CLU Leadership

President’s Message

Welcome to Claremont Lincoln University. I am thrilled and honored to serve current and future public, non-profit, and corporate leaders as Claremont Lincoln University’s fourth President. As an institution dedicated to a “practivist” education, CLU develops inclusive, ethical, and authentic leaders who are committed to profound impact and positive social change in workplaces and communities across the nation. Throughout my career, I have purposefully sought out institutions that serve diverse populations and challenge systemic disparities. CLU is such an institution.

I am passionate about CLU because its distinctive education focuses on what we must collectively learn, become, and do to tackle current and future real-world challenges. Every course, certificate, and program is career-relevant, steeped in lessons of leadership, and infused with critical tools for current and future professionals. Our students, their aspirations, and their priorities come first. CLU offers them extensive support systems, streamlined processes, flexible schedules, and professional coaching. Our faculty and staff devote themselves to working adults and their future careers as changemakers.

Most importantly, our culture exudes mindfulness and respect for all, dialogue that opens hearts, and collaboration that makes it possible to be our very best, together. As President, I must safeguard these values above all else in order to create an environment in which students, faculty, staff, and community thrive, innovate, and collaborate for inclusion, diversity, equity, and sustainability–for all people and for our planet. We focus on what matters most to make a significant difference. At CLU, it’s not just about a work-life; it’s about your life’s work. We’re here for good. Come join us.

We focus on Socially Conscious Education^®designed to make positive social change.

Our vision is a world filled with ethical and mindful leaders instilled with the knowledge and courage to enact change. Our students make a difference because they are the type of leaders who take notice of issues that matter—big or small—every single day. They are driven, passionate, career-focused, and compelled to make meaningful and lasting changes in their communities and the world.

We are creating a new leadership ecosystem.

CLU’s education is about leadership—ethical, genuine, authentic, humble, make-a-difference-every-day, activist leadership. The Claremont Core®, a distinctive and socially conscious leadership model, permeates all teaching and learning. It is Claremont Lincoln University’s signature. Our graduates are transformational leaders who embolden other leaders to build an ecosystem in which everyone treats others with abundance, care, empathy, and respect.

We aren’t just an institution, we’re a movement.

CLU itself is a changemaker university. Our faculty and groundbreaking curricula engage students deeply in, real-world roles and work. Learning focuses on today’s issues, trends, and innovations. Practical cases, deep discussions, capstone projects, and internships immerse students directly into their career fields. Simultaneously our programs challenge them to acquire the attributes to lead courageously and with integrity. In fact, our students and faculty lead positive social change during, not after, their education.

We are online on purpose, flexible, and constantly innovating.

Our engaged online experience makes our leadership models accessible to everyone. We achieve this by collaborating with like-minded organizations such as the Lincoln Institute of Land Policy that further positive social change. As scholar-practitioners in their fields, our faculty actively engage students in the relevant issues of today.

We’re at our best when we’re collaborating to design and deliver unique offerings and the exact learning needed now.

The world needs transformational leaders. The world needs Claremont Lincoln University.

Lynn Priddy, President and CEO

CLU Board of Directors

In Memoriam

David Lincoln, Founding Board Chair

David Lincoln was a founding member of Claremont Lincoln University, who enjoyed a diverse career as an aerospace engineer, businessman, philanthropist, and non-profit leader. His interests were tremendously successful, not only due to his entrepreneurship, business acumen, and management practices, but also his ethical commitment to advancing the common good. He served on numerous non-profit and educational boards, and was philanthropically involved with many educational and ethical endeavors, including Claremont Lincoln University until he passed in March 2018.

CURRENT BOARD Members

Thomas Becker, Chair of Nomination and Governance Committee

Retired, President, Chautauqua Institution

Thomas M. Becker retired in January 2017 from Chautauqua Institution, where he served for 32 years, the last 13 as President.

