Kathleen Goeppinger *

President Emeritus, Midwestern University

Kathleen H. Goeppinger, Ph.D., was president and chief executive officer of Midwestern University, an upper-division institution specializing in graduate-level health professions with two campuses (in Downers Grove, IL, and Glendale, AZ) enrolling 7,200 students, since 1995. She now serves as President Emeritus. Previously, Goeppinger had been a tenured professor and director at Loyola University Chicago for the Institute of Industrial Relations and the Center for Organizational Development. Prior to her time in academia, she worked in the private sector as a management consultant in healthcare and organizational development, and held corporate management roles in human resources and training. She has served Midwestern University since 1985, initially serving on the board of trustees and as chairman of the board. She is a member of numerous boards of directors in the Greater Phoenix and Downers Grove areas, and among other honors was named as one of the 25 most admired CEOs by the Phoenix Business Journal for her leadership, dedication to, and impact on higher education. She earned her bachelor’s degree from Carthage College in Kenosha, WI, and her master’s degree in industrial relations and doctorate in comparative international policy from Loyola University in Chicago.

Todd Haynie

President, Eastern Arizona College

President Todd Haynie’s roots run deep in the area Eastern Arizona College serves. He was born in Morenci, lived in Payson, graduated from Thatcher High School, and is a proud alumnus of Eastern Arizona College. Prior to becoming the 22nd president of EAC in 2018, President Haynie worked in private industry as a producer for the Educational Management Group and as a software engineer for IBM. He was recruited by EAC to become an admissions counselor and was later promoted to the College’s director of marketing and public relations.

Under his leadership, President Haynie has guided EAC through a comprehensive strategic planning process, launched new initiatives to strengthen programming in campus diversity, and transformed the College’s approach to developmental education. President Haynie’s guiding pillars for his administration are student success, community engagement, and financial responsibility. President Haynie was awarded a bachelor’s degree in film studies from Brigham Young University and a Master of Business Administration from Northern Arizona University.

He serves in many roles within the community but considers the role of husband and father his greatest responsibility.

Chad Sampson

Executive Director, Arizona Board of Regents

The Arizona Board of Regents named Chad Sampson executive director in August 2024. He joined the board in 2010 as associate general counsel and transitioned to vice president of strategic planning before serving most recently as vice president of academic affairs and institutional analysis. A member of the State Bar of Arizona since 2002, Sampson has also worked in private law practice with Quarles & Brady and in the Arizona Attorney General’s Office as counsel for the Arizona Department of Education.

Sampson is active in the education community, serving on the WestEd Board of Directors. He has previously served on the board at Tempe Preparatory Academy, Center for After School Excellence and the Arizona State Board of Education’s Professional Practices Advisory Committee. He has also worked as an adjunct professor at Mesa Community College.

Sampson earned bachelor’s degrees in sociology and political science from the University of Utah and a juris doctorate from the University of Iowa College of Law. Sampson and his wife, Amber, have five children.

Vacancy