CCCU Leadership

President Shirley V. Hoogstra

A visionary leader who is passionate about Christian higher education and the role it plays in the common good, Shirley V. Hoogstra became the seventh president of the Council for Christian Colleges & Universities in September 2014.

Having received a bachelor’s in education at Calvin College (Grand Rapids, MI) and a Juris Doctor, with honors, from the University of Connecticut School of Law, Hoogstra spent more than a decade practicing law as a partner at a firm that specialized in litigation in New Haven, Connecticut. She then returned to the world of Christian higher education and became Calvin’s vice president for student life in July 1999, a role she served in until she became president of the CCCU. As CCCU president, Hoogstra combines her zeal for the rule of law and her passion for Christian higher education.

The CCCU’s outward-facing work at its intersection with government in Washington, D.C. calls upon Hoogstra’s authentic skills of listening, respecting, and influencing leaders as she shares and promotes the importance of Christian colleges and universities as a part of a diverse, pluralistic system of higher education. In an era that has seen the rise in the value of individualism and a decrease in the value of formative communities, Hoogstra delights in highlighting the value and purpose of high quality, Christ-centered liberal arts education that shapes the heart, soul, and mind.

Always an educator, Hoogstra has never lost her joy of seeing people developed to be their best selves. This is why the Council’s professional development conferences for CCCU campus administrators, its promotion and encouragement of scholarship and teaching among CCCU faculty, and its innovative and immersive BestSemester student programs remain at the core of the CCCU’s work.

 Shirley Hoogstra Speaking Engagement Request

President's Cabinet

Carolyn Dirksen, Ph.D.

Interim Vice President of Educational Programs

Carolyn Dirksen, Ph.D.

Carolyn Dirksen was born in Bisbee, AZ. She completed her Bachelor’s and Master’s degrees at Northern Arizona University and her Ph.D. at the University of Arizona. For 50 years, she served on the faculty at Lee University in Cleveland, TN. In her role as Vice President for Academic Affairs, she developed Lee’s study abroad program. Dirksen’s previous work with the CCCU includes serving as chair of the Chief Academic Officers Commission and on staff for the Women’s Advanced Leadership Institute.

Keith Graybill, M.B.A., C.P.A.

Vice President for Finance & Administration

Keith Graybill, M.B.A., C.P.A.

Keith Graybill serves as vice president for finance and administration at the Council for Christian Colleges & Universities in Washington, D.C., where he directs the financial operations of the CCCU’s main offices in addition to its other sites domestically and abroad.  He is also responsible for all administrative functions of the CCCU, which includes information technology, facilities, and human resources. He previously served as pastor of operations at McClean Bible Church in Virginia and is a CPA in the states of Maryland and West Virginia. Graybill is a graduate of Grove City College (PA) and earned his MBA at The Johns Hopkins University.

Shapri D. LoMaglio, J.D.

Vice President for Government & External Relations

Shapri D. LoMaglio, J.D.

Shapri D. LoMaglio leads the CCCU’s response to legislative, legal, and regulatory matters on behalf of its more than 180 institutions of Christ-centered higher education. She advocates on their behalf in Washington, D.C. on a wide range of policy issues rooted in their shared faith. LoMaglio is a graduate of CCCU member institution Gordon College (Wenham, Mass.) and earned her Juris Doctorate from the University of Arizona (Tucson).

Board of Directors

Shirley V. Hoogstra, J.D.
President, Council for Christian Colleges & Universities

Ex-Officio

James H. Barnes, III, Ed.D.
President, Bethel University

Chair

Shirley A. Mullen, Ph.D.
President, Houghton College

Vice Chair

David Wright, Ph.D.
President, Indiana Wesleyan University

Secretary

Robin E. Baker, Ph.D.
President, George Fox University

Treasurer

Charles W. Pollard, J.D., Ph.D.
President, John Brown University

Immediate Past Chair

Bishop Claude Alexander, Jr., M.Div., D.Min.
Senior Pastor, The Park Church

Member

Peggy S. Campbell
President, Ambassador Advertising Agency

Member

Andy Crouch, M.Div.
Partner for Theology and Culture, Praxis

Member

Lowell Haines, J.D., Ed.D.
President, Taylor University

Member

Derek Halvorson, Ph.D.
President, Covenant College

Member

Sidney J. Jansma Jr., M.B.A.
Chair of the Board, Wolverine Gas and Oil Corporation

Member

L. Randolph Lowry III, M.P.A., J.D.
President, Lipscomb University

Member

Claude O. Pressnell Jr., Ed.D.
President, Tennessee Independent Colleges & Universities Association

Member

Philip Graham Ryken, M.Div., Ph.D.
President, Wheaton College

Member

Carol Taylor, Ph.D.
President, Evangel University

Member

Evans P. Whitaker, Ph.D.
President, Anderson University

Member