It is an honor for me to welcome you to the website for the American Association of Presidents of Independent Colleges and Universities (AAPICU). Since 1968, the organization has provided a framework for sharing and advancing the concerns of independent higher education.
If you are a visitor to this site who is also a current president of an independent college or university in the United States, please click the links to learn more about AAPICU. As you will see, our membership dues are very low and we believe that the value of participation in our annual meeting is extremely high.
Questions? Contact our Executive Director, Steve Sandberg, at steve_sandberg@byu.edu.
-Beck A. Taylor, President, AAPICU
About the President
Beck A. Taylor, Ph.D., became the eighteenth president of Whitworth University, in Spokane, Wash., in July 2010. He came to Whitworth after serving as dean and professor of economics for the Brock School of Business at Samford University, in Birmingham, Ala., and as associate dean for research and faculty development for the Hankamer School of Business at Baylor University, in Waco, Texas, where he was also the W.H. Smith Professor of Economics. In his first year as Whitworth's president, Taylor led the development of Whitworth's 10-year vision and strategic plan, Whitworth 2021: Courage at the Crossroads, which details plans to continue to elevate Whitworth among the leading Christian universities in the country. Taylor's first six years at Whitworth have been highlighted by a renewed emphasis on community involvement; by efforts to enhance academic quality, including the creation of the College of Arts & Sciences and a new honors program; by the building of new campus infrastructure to facilitate the university's academic and student life programs; by the creation of five new endowed faculty positions; by the success of Whitworth's largest-ever comprehensive fund-raising campaign; and by an emphasis on overall institutional effectiveness.