The Institution’s physical, fiscal, and programmatic assets experienced enormous growth during this time. The Chautauqua Amphitheater, home to most of the Institute’s programming, reopened in its new and expanded form in June 2017, fully funded by private donations. During his tenure, Becker raised over $200 million for the Institution’s operating, capital, and endowment purposes. He received a degree in political science from Xavier University and a master’s in public affairs from Indiana University at South Bend, where he was honored as an outstanding alumnus. Columbia’s Teachers College bestowed its lifelong learning award on Becker in 2005. He serves on the Sheldon Foundation, a philanthropic board focused on southern Chautauqua County.

Jerry Campbell, Ph.D.

President Emeritus, Claremont Lincoln University

Rev. Dr. Campbell is a founding member and former President of Claremont Lincoln University as well as a former President of Claremont School of Theology.

An ordained elder in The United Methodist Church, Dr. Campbell previously served as Chief Information Officer and Dean of Libraries at University of Southern California, and as chief librarian and faculty member at the Iliff School of Theology, Perkins School of Theology, and Duke University. He holds a B.A. from McMurry University, an M.Div. from Duke University, an M.S. in Library Science from the University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill, and a Ph.D. in American History from the University of Denver.

Steve Chanen

President and CEO, Chanen Construction Co., Inc.

Mr. Chanen is Chief Executive Officer of Chanen Construction Company, ranked as one of the largest five builders in the Southwestern United States, and one of the 400 largest builders in the nation, according to Engineering News Record.

The company recently celebrated its 60th year in business and the completion of $14 billion of work throughout the U.S. He earned a Juris Doctorate from Arizona State University and is part of an executive education program at Harvard Business School and its MBA program. Throughout his career, he has demonstrated broad support of business organizations and local and national nonprofits through his involvement as board member, award recipient and philanthropist.

Henry A. Coleman, Ph.D., Chair of Academic and Student Affairs Committee

Professor Emeritus, Edward J. Bloustein School of Planning and Public Policy at Rutgers-New Brunswick

Henry A. Coleman is a graduate of Booker T. Washington High School (in Atlanta, GA), Morehouse College (B.A. economics), and Princeton University (M.A. and Ph.D. economics).

He has held full-time faculty positions at Tufts University (where he was an instructor/assistant professor) and at Rutgers-the State University of New Jersey (where was an associate and then full/extension specialist professor). His research and teaching interests focused primarily on (state and local) public finances, the economics of poverty, and issues in income and wealth inequality. Coleman also served as the director of the Center for Government Services (CGS) at Rutgers, where CGS provided professional training, technical assistance/support, and policy research primarily for New Jersey’s local governments. Coleman has held part-time/adjunct/visiting professorships at several institutions, including the American University, the University of Maryland, George Mason University, the Rutgers University Business School, and Princeton University. As of July 2020, Coleman is a professor emeritus at the Edward J. Bloustein School of Planning and Public Policy at Rutgers University-New Brunswick.

Public Service:

Coleman has provided public service to several organizations at the federal and state levels of government. Coleman’s federal public service includes stints as a (Brookings Economic Policy Fellow and) senior economist at the US Department of Housing and Urban Development (USHUD); a senior economist in the Office of the Chief Economist at the US Government Accountability Office (GAO, nee the General Accounting Office); and the director of Government Financial Research at the US Advisory Commission on Intergovernmental Relations (ACIR). In New Jersey, he has served as the executive director of the New Jersey State and Local Expenditure and Revenue Policy (SLERP) Commission; as assistant director of research at the New Jersey Office of State Planning; and as a senior policy adviser in Governor James J. Florio’s Office of Management and Policy. In addition, Coleman has served on several state special (fiscal and/or school-finance) study commissions and gubernatorial transition committees (e.g., for Governor-elect James McGreevey, Governor-elect Jon Corzine, and Governor-elect Phil Murphy).

