Current Position and Past Experience
Chaffee is a senior fellow at the Association of Governing Boards of Universities and Colleges (AGB). She recently served as the Executive Director of the Academic Portfolio Review and Integration Process with the University of Maine System. From 2009-2011, she directed a Lumina Foundation project for AGB that helped presidents and governing boards work together to meet key goals by improving academic, strategic, and financial performance in an environment of scarce resources. She co-directs a Teagle Foundation project for AGB to assist boards in defining how they can best oversee educational quality. She has served on and consulted with more than 60 governing boards as well as national organizations in higher education research, health care, allied health, and foundations. Chaffee is a member of the Board of Trustees of Des Moines University.

Chaffee was president of Valley City State University for 15 years and served nine of those years simultaneously as president of Mayville State University. Her leadership created an award-winning culture of innovation, change, and accountability. She then spent a year as president in residence at Harvard University. Previous positions include academic vice-chancellor for the North Dakota University System and director of organizational studies at the National Center for Higher Education Management Systems (NCHEMS). Chaffee was president of the Association for Institutional Research and the Association for the Study of Higher Education, as well as the public member of the American Council on Pharmaceutical Education (ACPE), the accrediting board for pharmacy. Trustee of a major healthcare system for eight years, Chaffee chaired the board and guided its 50/50 merger that resulted in a $2 billion healthcare system.

Education, Honors and Achievements
Chaffee earned her PhD in higher education administration and policy analysis from Stanford University.

Connect
You can find Chaffee on the web at her personal website, Leadership and Governance in Higher Education and on Twitter @EllenChaffee.