April 11, 2017

Newman’s Own Foundation Names Dr. Lynn Pasquerella to Advisory Board

Westport, CT – Newman’s Own today announced that Dr. Lynn Pasquerella has been appointed to the Newman’s Own Advisory Board. Pasquerella is currently President of the Association of American Colleges & Universities (AAC&U), where she has served since July 2016.

The Newman’s Own Advisory Board provides high level advice and assistance on strategic matters to both the Newman’s Own Foundation and the food company, Newman’s Own, Inc.

“We are delighted to have Dr. Pasquerella join the Newman’s Own Advisory Board. She will bring significant experience and sensitivity to the Newman’s Own commitment of contributing 100% of its profits to charitable organizations, a commitment which celebrates its 35th anniversary and surpasses $500 million in total giving in 2017,” said Bob Forrester, President and CEO of Newman’s Own Foundation and Executive Chairman of Newman’s Own, Inc. “Lynn is a distinguished scholar and teacher, whose lifelong commitment to bringing empowerment and opportunity to the least advantaged in our world will make her a valued colleague and advisor.”

Recently Pasquerella spearheaded a program through the AAC&U, launching The Centers for Truth, Racial Healing and Transformation, which will have ten campus locations around the country. The Centers will establish goals, share ideas and strategies, and identify specific action steps for pursuing racial healing and systems change. The program received a grant from Newman’s Own Foundation.

Pasquerella has long been an advocate for liberal education with a focus on inclusion for all students, regardless of socioeconomic backgrounds. She is an active member of AAC&U’s Liberal Education and America’s Promise (LEAP) Presidents’ Trust.

“It is such an honor and privilege to be joining the Newman’s Own Advisory Board,” said Pasquerella. “Paul Newman was a champion of liberal education and an articulate proponent of the transformative power of higher education as a public good. I am thrilled to be able to carry on his legacy through service on the board.”

Pasquerella is former president of Mount Holyoke College, where she served for 6 years. She was very active, not only on campus, but throughout the local and regional communities. She spent 23 years in public higher education. At the University of Rhode Island, she served as a professor of philosophy and held a range of administrative positions including department chair and dean of the Graduate School. She also served as provost at the University of Hartford in Connecticut from 2008 to 2010.

She serves as a senator and member of the executive committee of Phi Beta Kappa and as host of The Academic Minute, a WAMC Northeast Public Radio program featuring brief faculty presentations on subjects of both scholarly and general interest. She is the author of numerous books and articles and has received many distinguished honors including the Horace Mann Distinguished Graduate Alumna Award from Brown University, the Superintendent’s Award for Distinguished Service to the South Hadley Schools, and the Teaching Excellence Award from the University of Rhode Island.

As a first-generation college student, Pasquerella began her education as a student at Quinebaug Valley Community College in Danielson, Connecticut. She earned her bachelor’s degree from Mount Holyoke College and her PhD in Philosophy from Brown University.

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