Non-profit/Community Service:

Coleman has previously served as a member of the board of directors/trustees for several organizations, including the Citizens/Coalition for the Public Good, the Coalition for Affordable Housing and the Environment, CeaseFire New Jersey, New Jersey City University, the Lincoln Institute of Land Policy, and the New Jersey Public Policy Research Institute (NJPPRI). In addition, he currently serves on the board of trustees/directors of the Fund for New Jersey, New Jersey Future, New Jersey Policy Perspective, the Center for Health Care Strategies (chair of the Finance and Investment committee), the Center on Budget and Policy Priorities (chair of the Nominating Committee), and the Institute on Taxation and Economic Policy (chair of the Finance Committee).

Gary C. Cornia, Ph.D., Chair of Audit Committee

Emeritus Dean and Professor, Marriott Chair & Professor of Management, Marriott School of Management – Brigham Young University

Gary C. Cornia is an American professor who was the eighth Dean of the Marriott School of Management at Brigham Young University.

He received a B.S. in Economics in 1972 from Weber State University and a M.S. in Economics two years later from the Jon M. Huntsman School of Business at Utah State University. He subsequently earned a Ph.D. in Public finance from the Ohio State University in 1979. Cornia served as dean from 2008 to 2013

Cornia earned a Ph. D. in public finance from Ohio State University in 1979. In 2006, the National Tax Association presented him with its prestigious Stephen D. Gold Award. From 2002 to 2003 he served as president of the National Tax Association. From 1990 to 1998 he was associate dean of the Marriott School. In 1998, Cornia was named the Marriott School Outstanding Faculty Member, the highest award given by the school. He currently serves on the boards of three fixed-income funds and one equity fund as well as with the Lincoln Institute of Land Policy in Massachusetts, the Land Reform Training Institute in Taiwan, and the Utah Governor’s Tax Review Commission.

Some of Dr. Cornia’s research includes the use of uncertainty in the preparation of state budgets, electronic commerce taxation, and fiscal decentralization in transitional economies.

Anthony F. Digiovanni, Board Chair and Chair of Executive and Compensation Committee

Board Chair and Retired, Past President, Claremont Lincoln University

Mr. DiGiovanni has been a Board Member of CLU since 2016 and is a former President of Claremont Lincoln University from 2019 to 2021.

He last served as CEO of a venture-backed startup organization in higher education, Ameritas Educational Services. From 2007 to 2011, Digiovanni was the Senior Vice President of Marketing and Enrollment for Education Management Corporation. Prior to that, Digiovanni served with Corinthian Colleges as President and COO, and also with the University of Phoenix in various executive positions. Digiovanni was the first President of University of Phoenix Online and helped take the organization public in September 2000. Mr. Digiovanni has lobbied in Sacramento and the U.S. Congress on behalf of the higher education sector, and has participated as a speaker in numerous education conferences throughout the U.S. In November 2001 he was the Plenary Speaker at the Sloan International Conference of Online Learning. Digiovanni serves on the Board of Regents of his alma mater, Loyola Marymount University, and with the School of Education on their Board of Visitors. He is also a Board Member of the Orange County Chapter of the American Red Cross. Digiovanni has an MBA from the University of Southern California and a BBA from Loyola Marymount University.

Keith Drake

Senior Vice President and Regional Manager, Torrey Pines Bank

Keith Drake is senior director, commercial banking, for Torrey Pines Bank, where he leads the downtown Los Angeles market sales and operations team.

Clients include real estate and construction companies, accounting and insurance firms, manufacturing and distribution businesses, educational institutions, retailers, law firms and nonprofit organizations.

Mr. Drake joined Torrey Pines Bank in 2017 and has more than 30 years of banking industry experience. Throughout his career, he has won numerous performance awards such as placing in the top 10 percent nationwide for generating new business.

Mr. Drake also has earned numerous awards for his community involvement. In 2017, he received the Lincoln Award for Ethical Leadership from Claremont Lincoln University. Recently he became a Board Co-Chair for the Boys and Girls Clubs of Metro Los Angeles. He is a Board Member for the California Council on Economic Education, Claremont Lincoln University, and Affordable Living for the Aging.

