CLEMSON, SC—The Board of Directors of the National Dropout Prevention Network (NDPN), based at Clemson University in Clemson, South Carolina, announces the election of new board officers. The officers were elected at the most recent Board Meeting on February 16, 2013, in Myrtle Beach, SC, just prior to the National Dropout Prevention Center/Network (NDPC/N) 25th Annual National At-Risk Youth National FORUM. New officers, who function as the Board’s Executive Committee, are Dr. Eurmon Hervey, Jr., NDPN Chair; Mr. Raymond McNulty, NDPN Vice Chair; and Mr. Bob Collins, NDPN Recording Secretary.
The NDPC/N is a public/private organization which for more than 25 years has served as a clearinghouse on issues and solutions related to dropout prevention. NDPC/N leverages its deep research, evaluation, professional learning, and customized outreach experience to tailor client solutions focused on increasing the graduation rate in America’s schools. The National Dropout Prevention Network (NDPN) Board of Directors, a diverse and dynamic group of business and educational leaders from across the country, is empowered to oversee the NDPN, the 501(c)(3) nonprofit arm of the NDPC/N organization committed to providing resources and services that support local, state, and national practitioners as well as community-based organizations. Through resources such as its Web site, conferences, presentations, reports, publications, and professional learning activities, NDPC/N reaches network members and conference attendees from every state in the nation with the latest news, research, and strategies related to dropout prevention
Dr. Eurmon Hervey, the new Board Chairman, is the Executive Vice President of Edward Waters College in Jacksonville, Florida. He is a graduate of Edward Waters College and holds master’s degrees from Clark Atlanta University and Harvard University and a doctorate from Vanderbilt University. Hervey has a background in higher education, both as a professor and as an https://dropoutprevention.org/wp-content/uploads/2022/09/C.W.-Gardenhire-pic.jpgistrator. He also founded a nonprofit organization, Project REACH (Revitalizing Educational Awareness for Change), to work with ninth graders in the Mississippi Delta to ensure that they did not drop out of high school and to increase their awareness about college and provide assistance with access. Hervey believes that his practitioner background brings the community organizer, grassroots perspective to the Board, which benefits from its members’ diverse backgrounds.
Hervey said in a recent interview: “Stories have faces—real people. A lot of the time we talk about statistics, but there is the human element that needs to be represented and I can help do that. My own personal experiences, from high school days as an honor student with no direction to now as a professional who understands the lack of information about college access, help me provide that human element.” Hervey has served on the Board of Directors of the NDPN since 2003.
McNulty, the new Vice Chair, is the Chief Learning Officer at Penn Foster, a leader in online education based in Scranton, Pennsylvania. His efforts include working with Penn Foster High School, an alternative to traditional high school education. Before joining Penn Foster, McNulty served as Commissioner of Education in Vermont, President of the International Center for Leadership in Education, and Senior Fellow with the Bill & Melinda Gates Foundation. He has held positions in education since 1973 as a teacher, superintendent, and principal and vice principal; is the author of It’s Not Us Against Them – Creating the Schools We Need (2009); has worked with leading educators around the nation to reinvent America’s high schools; and regularly speaks across the country about the importance of providing education that fits each student’s needs. He was a keynote speaker at the Center’s 25th Annual National At-Risk Youth National FORUM.
“The National Dropout Prevention Center/Network’s mission aligns closely with Penn Foster’s,” McNulty said. “We are both committed to providing students with the resources they need to complete their education and go on to live successful lives. I look forward to continuing to work with the organization as we strive to end America’s high school dropout crisis.” McNulty has served on the Board of Directors of the NDPN since 2012.
Collins, the new Recording Secretary, is Chief Academic Officer for Mango Learning and President of CareerTechEducation Associates in Jersey City, New Jersey. Collins brings 40 plus years of experience as a public school teacher and https://dropoutprevention.org/wp-content/uploads/2022/09/C.W.-Gardenhire-pic.jpgistrator, including experience in the development of curriculum and instructional and assessment programs. He began his educational career at Locke High School in South Central Los Angeles as a classroom teacher and retired from the public sector in 2010 as Superintendent of the Grossmont Union High School District. Between those times, he served in a variety of positions in the Los Angeles Unified School District, including Principal; Assistant Superintendent of Curriculum, Instruction and Assessment; Regional Superintendent; and Chief Instructional Officer. Collins is a graduate of UCLA with a master’s from Loyola Marymount University.
In a recent interview, Collins said, “I view my role on the NDPC/N as first providing expertise regarding schools, students, and the dropout issue. But even more, I want to be able to challenge all of us to look beyond the strategies and programs of the past. I sincerely believe that if we are going to address the issue of dropouts in our nation, we are looking at fundamental change as to how we teach students, how we engage them in postsecondary opportunities, and how we provide for economic opportunities. I hope to be a catalyst with our Board for this type of thinking that addresses a culture shift, and not just trying to do better what has not worked well in the past.” Collins has served on the Board of Directors of the NDPN since 2010.
“Eurmon, Ray, and Bob are three incredible Board members who bring an amazing and diverse depth of experience to our organization,” said NDPC/N Executive Director, Dr. Beth P. Reynolds. “Each of them is genuinely passionate about the dropout issue and so readily gives of his time and expertise to advance our work. The Dropout Prevention Center and Network has been blessed with exceptionally strong leaders as Board members and I look forward to working with Eurmon, Ray, and Bob in their new roles as Board officers.”
The election of new officers to the Board comes at the same time that new leadership for the Center and Network is being established. Dr. Beth P. Reynolds joined the Center and Network on June 18, 2012, as its new Executive Director, taking over at the helm of the more than 25-year-old institution previously directed for most of that time by Dr. Jay Smink, a well-established national leader in dropout prevention. Dr. Reynolds will be joined in May 2013 by a new Associate Director, Dr. Howard (Sandy) Addis. Two Assistant Directors, Mr. John Gailer and Ms. Cairen Withington, have also been named.