Bradley Award Recipient 2009

Richard E. Wylie
President, Endicott College, Beverly, MA

Dr. Richard E. Wylie, recipient of the Richard J. Bradley Award, has long heralded the accreditation process as the vehicle by which he was able to set the course for transformation of Endicott College. With a team of dedicated faculty and administrators, Wylie has guided Endicott from its position as a small, two-year women’s college to its status as one of the great success stories in higher education today. The College earned four-year status in 1988 and became coeducational in 1994. The undergraduate college has tripled its enrollment to 2,000 full-time, day students; and the College has become increasingly selective, setting strict academic standards for admission and accepting only 47% of its applicant pool. In 1996 the Van Loan School of Graduate and Professional Studies was founded and now offers Master of Business Administration (M.B.A.), Master of Science (M.S.), and Master of Education (M.Ed.) degrees as well as accelerated Bachelor degrees for adult learners. Over 2,000 students are enrolled in the graduate school.

In addition to his leadership at Endicott, Dr. Wylie has given back to the Association to which he attributes so much credit. He served as a member of the Commission on Institutions of Higher Education and Chair of the Committee on American and International Schools Aboard. As a member of the Board of Trustees, he served as Secretary/Treasurer for five years and Association President for 2001-2002. He continued his tenure on the Board as Chair of the Policy Committee until 2009. Throughout his career, he has served on and chaired visiting teams and carried out assignments as a special visitor.

In announcing the award, Executive Director Jacob Ludes said, “NEASC recognizes Dr. Richard E. Wylie for his involvement in and support of the Association and his commitment to accreditation throughout our six-state region. We honor his enthusiasm and energy; we admire and embrace his loyalty to the Association; and we celebrate his passion for the success of all students in New England.”