For championing policies that advance equitable student success and outstanding leadership in higher education, WSCUC President Jamienne S. Studley was awarded the Association of Independent California Colleges and Universities’ (AICCU) 2024 Lasting Legacy in Higher Education Award. The award was conferred at AICCU’s annual meeting on Oct. 8 in Sacramento.

President Studley’s award was presented by immediate past AICCU Board Chair Ann McElaney-Johnson and AICCU President Kristen Soares, with remarks from California Institute of the Arts President Ravi Rajan.

“While we know Jamie as the president of WSCUC for the past seven years, her work supporting higher education spans many decades working through institutions small and large, from Skidmore and Mills College though the law schools of Berkeley, Stanford, Harvard, and Yale – where as Associate Dean she helped create a model public interest loan forgiveness program, paving the way for future public interest loan programs across the country. Your intellect, curiosity, tenacity, collaborative nature, and ability to create meaningful change have profoundly shaped education in the United States. Indeed, the entire educational sector, but especially our students past, present, and future, have and will continue to benefit deeply from your work and the legacy your work creates.”

“It’s good to be in a room, with a statewide group, where equity is a goal, indeed an imperative, and not a dirty word,” Studley said. “I am deeply grateful for this recognition, having worked for decades alongside AICCU and its member schools. From highlighting meaningful outcomes to developing quality standards and state and federal policy, our partnership has helped advance student success and institutional excellence.”

Founded in 1955, AICCU serves as the collective voice of more than 85 independent, nonprofit colleges and universities in California. AICCU’s Lasting Legacy Award honors individuals whose distinguished careers have made an enduring impact on higher education policy. Terry W. Hartle, former senior vice president of the American Council of Education’s government relations and public affairs division, received AICCU’s inaugural Lasting Legacy Award in 2023.

Studley will step down as president of WSCUC at the end of 2024.