TU to honor chancellor of
California State University
Charles Reed heads country's largest
senior system of public higher education
TU will award an honorary Doctor of Humane Letters degree to Charles B. Reed during May 22 Commencement Exercises for the College of Education.
Reed has long been recognized as one of America’s most able and admired educators. As chancellor of the California State University since 1998, he is chief executive of the country’s largest senior system of public higher education, with 46,000 faculty and staff and 417,000 students on 23 campuses and seven off-campus centers. Each year, nearly as many people graduate with bachelor’s degrees from the California State University as from all other universities and colleges in the state combined.
Before accepting the appointment as chancellor at California State University, he served with great distinction for 13 years as chancellor at the State University System of Florida.
A native of Harrisburg, Pa., Reed began his career as a graduate assistant and instructor in physical education at George Washington University. There he advanced to a tenured position as associate professor of education before leaving academe to direct a national project for the American Association of Colleges for Teacher Education.
He earned his Ed.D. in teacher education at George Washington University, as well as an M.S. degree in secondary education and a B.S. degree in health and physical education.
His extraordinary record of service to his profession includes membership in and contributions to many of the nation’s most prominent organizations, including the American Association of State Colleges and Universities, the American Council on Education, the Council for Advancement and Support of Education and the American Association for Higher Education.
His longstanding commitment to public service includes membership on the Hope for Kids National Advisory Council, the Martin Luther King Institute on Non-Violence board of directors, the New Voters Project advisory committee, and the National Alliance of Business. He serves on the ACT, Inc. board of directors, on Systems & Computer Technology Corporation’s executive advisory council and on the Long Beach Memorial Medical Center’s board of trustees.
He has written and spoken widely on education, finance, management, governance and the politics of education. In addition, you have served internationally and nationally as a consultant, conference leader and keynote speaker on education and related subjects.
Among his numerous honors and awards are six honorary degrees. Charles B. Reed Hall at Florida Gulf Coast University stands as a testament to the high regard in which he is held on that campus and throughout the state. The Orlando Sentinel recognized him as Floridian of the Year. Vital Speeches of the Day named one of his speeches to its list of Top 5 Speeches of the Year.
