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Leadership & Governance:
Guiding Excellence in Business Education

Meet the Dedicated Leaders and Governance Bodies Shaping the Future of Business Education Accreditation
IACBE’s leadership and governance structure brings together distinguished educators, business leaders, and accreditation experts committed to advancing excellence in business education.
Our collaborative governance model ensures thorough oversight, innovative direction, and continuous quality improvement in business program accreditation.

Board of Directors

The Board of Directors is the governing and policy-making body of the IACBE, and is responsible for the general oversight of the organization’s operations and activities.

Composition

The Board of Directors is composed of the five officers of the board, an elected board member from each of the Regional Assemblies as defined by the Board of Directors, and two academic business unit members-at-large. The Board of Directors also includes up to seven public members.

Role

The Board of Directors is responsible for the general governance and oversight of the affairs of the IACBE and for establishing the policies and procedures essential to accomplishing the mission and goals of the Assembly.

Current Board Members

Executive Committee
Name
Affiliation
Chair: Dr. Jorge Cardenas
The University of Arizona Global Campus (CA, USA)
Vice Chair: Dr. VJ Byra Reddy
Alliance University (India)
Secretary: Dr. Michael Dillon
South College (TN, USA)
Treasurer: Dr. Kathy Kennedy-Ratajack
Wilmington University (DE, USA)
Past Chair: Dr. David Turi
Felician University (NJ, USA)
Regional Directors
Name
Affiliation
Region 1 (New England): Bonnie Kennedy
Salve Regina University (RI, USA)
Region 2 (Middle States): Vacant
-
Region 3 (Southern): Dr. Harika Rao
Lynn University (FL, USA)
Region 4 (Great Lakes): Dr. Robin Hinkle
Franklin University (OH, USA)
Region 5 (North Central): Dr. Shelly McCallum-Ferguson
Saint Mary's University of Minnesota (MN, USA)
Region 6 (South Central): Dr. Shelly Zaldivar
Nelson University (TX, USA)
Region 7 (Northwestern): Dr. Belle Marie
Carroll College (MT, USA)
Region 8 (Western): Dr. Charles Minnick
The University of Arizona Global Campus (CA, USA)
Region 9 (European): Dr. David Anthony Prochazka
University of New York in Prague (Czech Republic)
Region 10 (Asian): Dr. Robert Gharios
American University of Science and Technology (Lebanon)
Region 11 (Latin American): Dr. Belinda Blessitt-Vincent
University College of the Cayman Islands (Cayman Islands)
At-Large Directors
Name
Affiliation
Dr. Carrie Gilligan
Carlow University (PA, USA)
Ms. Amanda Garcia
Elms College (MA, USA)
Public Members
Name
Affiliation
Vacant
-
Vacant
-
Ex-Officio Member
Name
Affiliation
Dr. Archish Maharaja
Interim President

Board of Commissioners

The Board of Commissioners functions as the independent accreditation decision-making body, maintaining the integrity of IACBE’s accreditation process.

Composition

The Board of Commissioners is elected by the voting membership of the IACBE, and is composed of at least seven commissioners from the accredited members of the IACBE and at least one commissioner representing the general public. The board also appoints a non-voting, ex-officio Secretary of the Board.

Role

The Board of Commissioners is the independent accreditation decision-making body of the IACBE, and is responsible for establishing the accreditation criteria, policies, and procedures of the Assembly.

