January 27, 2003, Bloomfield, NJ -- Bloomfield College President John F.
Noonan has been elected Chair of the Board of Directors of the Association
of American Colleges and Universities (AAC&U) for 2003. The announcement was
made at AAC&U’s 89th annual meeting in Seattle, Washington from January
22 to 25.
Dr. Noonan has served as a member of the AAC&U Board of Directors since 1998. The AAC&U is the leading national association devoted to advancing and strengthening undergraduate liberal education. Founded in 1915 by presidents of liberal arts colleges, AAC&U now represents the entire spectrum of American colleges and universities: large and small, public and private, two-year and four-year. There are more than 800 accredited member institutions, drawn in approximately equal percentages from research universities, masters institutions and liberal arts colleges. A growing number are community colleges.
The AAC&U functions as a catalyst and facilitator, forging links among presidents, administrators, and faculty members who are engaged in institutional and curricular planning. Its mission is to reinforce the collective commitment to liberal education at both the national and local levels and to help individual institutions keep the quality of student learning at the core of their work as they evolve to meet new economic and social challenges.
Dr. John F. Noonan has served as President of Bloomfield College since 1987. Under his leadership, the 135-year old liberal arts college has attained national prominence for the implementation of its mission: to prepare students to attain academic, personal and professional excellence in a multicultural and global society. Many of its faculty, staff, and students have been invited to speak on this subject by colleges and associations around the country. The AAC&U has identified the College as one of the leading institutions in this important area.
Dr. Noonan came to Bloomfield from Iona College, where he served as Dean of the School of Arts and Sciences from 1983-1987.
From 1973-1983, he was the Director of The Center for the Improvement of Teaching Effectiveness, at Virginia Commonwealth University. Dr. Noonan served as Director of the Liberal Studies Program and Associate Professor of English at Findlay College from 1967-1973.
A former Fulbright Lecturer and visiting Professor of Higher Education at Teachers College Columbia University, Dr. Noonan has spoken on more than 300 college and university campuses. In the 1980’s, he and Ken Eble edited the Jossey-Bass quarterly, New Directions in Learning and Teaching.
He serves on the Board of the Association of Independent Colleges and Universities of New Jersey, the New Jersey Region of The National Conference for Community and Justice, and on the Board of the Schumann Fund for New Jersey. In 2002, he was elected Vice Chair of the Board of Directors of the Association of American Colleges and Universities, Vice Chair of the Board of Directors of the National Association of Independent Colleges and Universities, and Chair of the Board of Directors of the READY Foundation.
He is a graduate of Wheeling Jesuit College who earned both his M.A. and Ph.D. in
English Literature from Bowling Green State University. In 1980, Wheeling gave him an honorary degree, and in 1995, its Distinguished Alumnus Award. In 1997, New Jersey Monthly magazine selected Dr. Noonan to receive the New Jersey Pride Award in Education in recognition of his significant contributions to higher education and to the State of New Jersey.
