Mac Powell joined the ACCJC team in July 2022. Dr. Powell served as Senior Vice President of the Northwest Commission on Colleges and Universities and supported the agency’s 163 institutions and 1.3 million students for five years. His career in higher education also includes serving as president of three universities, including John F. Kennedy University, where he led the institution’s successful efforts to become a service-learning institution and a federally recognized and funded Hispanic Serving Institution. Dr. Powell has contributed to the strategic direction of higher education through his service as Chair of the American Council of Education’s Commission on Educational Attainment and Innovation, as a Commissioner on the Western Association of Schools and Colleges Senior Commission, as a graduate of the WASC Assessment Leadership Academy, and as Chair of the Council of Applied Master’s Programs in Psychology. His most recent scholarship focuses on the role of accreditation in promoting institutional transformation and the closure of institutional equity gaps. Dr. Powell holds bachelor’s degrees in philosophy and sociology, a master’s degree in sociology, and a doctorate in sociology from the University of Missouri, as well as an MBA from National University and a master’s degree in clinical psychology from Antioch University.