PRESS RELEASE
May 19, 2006

CORD NAMES RICHARD HINCKLEY AS CHIEF EXECUTIVE OFFICER

WACO, TEXAS — The Board of Directors of CORD has named Dr. Richard C. Hinckley as its new President and CEO.  Hinckley has thirty-two years’ experience in education and currently serves as Executive Director of the National Coalition of Advanced Technology Centers.  Hinckley will succeed outgoing president Dan M. Hull who has served as CORD’s Chief Executive Officer since its founding in 1979.  The transition between the two leaders will occur in July.

Mr. Hull stated recently, “Dick Hinckley is a visionary leader whose philosophy on education embodies CORD’s mission. He is very talented and will lead CORD’s excellent staff in promising new directions in the months and years ahead.”

Hull said of his future plans, “I’m not really retiring—I still have a strong passion for the ‘neglected majority,’ and I will continue to speak, write, and advocate on behalf of Tech Prep, Career Pathways, and contextual teaching and learning.  But, I want to devote most of my time to the education needs of technicians in optics and photonics—the field in which I practiced engineering before I joined CORD.”

Dr. Hinckley has served public education as a teacher, principal, superintendent, and college dean. He spent his early career with the Illinois Department of Corrections as a teacher and principal in the juvenile division and as superintendent of schools for both the adult and juvenile divisions. While in correctional education, he worked with community colleges to establish education and training programs throughout the correctional system.

After fourteen years in corrections, he joined the staff at Moraine Valley Community College in Palos Hills, Illinois, where he served as dean of workforce development and community services and dean of business and industrial technology. At Moraine Valley, he was active in strategic planning and economic and workforce development and was instrumental in the creation of one of the earliest advanced technology centers (ATC). Under his leadership, the Moraine Valley ATC provided business outreach and training services and was a profit center for the college. The ATC was often cited as a model operation and was officially commended by the Manufacturing Best Practices Institute.

Since its founding in 1988, Dr. Hinckley has been actively involved in the National Coalition of Advanced Technology Centers (NCATC), a professional membership organization comprising over 150 community and technical colleges. In 2000, he took early retirement from Moraine Valley to become NCATC’s executive director.

In addition to his work with Moraine Valley and NCATC, Dick has served on several regional and national boards, including the American Association of Community College’s Economic and Workforce Commission. A committed proponent of academically rigorous career and technical education, especially for the “neglected majority,” Dick has extensive experience in managing Carl Perkins, federal School-to-Work, and state and federal Tech Prep programs.

He is the author of numerous articles, reports, and papers on topics such as the planning and development of ATCs and the role of technology in workforce modernization. He has written successful proposals to national funding agencies such as the National Science Foundation (NSF) and has served as an external evaluator on NSF projects.  He holds a Ph.D. in educational leadership and higher education from Southern Illinois University, a masters degree from Northern Illinois University, and a bachelors degree from North Central College.