NAROPA UNIVERSITY PRESIDENT STUART LORD ANNOUNCES CABINET APPOINTMENTS

   

BOULDER, Colo. (October 14, 2010)— Naropa University, the leader in contemplative education, has appointed two new members to the university’s existing President’s Cabinet. Interim Vice President for Student Affairs and Enrollment Management Cheryl Barbour has been appointed to the permanent position of vice president for student affairs and enrollment management. Associate Vice President for Academic Affairs and Chief Diversity Officer Suzanne Benally has been appointed to associate provost for institutional planning and assessment and special advisor to the president for diversity. Both are newly developed positions, created under President Stuart Lord’s university-wide reorganization plan.

President Lord is honored to have both Barbour and Benally accept their new positions. “Cheryl Barbour and Suzanne Benally have demonstrated strong leadership in their tenure at the university. As longtime members of the Naropa community, they possess keen insight and extensive experience that keep us true to our roots as we continue to gain momentum in our institutional transformation. I am humbled by the expertise and wisdom they bring to the Cabinet.”

Cheryl Barbour has more than 20 years of higher education leadership experience. She began her career at Naropa in 1992, as a financial aid counselor. During her time at Naropa, she has implemented new technologies, developed institutional research capacity, assisted in the expansion of Naropa’s campuses, brought significant additional financial aid to the institution, and helped procure more than $700,000 in endowed scholarships. Ms. Barbour’s dedication to helping students extends beyond the financial aid office; she is recognized throughout the university as an innovator in increasing the economic and ethnic diversity of the student body.

Barbour said, “I’m excited to have the opportunity to continue to work with such dedicated and committed colleagues while we collaborate to enhance the Naropa educational experience for the next generation of students.”

President Lord stated, “Barbour’s strong leadership during the reorganization, as well as her long-standing relationship with the Naropa community, has highlighted the fact that we have someone eminently qualified to guide this critical division in the days ahead.”

Prior to Naropa University, Ms. Barbour served as the graduate student financial aid counselor in the Office of Admissions and Financial Aid at Syracuse University, where she also managed the federal loan program. In addition, Ms. Barbour worked as loan counselor/processor at State University of New York (SUNY) at Buffalo. Barbour’s commitment throughout her career has been to provide opportunity and access to higher education to those who otherwise can not afford it.

Suzanne Benally has held the position of associate vice president for academic affairs and chief diversity officer at Naropa University since 2005. President Lord expressed his profound appreciation for her expertise. “Ms. Benally has done such excellent work as our chief diversity officer,” said President Lord. “Her new position will expand the diversity initiative at Naropa. Ms. Benally’s counsel on diversity and other areas are critical for the advancement of Naropa. As associate vice president for academic affairs, she provided leadership in the university’s accreditation and in building institutional assessment. Her efforts in this area have built a foundation for Naropa University to strengthen and inform critical strategic work of the institution moving forward.” 

“It is both challenging and exciting to be part of an organizational change process at Naropa University,” said Benally. “I deeply appreciate the Naropa community, and I look forward to engaging new directions, expected, and unexpected outcomes under the leadership of Dr. Stuart Lord.”

Prior to Naropa University, Benally directed the Institute on Ethnic Diversity at the Western Interstate Commission for Higher Education (WICHE). In addition, Ms. Benally worked with the American Indian Science and Engineering Society as an interim executive director and director of education programs to address the concerns and needs of both k–12 and postsecondary American Indian education. Her professional interest and research have focused on the relationship between land and place as expressed through written and oral literature, and her extensive experience includes higher education policy, assessment, and diversity. She currently holds a faculty appointment at Naropa University in Environmental Studies. As an independent consultant, Ms. Benally has worked with the Ford Foundation, the Packard Foundation, and the James Irvine Foundation. She is a member of the Board of Trustees of the Western States Arts Federation.

President Lord states that “these two new positions and appointments are a clear indication that Naropa University is asserting its leadership in contemplative education, by developing positions that strengthen the university’s practices in assessment and planning, as well as taking a high-level view of student services from the initial stages of inquiry though retaining and providing support systems for students in order to provide guidance through graduation.”

For nearly 35 years, Naropa University has been the leader in offering contemplative education, a model that is as concerned with students’ emotional and personal development as it is with traditional academic learning. Naropa’s contemplative approach provides a missing link in much of liberal arts education: the need to integrate traditional critical, analytic, and research skills with the ability for self-reflection and discernment.

Naropa University is accredited by the Higher Learning Commission and is a member of the North Central Association of Colleges and Schools. Naropa University is a private, nonprofit, nonsectarian liberal arts institution dedicated to advancing contemplative education. This approach to learning integrates the best of Eastern and Western educational traditions, helping students know themselves more deeply and engage constructively with others. The university comprises a four-year undergraduate college and graduate programs in the arts, education, environmental leadership, psychology and religious studies.

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