Nebraska's Coordinating Commission for Postsecondary Education has hired Dr. Michael Baumgartner as its next Executive Director.
The Commission voted unanimously to hire Baumgartner after interviewing him in Lincoln on July 11. Baumgartner currently serves as Chief Financial Officer for Complete College America, a national nonprofit organization that works with states to increase the number of Americans with quality career certificates or college degrees and to close attainment gaps for traditionally underrepresented populations.
Prior to joining Complete College America in 2011, Baumgartner was Executive Deputy Director at the Illinois Board of Higher Education, where he was responsible for the Board’s planning, budgeting, information systems, grants, and office financial administration functions, including the supervision of the fiscal affairs staff, the information systems staff, the grants staff, and the fiscal officer. Before Illinois, Baumgartner served as Associate Director for Facilities and Financial Affairs at the Indiana Commission for Higher Education from 2000 to 2005.
He earned his Ph.D. in Political Science from Indiana University, Bloomington, his M.A. in Political Science from Ohio State University, and his B.A. in Political Science from the University of Missouri, Columbia.
Baumgartner replaces Dr. Marshall Hill, who resigned in August 2013 to become executive director of the National Council for State Authorization Reciprocity Agreements. Dr. Carna Pfeil has served as Interim Executive Director since Hill’s departure. Prior to this, Pfeil was the Commission’s Associate Director for Finance and Administration.
Baumgartner's start date is still being negotiated.