BHEF Announces New Board Leadership for 2016-17

 Peter A. Weinberg, Partner, Perella Weinberg Partners, as Chair and Teresa A. Sullivan, President, University of Virginia, as Vice Chair

North Carolina State University Chancellor Randy Woodson and Northeastern University President Joseph Aoun also join BHEF’s distinguished Board of Directors

Washington, D.C. (July 1, 2016) — During its 2016 summer member meeting, the Business-Higher Education Forum (BHEF) announced that Peter A. Weinberg, partner, Perella Weinberg Partners, will become its next chair, and Teresa A. Sullivan, president, University of Virginia, will become vice chair. Weinberg succeeds Eduardo J. Padrón, president, Miami Dade College. The BHEF Board of Directors also welcomed two new members: North Carolina State University Chancellor Randy Woodson and Northeastern University President Joseph E. Aoun.

“BHEF and our members are committed to actionable insights, collaborations, and outcomes that address our nation’s talent challenges,” stated BHEF CEO Brian Fitzgerald. “I look forward to working with Peter and Terry as BHEF continues to create undergraduate pathways that develop a diverse and highly skilled talent stream. Their successes in workforce and talent development in New York and Virginia, respectively, are exciting indicators of the gains that can be accomplished nationally through business-higher education partnerships.

I would also like to take this opportunity to thank our outgoing chair, Eduardo Padrón. It has been a remarkable year. Under his leadership and guidance, BHEF conducted a milestone strategic assessment that positioned the organization for success in the decade to come. Strategically, we began to implement the assessment’s findings in our work across the country, which enabled us to introduce new undergraduate opportunities to diverse students. We were able to accomplish this at such a rapid pace through Eduardo’s expertise and successful models at Miami Dade College. We are extremely grateful for his wise counsel, generosity of time, and resources.”

Weinberg added, “I echo Brian’s sentiment. In the past year, Eduardo furthered industry partnerships, internships, and innovative learning experiences, all to the benefit of his students and his community. BHEF benefited from his leadership and innovative ideas, and we are looking forward to building on his success.”

About Peter A. Weinberg
Mr. Weinberg is a Partner and Head of the Advisory business of Perella Weinberg Partners. Prior to joining Perella Weinberg Partners, Mr. Weinberg held a number of senior management positions at Goldman Sachs: he was elected a Partner in 1992, founded the Financial Sponsors Group, headed Investment Banking Services, headed the Communications, Media and Telecom Group, co-headed the Global Investment Banking Division, and for the last 6 years of his career there, was Chief Executive Officer of Goldman Sachs International. During his tenure at Goldman Sachs, Mr. Weinberg served on the Firm’s Management Committee and headed the European Management Committee.

Mr. Weinberg currently serves on the Board of Overseers at the Columbia University Medical School and Memorial Sloan Kettering Cancer Center. He is a Founding Trustee of The Kings Academy in Jordan and serves on the Board of the Kravis Leadership Institute.

Mr. Weinberg currently serves on the Harvard Global Advisory Council.

Mr. Weinberg received a Bachelor of Arts from Claremont McKenna College and a Masters in Business Administration from Harvard Business School.

About Teresa A. Sullivan
Teresa A. Sullivan took office in 2012 as the eighth president of the University of Virginia. The University will mark its bicentennial in 2017.

In fall 2012, she launched a planning effort to provide a road-map for the University’s future, while gathering input from 10,000 alumni, parents, students, faculty, staff, and others. This effort produced a new strategic plan for the University, known as the Cornerstone Plan. Early successes include: an endowed Data Science Institute, a major in Global Studies, and a minor in Entrepreneurship.

Under President Sullivan’s leadership, the University developed a new financial model to ensure stability and transparency, launched a substantial program in Organizational Excellence, and created a program to expand the full-time faculty in multidisciplinary clusters.

President Sullivan understands the challenges in higher education related to cost-containment, affordability, student-debt reduction, faculty compensation, and the emergence of online education. She initiated ongoing efforts to reduce costs, improve processes, and enhance efficiency, while protecting the quality of the academic enterprise. In 2013, she proposed an aggressive plan to improve faculty compensation after many years of stagnation in faculty salaries.

In spring 2013, President Sullivan led the University to completion of its $3-billion capital campaign and announced plans to raise financial support for three strategic priorities: retaining and recruiting top faculty, restoring the University’s Jeffersonian Grounds, and providing needy students with scholarships.

President Sullivan is a respected scholar in labor force demography. The author or coauthor of six books and many scholarly articles, her most recent research has focused on measuring productivity in higher education.

President Sullivan is a Fellow of the American Academy of Arts & Sciences and of the American Association for the Advancement of Science. She serves as Chair of the Council of Presidents for the Association of Governing Boards of Universities and Colleges; Chair of the Council of Presidents of the Association of Public and Land-grant Universities; Co-Chair of the National Research Council's Committee on Improving Higher Education's Responsiveness to Regional STEM Workforce Needs; and as a member of the Advisory Board for the Northern Virginia Technology Council, the trade association of the technology industry in Northern Virginia. She is a member of the executive committee of the Virginia Business Higher Education Council. In 2013, the Governor appointed her to the Innovation and Entrepreneurship Investment Authority.

President Sullivan came to the University of Virginia from the University of Michigan, where she was provost and executive vice president for academic affairs. Prior to her work at Michigan, Sullivan was executive vice chancellor for academic affairs for the University of Texas System and a faculty member at the University of Texas at Austin.

She is a graduate of Michigan State University’s James Madison College and earned her doctoral degree in sociology from the University of Chicago.