William M. Plater

William M. Plater, Senior Advisor for International Affairs, served as a Commissioner from 2005 through December 2011, when he accepted a staff role in working with the senior leadership of WASC and the Commission to develop an initiative encompassing both a deeper understanding of the implications of the globalization of higher education and accreditation of institutions located outside the United States.  Plater served as the Indiana University Dean of the School of Liberal Arts, Executive Vice Chancellor and Dean of the Faculties, and Director of the Workshop on International Community Development at Indiana University Purdue University Indianapolis, where he is Chancellor’s Professor Emeritus of Public Affairs, Philanthropic Studies, and English.  Before joining IUPUI in 1983, Plater served as Associate Director of the School of Humanities at the University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign.  He holds BA, MA and PhD degrees in English from UIUC.  In recognition of his nineteen year’s service as chief academic officer and as a leader in civic engagement, AASCU established the William M. Plater Award for Civic Engagement in 2006, the first national award of any kind to recognize provosts.  He remains active in civic engagement work, serving on the National Advisory Panel for the Carnegie Community Engagement Classification.  Plater holds honorary doctorates from Purdue University and the National Institute of Development Administration in Thailand.