Robert Atwell

Robert H. Atwell has had a 40-plus year career in public and private higher education.  From 1984-96, he served as president of the American Council on Education (ACE), having served as executive vice president of ACE from 1978-84. 

He was president of Pitzer College in Claremont, California, from 1978-84 and vice chancellor for administration of the University of Wisconsin, Madison, from 1965-70.  He currently serves on the boards of Education Management Corporation, Argosy University, Western State University College of Law, Eckerd College, and the National Center for Public Policy and Higher Education. He has served as a consultant for many colleges and universities.  

Atwell holds 17 honorary degrees, including honors from Rollins College, Ithaca College, Northern Michigan University, Washington and Jefferson College, and The Richard Stockton College of New Jersey. In 1998, he was named by Change Magazine as one of the 21 most outstanding leaders in American higher education.  Other honors include the King Chavez Park Initiative Award for promoting equity in higher education, in 1996, and the award for Outstanding Contribution to Higher Education Award, National Association of Student Personnel Administrators, in 1991.   

Atwell has served on a number of regional accreditation teams, assessing institutions such as National University; California State University, Fresno; California State University, Long Beach; University of California, Irvine; and Claremont McKenna College.

He is widely published, including recent pieces on presidential compensation and institutional governance, both published by the Association of Governing Boards.