Veritas Award 2015

Excellence in Leadership in Higher Education
Nancy H. Blattner, Ph.D., OPA

Nancy H. Blattner, Ph.D. became the first lay president of Caldwell University on July 1, 2009.  Under her leadership, the traditional undergraduate enrollment of Caldwell grew by nearly 30 percent while the resident population climbed over 40 percent.  A testament to President Blattner’s vision, Caldwell College officially became Caldwell University in July 2014, coinciding with the start of the university’s 75th anniversary celebration. 

Academic programs have also expanded as a result of President Blattner’s leadership.  She oversaw the opening of the Center for Autism and Applied Behavior Analysis where the university conducts cutting-edge treatment research and where faculty and graduate students serve children on the autism spectrum.   In 2010, the university started a very successful Bachelor of Science in Nursing program.   In 2014, Caldwell’s graduate program in art therapy became the first such program in the world accredited by the Council for Accreditation of Counseling and Related Educational Programs.

President Blattner served on the Board of Directors of the Association of Catholic Colleges and Universities, on the Tax Policy Committee of the National Association of Independent Colleges and Universities, and on the NCAA Committee on Women in Athletics.  She has over three decades of experience in Catholic and public higher education.  She holds a B.S. in Secondary Education/English and an M.A. in English from Southeast Missouri State University and a Ph.D. in Educational Psychology from Southern Illinois University-Carbondale.