Woodbury University Announces Appointment of Six Local Leaders to Board of Trustees

LOS ANGELES - Oct. 7, 2013 - PRLog -- LOS ANGELES (October 7, 2013) – Drawing on Southern California leaders from diverse professional backgrounds, Woodbury University (www.woodbury.edu) today announced the appointment of six new members to its Board of Trustees.

The Woodbury University Board of Trustees functions as the institution’s primary governing body, overseeing the policy, academics and appointments.  Each new member will serve for a minimum term of three years.  The newly-appointed members join 19 sitting members at large and seven trustees emeriti, as well as David St. Amant, Board Chairman, and Vice Chairman Lawrence Shoaf.

“Each new member of the Board values the pillars around which our university is organized -- design thinking, entrepreneurship, civic engagement and transdisciplinarity,” said St. Amant.  “Since I joined the Woodbury community as a parent nearly eight years ago, I have been honored to work with leaders from across Southern California who are excited about participating in the governance of this institution.”

“The university will be extremely well served by the new additions to our Board,” said Luis Maria R. Calingo, Ph.D, president of Woodbury University.  “To a man and woman, these new members are all committed to the pursuit of excellence.  The eclectic blend of talents and experience they bring to the table will be a source of strength for students, faculty, staff and, indeed, the community at large.”

Joining the Board of Trustees are:

·         Yolanda Gorman, president of Philips Graduate Institute and an organizational consultant specializing in nonprofit management.  As a consultant, she has written numerous articles about management and capacity building in the nonprofit sector, and led multiple successful fundraising campaigns.  Holding both an MBA and a Ph.D, Gorman is actively involved in advancing higher education in California, both public and private.

·         Barry Kurtz, a franchise attorney with more than 30 years of experience in civil litigation, expert witness testimony and the development and administration of franchises.  Over the years, Kurtz has served national retail chains as both a chief operating officer and general counsel.  He is a certified mediator and an appointed member of the Franchise Law Committee of the Business Law Section of the State Bar of California.

·         Ilse Metchek, founder and president of the California Fashion Association.  Metchek has served as president of White Stag Inc., and executive director of the California Market Center.  She serves on multiple boards across the Los Angeles area and is actively involved in advancing the business of textiles manufacturing in the global economy.

·         Malcolm S. McNeil, a partner at Fox Rothschild specializing in international business and litigation.  McNeil has extensive experience serving clients across Europe and Asia, and played a role in trade discussions surrounding the Hong Kong transition of sovereignty in 1997.   McNeil is also an adjunct professor in international civil litigation at the University of La Verne Law School.

·         Bruce Munster, managing director and senior portfolio manager of the MPF Family Wealth Group, Morgan Stanley Wealth Management.  Prior to joining Morgan Stanley, Munster built a $1 billion practice in the Private Wealth Management Group at UBS.  He serves on the Board of the California CEO Forum and the Association for Corporate Growth, among others, and is a contributing author for C-Suite Quarterly Magazine.

·         Curt Pringle, a land use, public relations and government affairs consultant, working with public and private clients at the state and local levels.  Pringle served two terms as the mayor of Anaheim, and two terms in the California State Assembly.  He helped draft both California’s 1997 welfare reform plan and 1996 legislation to reduce business taxes.

About Woodbury University

Founded in 1884, Woodbury University is one of the oldest institutions of higher education in Southern California. Woodbury offers bachelor's degrees from the School of Architecture, School of Business, School of Media, Culture & Design, and Institute of Transdisciplinary Studies, along with an MBA program, Master of Architecture (MArch), Master of Science in Architecture (MSArch), and Master of Organizational Leadership.  The San Diego campus offers bachelor of architecture, Master of Real Estate Development for Architects (MRED), and Master of Science in Architecture, Landscape, and Urbanism degrees.  Visit www.woodbury.edu for more information, and Reflections on Excellence (http://www.drluiscalingo.com/), the new twice-monthly blog written by Woodbury University President Luis Maria R. Calingo, Ph.D.

Media Contact:

Ken Greenberg

Edge Communications, Inc.

(323) 469-3397

ken@edgecommunicationsinc.com

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