Adler School Names New Chair, Vice Chair to Board

New Executives Bring Financial, Educational Experience

CHICAGO, April 14 /PRNewswire-USNewswire/ -- The Adler School of Professional Psychology has named Mary J. Cahillane, M.B.A., M.Ed., Chair and Victoria Chou, Ph.D., Vice Chair of its Board of Trustees.  Cahillane and Dr. Chou joined the board in 2008, bringing strong financial and educational backgrounds, respectively.

Cahillane currently is Vice President of Finance and Investments for the Spencer Foundation, which is dedicated to supporting research in education.  Dr. Chou is Dean of the College of Education at the University of Illinois at Chicago.  

"Both are visionary leaders in their respective fields and are extraordinarily well known in Chicago and nationally," said Raymond E. Crossman, Ph.D., President of the Adler School. "They are strong, brilliant women who bring to the School important talent and energy as we continue to build the Adler School."

Prior to joining Spencer in 2003, Cahillane spent 22 years in the banking industry, 18 of them with Bank of America and its predecessor organizations, where she held various positions in treasury, finance and risk management. She is a member of three other Chicago non-profit boards, including the Partnership to Educate and Advance Kids (PEAK), Catholic Charities of Chicago and the Foundation Financial Officers Group.  She also serves on the corporate boards of Shore Bank, Chicago, and Forsythe Technology, Skokie, as well as on advisory boards for Northern Trust Asset Management, Chicago, and the Tuck School of Business at Dartmouth College, Hanover, N.H.

"What really attracted me to Adler School is they don't just talk about social justice, they are really working to make a difference," said Cahillane. "With my financial background and interest in education and social justice issues, I'm looking forward to working with the School to foster its targeted and measured growth."

Dr. Chou has taught education at the University of Illinois at Chicago since 1978, and has been a full professor since 1991.  Previously, she taught at the American University, Washington, D.C., the University of Wisconsin at Madison, and in Wisconsin public elementary schools.  She has served on many boards, task forces and committees, and currently is on the Leadership Council of the Chicago Public Education Fund, and is a member of the North Lawndale College Preparatory Charter School Board of Directors. A public speaker, she has won several education awards, has published numerous articles, and in 2004 was fourth in a Chicago Sun-Times article on the top 10 most powerful women in education.

"My goal is to support the strategic plan as best I can from my area of expertise and to see it realized," said Dr. Chou. "As a long-time educational administrator, I appreciate that Adler School is committed to institutional learning in support of its mission and I am happy to be part of an organization that is foregrounding student and staff diversity in its efforts to serve the Chicago and Vancouver areas."

More about the Adler School of Professional Psychology: The Adler School has provided quality education through a Scholar/Practitioner model for over 50 years. The School's mission is to train socially responsible graduates who practice psychology throughout the world. The Adler School has ten graduate-level programs with approximately 900 students enrolled at the main campus in Chicago and a second campus in Vancouver, British Columbia.

SOURCE Adler School of Professional Psychology