Posted: March 23, 2009
Contact: Doug Anderson, doug.anderson@MinnState.edu, 651-201-1426
(St. Paul, MN) – James McCormick, Chancellor of the Minnesota State Colleges and Universities System, has been awarded the Distinguished Service Award by the Minnesota Association of School Administrators (MASA). He will be honored for his support of Minnesota public education at a statewide recognition ceremony to be held at the MASA/MASE Spring Conference, March 19-20, 2009, at the Northland Inn in Brooklyn Park, Minnesota.
As chancellor, Dr. McCormick is responsible to the 15-member Board of Trustees for the administration of all facets of the system. With seven state universities and 25 two-year colleges on 54 campuses across the state, the Minnesota State Colleges and Universities System serves about 390,000 students each year. Employing approximately 19,000 full and part-time faculty and staff, the system has an annual budget of about $1.7 billion.
Before coming to Minnesota, Dr. McCormick served as the founding chancellor of the Pennsylvania State System of Higher Education, created July 1, 1983. The state system comprises 14 universities with a billion-dollar budget. He left that position as the most senior system head in the country, having served continuously as the Pennsylvania public university system chief executive for 18 years.
Dr. McCormick was president of Bloomsburg University of Pennsylvania from 1973 to 1983, and served as a professor and administrator for Shippensburg University of Pennsylvania for the previous eight years. Prior to this, he worked as an assistant superintendent, high school administrator and teacher in Pennsylvania public schools. He is a native of Indiana County, Pennsylvania.
Each year, MASA recognizes members for their contribution to public education. MASA is a professional organization of Minnesota’s school leaders, including superintendents, assistant superintendents, directors of special education and other central office administrators, as well as state department administrators, college and university professors, and other educators throughout Minnesota dedicated to educational leadership.
