Oglethorpe University president Lawrence Schall will succeed Barbara Brittingham at the New England Commission of Higher Education. The leaders discuss the change and accreditation issues to watch in the future.
The current president of Oglethorpe University in Atlanta will jump into the field of accreditation.
Lawrence M. Schall will be the next president of the New England Commission of Higher Education, the accreditor announced Wednesday. The move ties up the next steps for two leaders who’d previously announced departures from their current jobs. Schall said last year that he planned to step down this summer as Oglethorpe’s president, while NECHE’s president, Barbara Brittingham, announced in September that she planned to retire in July.
It will be a big change for both. Schall has led Oglethorpe for 15 years and is credited with bolstering the future of the private college, which had been struggling. Brittingham has been with NECHE since 2000, serving as its president since 2006.
This moment is one of changes for accreditation. The coronavirus pandemic prompted the Department of Education to temporarily accept accreditation for brick-and-mortar programs that transitioned to distance education in the middle of the semester. New rules allow regional accreditors to accredit colleges and universities outside their home areas.