Pepperdine University President and CEO Andrew K. Benton will serve a 19-month term as chair of the board of directors of the National Association of Independent Colleges and Universities, it was announced Wednesday.
Benton, who was NAICU board vice chair, replaces Christopher B. Nelson, president of St. John’s College in Maryland, who retired on June 21. Benton will complete the seven months remaining in Nelson’s one-year term before starting his own one-year term.
“This seems to be an especially important time for all institutions of higher learning to work closely together and, perhaps, especially those in the independent sector,” Benton said. “Our work is noble, aimed at the very future of this nation. I am grateful for this opportunity to serve and I simply cannot imagine finer colleagues with whom to do so.”
NAICU President David L. Warren said Benton “brings 17 years of presidential leadership experience to the NAICU board chairmanship, including a term as chair of our Accountability Committee. His knowledge of private higher education is unparalleled, and will be of great assistance to the association.”
Jo Allen, president of Meredith College, was elected vice chair of the NAICU board, which sets the association’s agenda on federal higher education policy; actively encourages support of association priorities and initiatives; and oversees the organization’s financial administration.
Benton’s Pepperdine career started in 1984 when he joined the Malibu- based university to oversee land-use opportunities. Benton went on to work as the chief of staff for his friend and the university’s sixth president, David Davenport. In 1991, he was appointed executive vice president and chief operational officer of the university.
In 2000, the Pepperdine Board of Regents named Benton the university’s seventh president and CEO.
Benton teaches classes at the university on a regular basis and his rock band, The Mesa Peak Band, has played at numerous events on the campus, including an annual concert held at the end of the school’s New Student Orientation week in Benton’s backyard.
A native of Lawrence, Kansas, Benton is a graduate of Oklahoma City University’s School of Law and got his undergraduate degree in American Studies from Oklahoma Christian University.
