the last 15 years working with early stage companies through out the Midwest.

Mr. Serio also is the principal and founder of The Illinois Business & Investor Forum. The Forum was founded in 2005 with the purpose of acting as umbrella group for angel investors throughout the state of Illinois. Through the use of the supercomputer center of the University of Illinois, the Forum creates a virtual conference room setting connecting six sites in Illinois and Wisconsin. The Forum provides a venue for investment worthy early stage companies to present their business cases to angel investors. Additionally the Forum also presents commercial IP from Illinois universities and corporations.

Mr. Serio is a graduate of the University of Dayton.

Richard Wheeler
Vice Provost and Dean of the Graduate College, University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign
Dr. Wheeler joined the Illinois Department of English in 1969, and served as department head from 1987-97. Before joining the Graduate College as dean in 2000, he was acting head of the Department of Anthropology for a year. His publications include Shakespeare's Development and the Problem Comedies: Turn and Counter-Turn (U of California P, 1981), The Whole Journey: Shakespeare's Power of Development (co-authored with C. L. Barber, U of California P, 1986), Creating Elizabethan Tragedy (ed., U of Chicago P, 1988), Critical Essays on Shakespeare's Measure for Measure (ed., G. K. Hall, 1999), and articles on Shakespeare, Elizabethan drama, literary theory, and modern British literature.

He has been chair of the executive committee of the Midwest Association of Graduate Schools and chair of the Committee on Institutional Cooperation graduate deans' group, and he is a former chair of the Board of Directors of the Council of Graduate Schools (CGS). He has served on several national panels on graduate education, including the National Research Council's Committee on an Assessment of Research-Doctorate Programs, the CGS Government Relations Task Force, and Graduate Education 2020.

Christine Wiseman, J.D.
Provost, Loyola University Chicago
Christine Wiseman was recently appointed Provost at Loyola in July 2007. Formerly as Vice President for Academic Affairs and Professor of Law at Creighton University, Chris led strategic planning and the university's re-accreditation efforts (to culminate with a site visit by the Higher Learning Commission of the North Central Association in March 2007) as well as interdisciplinary initiatives such as joint academic forums which serve to foster collaboration between the Health Sciences and other disciplines. She also supervised Enrollment Management, the Registrar's Office, Student Retention, the Office of International Programs, the university library, federally-funded TRIO programs, and a two-million dollar Lilly grant which supports Creighton's Cardoner Program, a program that emphasizes vocation as a "calling" across the university.

Chris received her Juris Doctorate from Marquette University Law School and a Bachelor of Arts from Marquette University College of Liberal Arts. She has spent nearly 30 years in Jesuit Catholic higher education and was the first woman to rise through academic ranks to a position of senior administrative leadership at Marquette University. During her tenure there, she served as Professor of Law, Associate Dean for Academic Affairs in the law school, and Associate Vice President for Academic Affairs for the University. Chris was also an Assistant Wisconsin Attorney General and a federal district law clerk before entering the field of higher education.