Board Chair

Judith S. Eaton

Judith S. Eaton is president of the Council for Higher Education Accreditation (CHEA), the largest institutional higher education membership organization in the United States. A national advocate and institutional voice for self-regulation of academic quality through accreditation, CHEA is an association of 3,000 degree-granting colleges and universities.

CHEA works with the presidents and chief academic officers of colleges and universities, accreditors, policy makers and higher education leaders around the world, providing authoritative information and leadership on issues related to accreditation and quality assurance, the federal government-accreditation relationship and enhancing public confidence in accreditation. CHEA is the only private sector body in the United States that “recognizes” U.S. institutional and programmatic accreditors for quality, scrutinizing these organizations and affirming that they meet CHEA’s quality standards. At present, 60 accreditors are CHEA-recognized.

Prior to her work at CHEA, Dr. Eaton served as chancellor of the Minnesota State Colleges and Universities, where she was responsible for leadership and coordination of 32 institutions serving more than 162,000 students statewide. Previously, she was president of the Council for Aid to Education, Community College of Philadelphia and the Community College of Southern Nevada, and served as vice president of the American Council on Education. She also has held full- and part-time teaching positions at Columbia University, the University of Michigan and Wayne State University.

A sought-after speaker on higher education issues both in the United States and internationally, Dr. Eaton currently serves on a range of boards and has authored numerous books and articles on higher education and accreditation topics.