TCS Education System Announces New Leaders

CHICAGO, SAN FRANCISCO, and SANTA BARBARA/VENTURA, Calif., July 8, 2014 /PRNewswire-USNewswire/ -- TCS Education System (TCS Ed) is pleased to announce exciting leadership changes at the nonprofit consortium as well as at two of its colleges.

Deborah Markos joins TCS Ed as senior vice president for student strategies and innovation, leading all aspects of the student life cycle for the higher education system's five colleges—The Chicago School of Professional Psychology, Pacific Oaks College & Children's School, The Santa Barbara & Ventura Colleges of Law, Dallas Nursing Institute, and Saybrook University. Markos has significant higher education experience and expertise, having held senior leadership positions within the National University System and most recently as the Southern California president of Argosy University.

"Today's higher education environment is increasingly challenging and TCS Education System needs to be better positioned to meet these headwinds by heightening focus on the student life cycle," said Dr. Michael Horowitz, founding president of TCS Ed since 2009. "The addition of Deborah Markos in this new position will allow us to better serve our 7,000 students and 11 campuses to further our mission of creating global change agents."

"I look forward to joining the TCS Education System family and working with each institution to do what this organization does so well—graduating highly trained, socially responsible professionals who are inspired to make a significant impact on the world," said Markos, who will divide her time between the TCS Ed System headquarters in Chicago and the system's five colleges.

TCS Ed has also welcomed new presidents at two of its colleges. In June, Saybrook University and its board of trustees announced the appointment of Dr. Nathan Long as its next president. Outgoing Saybrook president Dr. Mark Schulman will transition to an executive leadership position at TCS Ed later this year, taking on a role to advance strategic initiatives.

A new president has also been appointed at The Santa Barbara & Ventura Colleges of Law (COL). Dr. Charles McClintock, an accomplished professor and dean who has served on the COL Board of Trustees as well as the Substantive Change committee of the Western Association of Schools and Colleges (WASC), took the helm as president on June 16. Heather Georgakis, J.D., who led COL as president for 13 years, continues her role as Dean and Professor of Law, a move that allows her to focus more exclusively on academic programs and student success. 

"TCS Education System was founded to become a game-changer," said Dr. Horowitz. "As we embark on the next chapter in our journey with these changes in place, together we will continue to reimagine higher education and forge new paths that will answer the call to prepare qualified practitioners positively impacting communities locally and globally."

About TCS Education System:

TCS Education System (TCS Ed) was founded in 2009 as a nonprofit organization with a mission of preparing innovative, engaged, purposeful agents of change who serve our global community.

TCS Ed features a community of specialized institutions, which are backed by a model of education that prepares socially responsible, culturally competent professionals in applied fields such as psychology and behavioral sciences, education and human development, law and legal studies, nursing and health care, and organizational development. TCS Ed partners—The Chicago School of Professional Psychology, Pacific Oaks College & Children's School, The Santa Barbara & Ventura Colleges of Law, Dallas Nursing Institute, and Saybrook University—each offer scholarship, training, and service opportunities directed to a specific career path while providing a transformative educational experience. For more information, visit www.tcsedsystem.edu.

About Saybrook University

Saybrook University, the world's premier institution for humanistic scholarship and practice, was founded in 1971 to carry forward the philosophy and values of a group of prominent scholars and psychologists, including Abraham Maslow, Rollo May, and Carl Rogers.

One of the first American universities to offer graduate education at a distance for working professionals, Saybrook offers graduate level courses that combine online education with in-person classes, intensive seminars, and conferences. A nonprofit university composed of four schools—the School of Organizational Leadership and Transformation, the School of Mind-Body Medicine, the School of Clinical Psychology, and the School of Psychology and Interdisciplinary Inquiry—Saybrook is accredited by the Western Association of Schools and Colleges (WASC).

About The Santa Barbara & Ventura Colleges of Law

The Santa Barbara & Ventura Colleges of Law was founded in 1969 with a clear mission in mind—to prepare leaders, for law and law-related professions, through graduate-level legal education that emphasizes academic excellence and accessibility. Today, the nonprofit Colleges of Law are widely recognized as being among the state's premier regional law schools with Juris Doctor (J.D.) and Master of Legal Studies (M.L.S.) programs that combine quality, convenience, affordability, and real-world practicality. COL is accredited by the Committee of Bar Examiners of The State Bar of California. In 2010, the law school became an affiliate partner of TCS Education System, a Chicago-based consortium of nonprofit higher education institutions devoted to graduating "change agents" in professional fields of psychology and behavioral sciences, education and human development, law and legal studies, nursing and health sciences, and organizational development.

SOURCE TCS Education System