Jerry Berberet Named 2025 Recipient of the Ernest L. Boyer Award

The New American Colleges & Universities (NACU) is proud to announce that William G. “Jerry” Berberet, founding executive director of NACU and a lifelong advocate for innovative, student-centered education, has been named the 2025 recipient of the prestigious Ernest L. Boyer Award.

The award honors the legacy of Ernest Boyer who, while serving as president of the Carnegie Foundation for the Advancement of Teaching, defined a “New American college” as one that integrates the liberal arts, professional studies, and civic engagement to prepare graduates to address society’s complex social, economic, and cultural challenges. In 1995, a select group of those institutions formed the Associated New American Colleges (ANAC), now known as the New American Colleges & Universities (NACU). To learn more about NACU’s founding and early history, visit the NACU Library.

Berberet played an instrumental role in the creation of ANAC and served as its first chief executive for more than a decade, growing the consortium to 23 members. During his tenure, he laid the groundwork for a model of higher education collaboration that continues to connect institutions committed to uniting intellectual inquiry with practical experience and civic purpose. Before and after his tenure with NACU, Berberet served in academic leadership roles including chief academic officer at North Central College in Illinois, dean of liberal arts at Willamette University in Oregon, and vice president for academic affairs at Carroll College in Montana, his undergraduate alma mater.

A historian by training and a passionate advocate for educational equity, Berberet has edited several books, including Renewing the Liberal Arts Tradition (1988), In the Pacific Interest (with Ronald Loftus, 1990), and A New Academic Compact: Revisioning the Relationship between Faculty and their Institutions (with Linda McMillin, 2002). He currently serves as editor of Voices for Educational Equity, an open-source journal of the nonprofit Center for Success and recently completed a memoir about his Montana ranch childhood. 

“As NACU celebrates its 30th anniversary, it is especially meaningful to honor the person who helped bring this consortium to life,” said Sean Creighton, president of NACU. “Jerry’s leadership, imagination, and belief in the power of collaboration set the course for what NACU has become today.”

Reflecting on the honor, Berberet described his role at NACU as “the most satisfying thing I have done in my life.” His career has been marked by a deep commitment to advancing liberal learning, fostering faculty development, and championing institutional collaboration.

As part of this recognition, NACU will release a special Degrees of Impact podcast episode featuring Berberet in early December, reflecting on his career, the founding of NACU, and the enduring value of collaborative innovation in higher education.