Additionally, Mr. Drake chairs the compensation committee for the Los Angeles Urban League and is on the Corporate Advisory Board for the Brotherhood Crusade. Mr. Drake is also past chairman of the Los Angeles Greater African-American Chamber of Commerce Foundation, past board member for Challenger Boys & Girls Club and past advisor to Vermont Village Community Development Corporation.

Maxine Griffith, FAICP

Chief Infrastructure Officer, Trinity Church Wall Street

Maxine Griffith currently serves as Chief Infrastructure Officer at Trinity Church Wall Street. In this role she oversees physical planning, development and operations for the church and its associated properties.

These properties include but are not limited to a 27-story office building and community commons in Lower Manhattan, a retreat center in Connecticut, a 16-building complex in Berkeley California, and St Paul’s Chapel on Governors Island. Griffith served for 13 years with Columbia University as Executive Vice President & Special Advisor for Campus Planning. In this capacity she coordinated planning for the University’s award-winning, 22 building, 17-acre Manhattanville campus and negotiated an historic Community Benefits Agreement with representatives of the contiguous neighborhoods.

Griffith was Executive Director of the Philadelphia City Planning Commission and Secretary (Deputy Mayor) for Strategic Planning. During her tenure, the Commission won two national American Planning Association awards. Prior to her appointment in Philadelphia, Griffith worked at the U.S. Department of Housing and Urban Development (HUD), first as the Secretary’s Regional Director for New York and New Jersey, and then in Washington as HUD’s Assistant Deputy Secretary, where she re-vamped the Department’s 50-state field structure. Griffith also served for 6 years as a New York City Planning Commissioner.

She currently serves on the executive board of the Regional Plan Association and the board of Hypothekids, an organization providing disadvantaged and underserved students with hands-on science education. Griffith was a member of the faculties for both the National Democratic Institute of International Affairs and the Mayors’ Institute for City Design. She has worked as a consultant for the DNC on four national democratic conventions. She currently teaches at Columbia’s Graduate School of Architecture, Planning and Preservation Maxine Griffith was born in Harlem. She earned a B.A. cum lude, from Hunter College, and a Master of Architecture degree from the University of California, Berkeley. She has completed coursework in urban planning, real property finance and affordable housing development from the Graduate School of Design, Harvard University. She has worked extensively outside of the US including West Africa and Mainland China. In 2018, Griffith was elected to the prestigious College of Fellows of the American Institute of Certified Planners. In 2022 she was awarded the Champion of Architecture Award by the New York American Institute of Architects.

Kathryn Jo Lincoln

CIO of the Lincoln Institute of Land Policy

Ms. Lincoln is Chair and Chief Investment Officer of the Lincoln Institute of Land Policy, a non-profit educational institution teaching land economics and taxation, and has held this position since 1996.

She also served as President of the Lincoln Foundation, Inc., a non-profit foundation that supported the Lincoln Institute of Land Policy, from 1999 to October 2006. Her grandfather, John C. Lincoln, founded the Lincoln Electric Company and established the Lincoln Foundation in 1946. Her father, David Lincoln, established the Lincoln Institute in 1974.

James Manifold, Board Vice Chair and Chair of Finance, Investment, and Operations Committee

Board Vice Chair, Retired, Vice President of Business Affairs and CFO, Scripps College

Mr. Manifold, retired, was the Vice President of Business Affairs and Treasurer of Scripps College in Claremont, California. During his tenure, the Scripps College endowment grew from $20 million in 1982 to more than $220 million in 2011.

Manifold has also been a pioneer in college financial reporting, increasing fiscal transparency, and leading several accounting trends in higher education. Mr. Manifold has been a leader in supporting the Claremont Consortium in the areas of physical plant infrastructure, employee benefits, risk management, and campus dining service. He has also been active in the Claremont community by serving on the City’s General Plan Advisory Committee and is currently on the Architectural Commission. He has served on accreditation teams for the Western Association of Schools and Colleges (WASC), and has published several articles on endowment investing, deferred maintenance, and strategic planning.

