Judith Irene Bailey (''née'' Hege; born August 24, 1946) is an American academic who served as president of

Northern Michigan University Northern Michigan University (Northern Michigan, Northern or NMU) is a public university in Marquette, Michigan. It was established in 1899 by the Michigan Legislature as Northern State Normal School. In 1963, the state designated Northern a uni ...

(1997–2003) and

Western Michigan University Western Michigan University (Western Michigan, Western or WMU) is a public research university in Kalamazoo, Michigan. It was initially established as Western State Normal School in 1903 by Governor Aaron T. Bliss for the training of teachers ...

(2003–2006).

Biography

Bailey came to WMU from

where she served as president from 1997 to 2003, as the first female president of the university. Prior to assuming the presidency at NMU, Bailey was Vice President of Academic Affairs and Provost at the

University of Maine The University of Maine (UMaine or UMO) is a Public university, public Land-grant university, land-grant research university in Orono, Maine. It was established in 1865 as the land-grant college of Maine and is the Flagship universities, flagshi ...

as well as Vice President for Research and Public Service and Director of Cooperative Extension Service. Previously, she served in leadership roles in the Office of Extension Service of the

University of the District of Columbia The University of the District of Columbia (UDC) is a public historically black land-grant university in Washington, D.C. It was established in 1851 and is the only public university in the city. UDC is a member school of the Thurgood Marshall ...

and the

University of Maryland The University of Maryland, College Park (University of Maryland, UMD, or simply Maryland) is a public land-grant research university in College Park, Maryland. Founded in 1856, UMD is the flagship institution of the University System of M ...

. She also has taught at

George Mason University George Mason University (George Mason, Mason, or GMU) is a public research university in Fairfax County, Virginia with an independent City of Fairfax, Virginia postal address in the Washington, D.C. Metropolitan Area. The university was origin ...

and the

. A native of

North Carolina North Carolina () is a state in the Southeastern region of the United States. The state is the 28th largest and 9th-most populous of the United States. It is bordered by Virginia to the north, the Atlantic Ocean to the east, Georgia and So ...

, Bailey earned a bachelor's degree in English from

Coker College Coker University is a private university in Hartsville, South Carolina. It was founded in 1908 and is accredited by the Southern Association of Colleges and Schools. Coker's sports teams, nicknamed the Cobras, compete in NCAA Division II. Histo ...

Hartsville, SC Hartsville is the largest city in Darlington County, South Carolina, United States. It was chartered on December 11, 1891. The population was 7,764 at the 2010 census. Hartsville was chosen as an All-America City in 1996 and again in 2016. Harts ...

. That school honored her in 1998 with its Distinguished Alumni Achievement Award. She earned her master's and doctoral degree from

Virginia Tech Virginia Tech (formally the Virginia Polytechnic Institute and State University and informally VT, or VPI) is a Public university, public Land-grant college, land-grant research university with its main campus in Blacksburg, Virginia. It also ...

in 1973 and 1976, respectively, and in 2005, she received Virginia Tech's Graduate Alumni Achievement Award. She also attended Harvard University's Institute for Educational Management in 1994 and took part in the institute's 1996 alumni seminar.

Western Michigan University

Achievements

In 2004, Bailey launched implementation of a new Student Information System, "GoWMU", that dramatically altered students' electronic access to academic resources and services as well as streamlined operations across the campus.

Termination

On August 15, 2006, the Board of Trustees of Western Michigan University fired Bailey over drop of enrollment, after total enrollment fell from approximately 30,000 students to 25,000 over the three years she led the university. Bailey's termination by the board came after she refused an offer to buy out her contract, worth upwards of $400,000, if she resigned. Former president

Diether Haenicke Diether H. Haenicke (May 19, 1935 – February 15, 2009) was president of Western Michigan University in Kalamazoo, Michigan from 1985 to 1998, and again (as interim president) from 2006 to 2007. A large building on campus, Haenicke Hall, is name ...

was named interim president at the same time. On October 27, 2006, it was announced that Bailey and the university had agreed to a severance package of $530,000.

After WMU

Bailey has been president and senior consultant of JIHBAILEY ASSOCIATES, serving higher education and other nonprofits since 2006. In January 2007, she became a senior fellow at the

American Association of State Colleges and Universities The American Association of State Colleges and Universities (AASCU) is an organization of state-supported colleges and universities that offer degree programs leading to bachelor's, master's or doctoral degrees. AASCU grew out of the Association ...

. Bailey served as Interim Senior Executive Director of Enrollment Management at

East Carolina University East Carolina University (ECU) is a public university, public research university in Greenville, North Carolina. It is the fourth largest university in North Carolina. Founded on March 8, 1907, as a Normal school, teacher training school, East ...

Greenville, North Carolina Greenville is the county seat of and the most populous city in Pitt County, North Carolina, Pitt County, North Carolina, United States; the principal city of the Greenville, North Carolina metropolitan area, Greenville metropolitan area; and th ...

, from July 2007–May 2009. From May 2009–February 2011, she served as Interim Associate Director of University Advancement at

Winston-Salem State University Winston-Salem State University (WSSU) is a historically black public university in Winston-Salem, North Carolina. It is part of the University of North Carolina. History Winston-Salem State University was founded as Slater Industrial Academy o ...

Winston-Salem, North Carolina Winston-Salem is a city and the county seat of Forsyth County, North Carolina, United States. In the 2020 census, the population was 249,545, making it the second-largest municipality in the Piedmont Triad region, the 5th most populous city in N ...

. Bailey was granted status as President Emeritus of Northern Michigan University on May 1, 2013.

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Bailey, Judith 1946 births East Carolina University people Living people Presidents of Western Michigan University Northern Michigan University people George Mason University faculty Harvard Graduate School of Education alumni Coker University alumni University of the District of Columbia people