Four institutional chief executive officers have been appointed to serve terms on the Division III Presidents Council. The four-year terms began at the conclusion of the NCAA Convention in January and run through the 2006 Convention.

The new members are Esther L. Barazzone of Chatham College; David G. Carter of Eastern Connecticut State University; Jane Margaret "Maggie" O'Brien of St. Mary's College of Maryland; and Phillip C. Stone of Bridgewater College (Virginia).

Following are biographical sketches of the new Presidents Council members.

Barazzone

Barazzone has been president of Chatham College since 1992. She has overseen major program development at the women's college, including the creation of a Division III athletics program, 40 new degree programs and the introduction of coeducational professional master's degrees and certificate programs.

Barazzone earned a bachelor of arts degree in philosophy and history from New College of the University of South Florida. She has a doctorate and master of arts degree in European intellectual history from Columbia University. She also was a Fulbright Scholar to Spain and studied at the Wharton School of Business Administration and at Harvard University's Institute for Educational Management.

Chatham has won three national gold medals from the Council for Advancement and Support of Education (CASE) during Barazzone's tenure. Barazzone is an active leader in the national higher education community, having served on the executive committee of the Council of Independent Colleges, as board chair of the Public Leadership Education Network and on the executive committee of the board of the Women's College Coalition. She also has chaired college accreditation teams for the Middle States Association of Colleges and Schools. Barazzone also is chair of the Association of Independent Colleges and Universities in Pennsylvania.

Barazzone serves on the board of the Allegheny Conference on Community Development, the executive committee of the University of Pittsburgh Medical Center Health System, the board of the Carnegie Museum of Natural History, and the Deloitte Touche Advisory Board on the Initiative for the Advancement of Women, among other boards.

Carter

Carter, president of Eastern Connecticut State, has mounted a major building campaign that has resulted in millions of dollars in new facilities for teaching, research, athletics and residence halls.

Carter previously was associate vice-president for academic affairs at the University of Connecticut. While there, Carter also served as a professor of educational administration and as associate dean of the school of education. Before that, Carter was associate professor of education at Pennsylvania State College and adjunct professor at Wright State University.

Carter earned a bachelor of science degree from Central State University, a master's degree from Miami University (Ohio) and a doctorate in philosophy from Ohio State University.

Carter is an active member of the National Association for the Advancement of Colored People (NAACP) and is a past recipient of the Roy Watkins Civil Rights Award, the highest hon or given by the Connecticut NAACP. He was recognized in 1998 by the American College Personnel Association for outstanding leadership in enhancing international education.

From 1995 to 1997, Carter served as chair of the Division III Subcommittee of the NCAA Presidents Commission.

Carter serves on several boards and commissions, including the American Council on Education, the American Association of State Colleges and Universities, the New England Association of Schools and Colleges, and the Urban League.

Carter has co-authored and edited several books, and he has appeared on numerous radio and television news and public affairs programs. He speaks frequently on the legal aspects of education, education access and multicultural approaches to education.

O'Brien

O'Brien has been president of St. Mary's (Maryland) since 1996 and has seen the school be ranked by U.S. News & World Report as the "best public liberal arts college in the nation."

Before her appointment at St. Mary's, O'Brien was president of Hollins University. Before that, she was dean of the faculty at Middlebury College. Previously, she was associate provost and associate professor of chemistry at Middlebury.

O'Brien earned her bachelor of arts in chemistry from Vassar College and her doctorate in chemistry from the University of Delaware.

O'Brien has won numerous fellowships, including those from the Kellogg Foundation, the American Association of Colleges and Universities and the Eisenhower Exchange. She is a member of Sigma Xi and Phi Beta Kappa.

O'Brien serves on the board of directors for several organizations, including the University Mobility in the Asian Pacific, Maryland Citizen for the Arts and the Maryland Citizen for the Arts Foundation, The National Outdoor Leadership School and the Norfolk Southern Corporation.

Her scholarly activities include the publication of several articles on higher education and science, and she has testified before the U.S. House of Representatives Committee on Science, Space and Technology on the topic of "Traditional and nontraditional sources of future research scientists."

Stone

Stone has been president at Bridgewater (Virginia) since August 1994. Before that, Stone was a practicing attorney with the law firm of Wharton, Aldhizer and Weaver in Harrisonburg, Virginia, for 24 years.

Stone earned a bachelor of arts in economics from Bridgewater and a law degree from the University of Virginia.

In his law practice, Stone was involved in estate planning, and corporate and health law. Stone was elected a fellow in the American College of Trial Lawyers, the International Society of Barristers, the American Bar Foundation and the Virginia Bar Foundation.

Stone has held leadership positions in the Virginia State Bar, the Virginia Bar Association and other legal societies. In 1997, he served as president of the Virginia Bar Association.

Stone has served as a Bridgewater trustee since 1975, and he currently chairs the Board for the Rockingham Memorial Hospital in Harrisonburg. He has served on numerous other boards, including the First Union Regional Advisory Board and on the board of directors for WLR, Inc.

The recipient of two honorary doctorates, Stone also is active in historical groups and is a frequent speaker on Abraham Lincoln, the Lincoln presidency and the Lincolns of Virginia. He has authored numerous articles on Lincoln, and he also has written several articles in legal journals. He also is a frequent speaker on medical malpractice and legal issues.