Lynn Priddy, Ph.D.

President & CEO, Claremont Lincoln University

Dr. Priddy is inspired to advance the mission and vision of CLU, building a new ecosystem of “practivist” leaders empowered with the knowledge and courage to make a significant difference wherever they live and work.

At CLU she champions innovative partnerships, including the university’s collaboration with the globally recognized Lincoln Institute of Land Policy, with a focus on groundbreaking solutions for social equity and urban sustainability.

Her career in higher education spans more than 35 years, holding positions of faculty, director of research and assessment, provost and chief academic officer, executive vice president of strategic planning and advancement, executive advisor to the board, and president and strategic advisor to the president.

From 1999 to 2013, she served The Higher Learning Commission, the largest US regional accreditor, the last four years as its vice president of accreditation services. While there, she redefined and led the processes for institutional change and decision-making and served as the creator and founding director of the Commission’s Academies for Assessment of Student learning and Student Persistence and Completion.

From 2013 to 2020, she served as Provost and Chief Academic Officer and then Executive Advisor and Provost Emeritus for National American University. Her tenure included assisting multiple institutions through unique mergers and partnerships, as well as turn-around and teach out arrangements, the latter allowing more than 4,000 students from abruptly closed institutions to complete their degrees. Prior to both these positions, Dr. Priddy served as faculty, director, dean, and vice president for one of three community and technical colleges, Nicolet Area Technical College, in Wisconsin.

Most recently, she has used her board roles to foster distinctive, emerging graduate institutions, including serving on the board of Claremont Lincoln Institution. Known as an innovator, inspirational leader, and gamechanger, Dr. Priddy has focused since the late 1990’s on high-quality, deeply engaged online learning as a means for access, affordability, and equity. She currently serves on several board and council positions including University of St. Augustine for Health Sciences, the American University of Bahrain, and the Society for College and University Planning. She has consulted extensively in higher education strategy, change, and quality assurance and improvement both in the US and abroad.

Dr. Priddy’s work concentrates on large-scale collaboration and conversation. She inspires people to transform higher education, focusing on what matters most to make the greatest difference…next.

Thomas Nechyba, Ph.D., Chair of Strategic Partnerships and Advancement Committee

Professor of Economics and Public Policy Studies, Duke University

Dr. Nechyba is a professor of economics and public policy at Duke University. He conducts his research within the fields of public finance, fiscal federalism, and the economics of education as well as areas related to data privacy and accessibility in social science research.

His work has been published in top economics journals and he has served on editorial boards for many top economics journals. He has helped launch a charter school (Excelsior Academy) in Durham, NC, as well as a nonprofit organization (DataWorks NC) that aims to democratize access to and use of data, particularly by underserved members of the local community. Dr. Nechyba served as director of undergraduate studies, department chair, as well as director of the Social Science Research Institute at Duke University where he also co-launched and then directed the highly successful Master in Interdisciplinary Data Science degree.

Robert Williams

Entrepreneur

Mr. Williams spent his earlier career practicing corporate law before founding and leading an investment firm advising middle-market companies on mergers, acquisitions and financings.

He transitioned to work as Chairman and CEO for Conversive, Inc., a software company which was then sold to Avaya, Inc. in 2012. Remaining very active in entrepreneurial endeavors and in his community, He has always kept his passion for civic service and philanthropy at the forefront of his work. He currently serves on the Board of Governors of Heal the Bay and is an active member of both the Jonathan Club and Mosaic Church, Hollywood.

MASTER’s DEGREES

BACHELOR’s DEGREE

GRADUATE CERTIFICATES

RESOURCES

Special Programs & Partnerships

Admissions

Student Resources

Catalogs