Federation of Illinois Independent Colleges and Universities

Incoming Elmhurst College president is lawyer, theologian (Tribune)

	Released: 3/13/2008
	chicagotribune.com Incoming Elmhurst College president is lawyer, theologian Harvard grad also taught at alma mater By Joseph Sjostrom Tribune reporter March 13, 2008 The incoming president of Elmhurst College is a lawyer, theologian and a citizen of the Cherokee Nation. The college announced late last month that S. Alan Ray, an administrator at the University of New Hampshire, will replace Bryant Cureton on July 1 to become Elmhurst College's 13th president. A native of Oklahoma, Ray is half Cherokee and a citizen of the Cherokee Nation by virtue of his mother's lineage. He said academic administration combines his interests in law, the liberal arts and teaching. Ray, 51, said he has tried to teach at least one course during his years as an administrator and hopes to do the same at Elmhurst. He previously taught at Boston College, Harvard Divinity School and Harvard Law School and holds a doctorate in the study of religion from Harvard and a law degree from the University of California. At Harvard he taught a course in Native American sacred sites and the law; at New Hampshire he taught Native American studies in political science, federal and Indian law and policy. Ray said he hopes to teach a seminar or independent study course in that area at Elmhurst. Ray practiced municipal law from 1990 to 1996 in California and Massachusetts. He joined the Harvard administration in 1996 and was associate dean for academic affairs at Harvard Law School when he departed for the University of New Hampshire in 2004. He has been an administrator at New Hampshire since then and is senior vice provost, responsible for undergraduate academic programs and curricula. Elmhurst College has about 2,400 undergraduate students, 270 adults pursuing accelerated undergraduate degrees and 230 graduate students. Cureton, who is retiring, has been president of the college since 1994, and its endowment has grown during that time from $36 million to about $100 million. Ray said a focus on the liberal arts and sciences is "the signature quality of Elmhurst College." ----------- jsjostrom@tribune.com Copyright © 2008, Chicago Tribune