Siri Terjesen, Ph.D., Appointed to Higher Education Federal Advisory Board

Florida Atlantic University’s Siri A. Terjesen, Ph.D., associate dean for research and external relations, has been appointed to the federal National Advisory Committee on Institutional Quality and Integrity (NACIQI) for higher education.

Terjesen, who also serves as the executive director for FAU’s Madden Center for Value Creation and Phil Smith Professor of Entrepreneurship, began her six-year appointment on Mar. 23. She was appointed by U.S. Secretary of Education Linda McMahon.

“We are enormously proud of Professor Terjesen’s appointment to NACIQI in recognition of her research and expertise. This board deals with some of the most consequential issues facing higher education today,” said Daniel Gropper, Ph.D., dean of FAU’s College of Business. “It is gratifying to see that expertise is called upon at the national level.”

NACIQI is a federal advisory body that advises the U.S. Secretary of Education on matters related to the accreditation of postsecondary institutions, institutional eligibility for federal student aid, and the quality assurance of the nation’s higher education system.

The 18-member committee is composed of experts drawn from across the higher education landscape, appointed in equal parts by the U.S. Department of Education and both chambers of Congress. Meeting at least twice annually, the committee’s recommendations inform the Secretary of Education’s decisions on the recognition of accrediting agencies.

Terjesen brings an internationally recognized record of scholarship in entrepreneurship, corporate governance, higher education policy, and philanthropy to the appointment. She ranks among the world’s top 2% most cited scholars, with more than 24,500 citations to her three books and over 100 peer-reviewed articles. She has served as a reviewer for higher education agencies in the United States, the European Union, Norway, Sweden, Switzerland, and Belgium.

“I am deeply honored to serve on NACIQI and to contribute to a process that, at its best, is a powerful and nonpartisan instrument for holding institutions accountable to the students and families who trust them,” Terjesen said. “Throughout my career, I have always returned to the question of whether students graduate with the skills, knowledge, and credentials that open doors for them, which is at the heart of what accreditation should ensure.”

 -FAU-