Michael McPherson
from the Macalester Public Knowledge Base
Michael S. McPherson was the president of Macalester College between 1996 and 2003, following Robert Gavin's presidency. He was succeeded by Brian Rosenberg. Among his major tasks are the US$60M fundraising campaign and the commissioning of campus-wide Strategic Directions Task Forces
[edit] From the President's Website
from http://macalester.edu/president/about_president.html
President Mike McPherson, who began serving as president in 1996, is a nationally known economist, writer, and authority on the financing of higher education. He can discuss issues such as the cost and future of higher education as well as the importance of a liberal arts education. His comments on the issue have appeared in The New York Times, The Wall Street Journal, and Business Week. He has also testified before the Senate Finance Committee and the House, Ways and Means Committee on President Clinton's proposals to provide tax breaks for families with children in college. President McPherson can also discuss a variety of issues about Macalester, the College's long-range plans and its endowment.
He is the co-author and editor of seven books, including Keeping College Affordable, The Student Aid Game: Meeting Need and Rewarding Talent in American Higher Education, and Economic Analysis and Moral Philosophy. He is a trustee of the College Board, and serves as well on the boards of the American Council on Education, the Minneapolis Institute of Arts, the Minnesota Private College Council, and Minnesota Campus Compact. He is also a member of the Department of Education's Advisory Council on Education Statistics.
In addition, McPherson has been a consultant on enrollment, tuition, and financial aid policy to liberal arts colleges and universities around the country, was a Fellow of the Institute for Advanced Study and a Senior Fellow at the Brookings Institution.
Before coming to Macalester, McPherson served for 22 years at Williams College in Williamstown, Massachusetts, where he was a professor, chairman of the Economics Department, and dean of the faculty. McPherson earned his B.A., M.A., and Ph.D. at the University of Chicago.
