A r c h i v e d  I n f o r m a t i o n

FOR RELEASE: January 19, 2001	Contact:         Tom Lyon (202) 401-1220

ESTELA LOPEZ NAMED TO NATIONAL ADVISORY COMMITTEE ON INSTITUTIONAL QUALITY AND INTEGRITY

Estela Lopez, provost and vice president for academic affairs at Northeastern Illinois University, has been named to the National Advisory Committee on Institutional Quality and Integrity (NACIQI) by U.S. Secretary of Education Richard W. Riley.

"I am so very pleased that Dr. Lopez has agreed to join the National Advisory Committee on Institutional Quality and Integrity," said Riley. "Her commitment to better education for all Americans will be of enormous benefit to the committee's work."

The committee advises the secretary regarding his responsibility for publishing a list of state approval agencies and nationally recognized accrediting agencies. NACIQI also assesses the process of eligibility and certification of institutions of higher education and the provision of student financial aid.

Lopez has been at Northeastern Illinois since 1997. Prior to her current position, she served as a senior associate at the American Association for Higher Education, a senior fellow at the American Council on Education, and was vice president for academic affairs and planning at the Inter-American University of Puerto Rico.

"I appreciate the opportunity to serve as a member of this important group," said Lopez. "As the face of higher education changes, adherence to high quality standards that enhance student learning becomes more and more critical to our society."

Lopez will serve on the committee for a three- year term.