National Selection Committee
James Chen
James Chen is the dean of the Louis D. Brandeis School of Law at the University of Louisville. Dean Chen is a prolific and influential scholar whose works span subjects such as administrative law, agricultural law, constitutional law, economic regulation, environmental law, industrial policy, legislation, and natural resources law. He is the coauthor of Disasters and the Law: Katrina and Beyond (Aspen Publishers, 2006), the first book to provide comprehensive coverage of the legal issues surrounding natural disasters. This path breaking book is now in its second edition under the title Disaster Law and Policy. Dean Chen provides expert advice on the law of regulated industries, particularly telecommunications. Dean Chen has also taught courses in criminal law and food and drug law.
Thomas Krepel
Thomas L. Krepel is the thirteenth president of Fairmont State University. Dr. Krepel came to FSU from Northern Illinois University, where he served as Assistant to the President from 2005-2009. He was President of Chadron State College in Chadron, Nebraska, from 1998 to 2005. He also served at Chadron as Interim President in 1998, as Senior Vice President for Academic Affairs from 1997 to 1998 and as Professor of Education from 1997 to 2005. His professional background includes posts at the Office of University Outreach at Texas A&M University-Coarpus Christi in Corpus Christi, Texas; the Center for Educational Administration and Leadership at St. Cloud University in St. Cloud, Minnesota; the Chancellor’s Office and the Department of Educational Administration at the University of Nebraska-Lincoln; and the Department of Educational Leadership and Foundations at the University of New Orleans in New Orleans, Louisiana.
William M. Plater
William M. Plater is currently director of International Community Development at Indiana University Purdue University Indianapolis (IUPUI) and Chancellor’s Professor of Public Affairs, Philanthropic Studies, English, and Informatics. He served as the chief academic officer at IUPUI for nineteen years, until 2006. In his present position he is seeking greater collaboration and intentionality in the international aspirations of the university and the Indianapolis region, and he is promoting the concept of IUPUI’s graduating globally competent and responsible citizens.
William Radke
William J. Radke, Provost and Vice President of Academic Affairs at the University of Central Oklahoma, has served as Assistant Dean of the former Office of Sponsored Research and Grants, Assistant Dean of the Jackson College of Graduate Studies and Research, Associate Vice President of Academic Affairs and most Recently Provost and Vice President of Academic Affairs at the University of Central Oklahoma. He has been a faculty member in the Department of Biology at UCO since 1975. In addition to his administrative assignment he is currently involved in UCO’s American Democracy Project, Continuous Quality Improvement Team, undergraduate research effort, and leadership initiatives. Since joining the administration in 2000, Dr. Radke has continued an active research program in his area of expertise, avian biology. He has numerous refereed publications in the field of vertebrate biology including several laboratory manuals. Dr. Radke holds a B.S. and M.S. in biology from Minnesota State University and a Ph.D. in zoology from the University of Arizona.
Fred J. Taylor
Chancellor and professor emeritus at the University of Arkansas at Monticello, Dr. Fred J. Taylor currently serves as a consultant for the Arkansas Aging Initiative of the Donald W. Reynolds Institute on Aging. His 42 years of higher education experience includes work as a professor and director of research at Northeastern State University in Oklahoma, associate professor and director of institutional research for the University of Arkansas, and executive assistant to the president of the University of Arkansas System. He earned a bachelor’s degree from Northeastern State University, master’s from the University of Oklahoma, and doctorate in education from the University of Northern Colorado.
Gail Wells
Gail W. Wells serves as the Vice President for Academic Affairs and Provost at Northern Kentucky University. She has responsibility for the graduate and undergraduate programs in the colleges of Arts and Sciences, Informatics, Education & Human Services, Business, Health Professions, the Salmon P. Chase College of Law, the Honors Program, University Programs, Enrollment Management, Steely Library and Information Technology and a $140 million budget. Dr. Wells has a bachelor’s degree in mathematics with a second major in music, and a doctoral degree in mathematics education from the University of Cincinnati. She completed a program in educational leadership at Harvard University in 2001. As provost, she has developed a new area of scholarship focused on the role of public engagement in the mission of a 21st century metropolitan university. She is currently coauthoring a book titled On Becoming an Engaged University: A Guide for Colleges and Universities.