Autumn 2007 Activity: Ferguson Appointed to Business-Higher Education Forum

Richard L. Ferguson, ACT CEO and chairman of the board, has been appointed to the Business–Higher Education Forum (the Forum or BHEF).

BHEF is an independent, nonprofit individual membership organization of Fortune 500 CEOs, leaders of colleges and universities, and foundation executives. The group’s mission is to engage and inform its members, policymakers, and the public on issues of strategic importance to business and higher education and to influence public policy and practice on these issues. The American Council on Education hosted the Forum until it became an independent organization in September 2004. Founded in 1978, the Forum is located in Washington, DC.

David J. Skorton, president of Cornell University and former president of The University of Iowa, serves as vice chair and membership chair of the Forum’s Executive Committee. Herbert M. Allison, Jr., CEO of TIAA-CREF, is the chair. Co-chairs are Warren J. Baker, president, California Polytechnic State University, and William H. Swanson, chairman and CEO, Raytheon Corporation.

BHEF’s current agenda focuses on advancing initiatives in two areas: boosting K–12 student achievement and promoting college readiness for all; and securing America’s leadership in science, technology, engineering, and mathematics. Members of the Forum discussed these issues at their semiannual meeting in May in La Jolla, California.

Forum members include representatives of The Goldman Sachs Foundation, The Wallace Foundation, Nationwide Insurance, The California State University System, Georgia Power Company, Lehigh University, and Rensselaer Polytechnic Institute.

Ferguson Appointed to Business–Higher Education Forum