Dr. Walter Broadnax to receive degree, deliver
address at KWU Commencement

MEDIA CONTACT: Leslie Eikleberry, Director of Public Relations, 785-827-5541 ext. 1127

April 18, 2008

Dr. Walter Broadnax

An internationally known scholar-practitioner in the field of public policy and management will be the speaker at Kansas Wesleyan University’s Commencement on May 10, 2008.

Dr. Walter Broadnax, President of Clark Atlanta University, Atlanta, Georgia, will deliver the address during Commencement exercises, scheduled to begin at 3 p.m. May 10, 2008, in the Salina Bicentennial Center. Commencement Day activities also include a Baccalaureate Service at 10:30 a.m. May 10, 2008, in University United Methodist Church.

“We have been very fortunate to have Commencement speakers who have strong ties with Kansas and with The United Methodist Church.  President Broadnax has four decades of service at senior and executive level positions in both higher education and public service at the local, state, and federal levels.   Kansas Wesleyan University is blessed to have such an accomplished individual as its Commencement speaker this year,” said President Philip P. Kerstetter.

During Commencement, Broadnax will be presented with an honorary Doctor of Public Service degree from Kansas Wesleyan University.

Broadnax, who was raised in western Kansas, is the second President of Clark Atlanta University (CAU) and has served in that capacity since 2002. Currently the largest of the United Negro College Fund (UNCF) institutions, CAU was established in 1988 with the consolidation of two historic institutions, Atlanta University (1865) and Clark College (1869).  Clark Atlanta University is affiliated with The United Methodist Church.

Prior to his presidency at Clark Atlanta University, Broadnax served as Dean of the School of Public Affairs at American University in Washington, D.C., and as professor of public policy and management in the School of Public Affairs at the University of Maryland, where he also directed the Bureau of Governmental Research.  At American University and the University of Maryland, he was instrumental in enhancing operations, restructuring departments and securing substantial private and public funding for academic research and programs. 

For a six-year period from 1981 to 1987, Broadnax was a full-time faculty member at Harvard University’s John F. Kennedy School of Government, where he taught graduate students from around the world, many of whom went on to serve their countries in noteworthy ways.  While at the Kennedy School, Broadnax served as Chairman of the Massachusetts Executive Development Program, advising the Governor on effective strategies for strengthening his leadership team while promoting a new way of training senior executives.  He was also the founding director of the Innovations in State and Local Government Program, a joint venture between the Ford Foundation and Harvard University.  Broadnax launched this national project to recognize and publicize exemplary government innovations, and as a result of these efforts, he is credited with bringing about important changes in U.S. domestic policy.  The Innovations Program became a model for governments worldwide and eventually secured $50 million in endowment from the Ford Foundation; it continues to conduct research, disseminate best practices and influence public opinion. 

In addition to having taught public affairs for many years, Broadnax gained invaluable experience working in the field as a public executive.  Most significantly, from 1993 to 1996, he was the Deputy Secretary and Chief Operating Officer of the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services.  In this capacity, he oversaw a major restructuring of the Department which led to the creation of the Social Security Administration as an independent entity.  He also served as a member of the President of the United States’ Management Council and a Special Advisor to the Vice President on management issues.  In prior years, he held key positions in state government, as President of the New York Civil Service Commission and as the Director of Children, Youth and Adult Services for the State of Kansas.

Broadnax currently serves on the Advisory Board of Harvard University's Taubman Center and is a Trustee of Syracuse University and the CNA Corporation.  He is a member of the Board of Directors of the Metro Atlanta Chamber of Commerce, the Georgia Research Alliance, and the Executive Committee of the Board of Directors of the Atlanta Regional Consortium for Higher Education (ARCHE).  Other advisory roles include the United States Comptroller General David Walker's Advisory Board, the Return To Flight (National Aeronautics and Space Administration) Taskforce, Research Advisory Council of the Southern Regional Council, and United States Secretary of State Colin Powell's Management Advisory Committee.

Born in Arkansas and reared in Kansas, Broadnax received his B.A. degree from Washburn University and M.P.A. degree from The University of Kansas.  After earning a Ph.D. from the Maxwell School of Citizenship and Public Affairs at Syracuse University, he committed his life’s work to improving the quality of life in this country by serving in the public sector and by educating young people.