C-RAC Announces Leadership Transition

Washington, DC – The Council of Recognized Accrediting Commissions (C-RAC) today announced that Accrediting Commission for Community and Junior Colleges (ACCJC) President, Dr. Mac Powell, will become chair of the organization effective July 1, 2026. Dr. Lawrence Schall, President of New England Commission of Higher Education (NECHE), will serve as vice chair.

Dr. Powell, who is completing a two-year term as vice chair and will serve a two-year term as chair, succeeds Middle States Commission on Higher Education (MSCHE) President, Dr. Heather F. Perfetti, who has been chair since 2024. Dr. Powell will lead C-RAC’s collaboration with the Administration, Congress, States, and other stakeholders on issues related to institutional accreditation.

“C-RAC’s member commissions accredit approximately 3,000 postsecondary, degree-granting institutions, representing more than 95 percent of America’s students. In that context, accreditation is one of the nation’s most consequential levers for sustaining quality, protecting students, and strengthening public confidence," said Dr. Powell. "It is an honor to help lead C-RAC at this critical moment and to ensure that the national policy conversation recognizes not only the challenges facing higher education but the extraordinary value our institutions continue to deliver.”

Dr. Powell has served as president of ACCJC since 2022. His prior service includes three college presidencies, senior leadership of the Northwest Commission on Colleges and Universities, Chair of the American Council of Education’s Commission on Educational Attainment and Innovation, Commissioner on the Western Association of Schools and Colleges Senior Commission, and the Chair of the Council of Applied Master’s Programs in Psychology. Learn more about Dr. Powell here.

Dr. Schall, also an accomplished leader in higher education, will succeed Dr. Powell as vice chair. Dr. Schall said, “I look forward to supporting Mac in his new role and advocating for the importance of accreditation in fostering high quality education and equitable student outcomes for all of our nation’s students.”

Dr. Schall became President of NECHE in 2020. Previously, he served as President of Oglethorpe University in Atlanta, Georgia for 15 years. During his tenure, Dr. Schall led the transformation of Oglethorpe from an at-risk institution to a university boasting a doubled class size and rigorous spending safeguards. Dr. Schall also serves on the Board of Spelman College, the highly-ranked historically Black women’s college also in Atlanta. President Schall received his undergraduate degree from Swarthmore College and his J.D. and Ed.D from the University of Pennsylvania. After practicing law as a civil rights attorney in Philadelphia for a decade, he served as Vice President of Administration at Swarthmore before assuming the Presidency of Oglethorpe. Learn more about Dr. Schall here.