How will you spend your Thanksgiving break?
President John Sexton now has a more powerful platform to push forward his vision for higher education.
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NYU's president has been appointed chair of the Board of Directors for the American Council on Education, the main coordinating body for American colleges and universities.
The ACE, which aims to influence public policy surrounding issues of higher education, serves more than 80 percent of college students across the nation. It had an active role in stimulus conversations and shaping President Obama's higher education plans.
Sexton was honored to take the helm of the organization's board.
"I'm proud always to represent the school," he said. "And I'm proud that our peers in public and private education think well enough of what's going on at the school to trust me with this responsibility."
"It was a natural thing when the folks at the America Council on Education ... asked me to join the board two years ago," added Sexton, who was appointed vice chairman of the board in February 2009. "It was consistent with the way I try to spend my outside time."
As chairman of the board, Sexton will work with Molly Broad, the president of ACE, as the organization heeds the concerns of member universities. Currently, the ACE is arguing for more Pell Grants and financial aid.
Sexton also serves as the chair of the Commission on Independent Colleges and Universities in New York state and chair of the New York Academy of Sciences.
"It's been my practice to do outside boards only to the extent that there's a link to what we do at NYU," he said. "I don't do any outside boards that are corporate boards."
NYU spokesman John Beckman said Sexton's appointment will not affect his current commitments at the university.
In addition to acting as university president, Sexton teaches a class in Abu Dhabi and two undergraduate courses at the Washington Square campus.