Current Commissioners

Board Officers
Name
Affiliation
Chair: Dr. Sharon Beaudry
Oregon Institute of Technology (OR, USA)
Vice Chair: Dr. Louis Ruvolo
Saint Peters University (NJ, USA)
Other Commissioners from Accredited Membership
Name
Affiliation
Dr. Anthony Fabrizio
Curry College (MA, USA)
Dr. Nipoli Kamdar
California State University Maritime Academy (CA, USA)
Dr. Na "Lina" Li
Baker College (MI, USA)
Dr. Nicole Ortloff
University of Holy Cross (LA, USA)
Dr. Heather Pfleger
Pennsylvania Institute of Technology (PA, USA)
Dr. Michelle Reiss
Spalding University (KY, USA)
Vacant
-
Public Members
Name
Affiliation
Ms. Laurie Barr
(OR, USA)
Ex-Officio Member and Secretary of the Board
Name
Affiliation
Dr. Archish Maharaja
Interim President

Executive Staff

Our executive team brings extensive experience in business education, accreditation, and organizational leadership.
Interim President

Archish is a professor of accounting, management and healthcare administration and a director of Graduate Programs at the Rowland School of Business at Point Park University in Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania, USA.

Maharaja’s industry experience includes working as a purchasing manager and accountant, serving as a financial advisor on a corporate and personal level and being employed as a health care administrator and physician practice manager.

He has served IACBE in several capacities from being a board member, Vice Chair of Board of Director, a member of Strategic Planning committee. He has participated in numerous site visits on behalf of IACBE around the world as well as has been a promoter of IACBE’s mission and vision.

Archish is highly experienced and accomplished in student learning assessment, quality advancement, and accreditation, and is passionate about helping others to succeed and creating educational opportunities for students around the world as well as improving quality of education.

Director of Accreditation

As Director of Accreditation, Dr. Yates serves as the IACBE Staff liaison to assigned schools: mentoring Members, facilitating site visits, and conducting comprehensive reviews of accreditation and compliance-related submissions. She is responsible for supporting Members for the ongoing quality improvement of their business program and monitoring member compliance.

Laurie has also held a number of volunteer positions with IACBE over the past decade. She served as the President and Vice President of the Pacific Northwest region, a site visit team member and chair, and a member of the Board of Commissioners, including terms as Chair and Vice Chair. In 2020, Laurie was the recipient of the Dr. John L. Green Service Award for commitment and dedication to IACBE and the academic profession. Laurie also has an extensive background in industry, having served in a variety of leadership and management positions in organizations from small entrepreneurial businesses to large corporations.

Dr. Yates currently serves as a Visiting Professor at Oregon Tech (Oregon Institute of Technology) in Wilsonville, Oregon. Since 2000, she has held numerous teaching and administrative positions in higher education. She holds a Doctor of Management from George Fox University and an MBA from the University of Oregon.

Director of Finance

Ms. Caedo is the Director of Finance for the IACBE and is responsible for managing all financial operations of the IACBE. Kim’s duties include financial planning, budgeting, and the general management of the Assembly’s financial affairs. In this capacity, she ensures that the IACBE’s financial activities are carried out in a fiscally-sound and responsible manner. Kim manages the collection and disbursement of the Assembly’s funds, coordinates the development of the annual budget, and oversees other internal accounting functions of the IACBE. In addition, Kim is responsible for preparing various financial and management reports, for financial analysis and forecasting, and for coordinating all activities associated with the annual external audit of the Assembly’s financial affairs.

Ms. Caedo holds a bachelor’s degree in business accounting from the University of Kansas.

Chief of Staff

In her role as Chief of Staff of the IACBE, Vanessa manages day-to-day operations for the organization and helps the President advance strategic priorities. By driving operational efficiencies, she enables the accreditation team members to focus on the IACBE’s quality assurance and accreditation mission and deliver their best work.

Previously she worked Deloitte where she managed operations for Energy, Resources, and Industrials accounts and led special projects for the Client & Market Growth HR team. Before that, she served as Executive Assistant to the CEO at a public relations firm and Assistant to the Dean at Wentworth Institute of Technology in Boston.

Vanessa earned her MBA from Simmons University in Boston, Massachusetts. She also holds a bachelor’s degree in Illustration from Massachusetts College of Art and Design.

Operations and Compliance Coordinator

In her role as Operations and Compliance Coordinator, Cummings supports IACBE in both operator and project manager capacities, providing support and coordination for the organization and its members.

