Maxey elected Council of Independent Colleges chair

Roanoke College President Michael C. Maxey has been elected chair of the Council of Independent Colleges’ Board of Directors, the council announced Monday.

“The Council is pleased to have Michael Maxey as chair of the board,” CIC President Marjorie Hass said in a statement. “CIC is in the midst of implementing many exciting new projects and needs a strong chair and board to oversee their planning and execution. I am certain that President Maxey will serve the council admirably, and look forward to working with him.”

Maxey joined the Council of Independent Colleges’ board in January 2018 and became vice chair for programs in 2021.

Maxey announced in September 2021 that he would be retiring from his college presidency at the end of this academic year. He has served the longest of any Roanoke College president, having assumed the role in 2007. He has been with Roanoke College since 1985.

“One of the most important elements of my work is collaborating with other college leaders, and I am grateful to the Council of Independent Colleges for strengthening those connections and helping elevate the importance of independent higher education,” Maxey said in a statement. “Roanoke College’s affiliation with the CIC has been instrumental in informing me as leader of Roanoke College over the past 15 years.”

Maxey previously held positions at the University of New Hampshire, Wake Forest University and Averett University. He has served on the board of the Southern Association of Colleges and Schools Commission on Colleges and is past chair of the Network of ELCA Colleges and Universities and the Lutheran Educational Conference of North America.

Founded in 1956, the Washington, D.C.-based Council of Independent Colleges is an association of 760 nonprofit independent colleges and universities, state-based councils of independent colleges and other higher education affiliates.