Cummings joins IACBE bringing years of experience within higher education. She comes to us from the Carolina Center for Jewish Studies, where she coordinated events and managed finances. She has also held the role of Event and Advancement Services Coordinator at the University of North Carolina School of Nursing and served as Program Coordinator for the Industrial and Systems Engineering Department at Texas A&M University.

Cummings holds a bachelor’s degree from West Virginia University.

Our Ambassadors

Dr. Randy Frye
Ambassador – United States

Dr. Randy L. Frye is the Founding Dean of the Shields School of Business and Professor of Business Administration at Saint Francis University in Loretto, Pennsylvania. With a B.A in Social Sciences from the University of Pittsburgh in Johnstown, an MBA from Indiana University of Pennsylvania, a Master of Arts in Human Resource Management and Industrial Relations from Saint Francis College, and an Ed.D. in Management and Policy Studies from the University of Pittsburgh, Dr. Frye brings over four decades of experience to his roles. He is a founding board member of the International Accreditation Council for Business Education (IACBE), advocating for its developmental and collaborative approaches to fostering continuous improvement and excellence in collegiate business education.

Dr. Frye enthusiastically embraces outcomes-based assessment for business programs and views IACBE membership and its accreditation process as a means of formulating a recipe for a stronger, more impactful business school. He has led numerous site review teams and presented at various conferences on managing and marketing business schools. Recognized for his excellence, Dr. Frye has received prestigious awards, including the Dr. John Green Excellence in Business Education Award in 2013.

Overseeing 10 undergraduate programs, three graduate programs, and initiatives like the Saint Francis Small Business Development Center (SBDC), Dr. Frye actively contributes to regional economic development. He’s been consistently honored as one of the Top 100 Business Leaders by the Pennsylvania Business Central and operates an independent consulting practice. Outside academia, Dr. Frye enjoys reading, traveling, and sports like racquetball, basketball, swimming, and golf. He resides in Johnstown with his wife, Barbara, and they have three adult sons.

Ambassador – United States

Dr. Ralph “Chip” Mason has served as Dean of the Business School for the past fifteen years at Belhaven University in Jackson, Mississippi. He has over twenty years’ experience as a Professor in Leadership and Management, serving at Belhaven University and as a Visiting Professor at Duke University. He earned his Ph.D. from the University of North Carolina, and he earned an undergraduate degree in Economics from Duke University. He previously served on the Board of Directors for the International Accreditation Council for Business Education (IACBE) after spending six years on the board of Commissioners. He has chaired over a dozen site visits for Business Schools seeking accreditation in the United States and in Latin America and Asia. In 2016 he was recognized by the IACBE with their highest award, their Founder award for Excellence in Business Education.

Dr. Mason has taught undergraduate and graduate courses on Leadership and Motivation, Business Leadership, Ethical Leadership, Organizational Behavior, Fundamentals of Management, High Performance Teams, and others. His research interests include leadership, mentoring, and team dynamics.  As a principal at Mason Consulting Group, his consulting portfolio spans Aerospace, Chemicals, Higher Education, and Postal Delivery sectors.

Dr. Mason has been married over 30 years, and his wife is a medical professor at a nearby University. He has two grown children who live in Washington DC and Asia.

IACBE Bylaws and Policies

The IACBE Bylaws establish the foundation for our organizational governance, defining how we operate and make decisions to advance excellence in business education. These comprehensive guidelines ensure transparency, accountability, and effective leadership in all our activities.

Our bylaws cover essential areas including:

  • Organizational structure and leadership roles
  • Membership rights and responsibilities
  • Accreditation governance procedures
  • Regional assembly operations
  • Decision-making processes
  • Financial oversight and accountability

The IACBE Bylaws are regularly reviewed by our Bylaws Committee to ensure they continue to serve our mission effectively and adapt to the evolving landscape of business education accreditation.

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