Clinton D. Gardner, Ph.D.

President, Northcentral University

Dr. Clinton Gardner came to Northcentral University following a five-year tenure as president of Argosy University, Phoenix Campus. At Argosy he played an integral role in helping the campus obtain a five-year re-accreditation status from the American Psychological Association for the doctoral program in clinical psychology and was instrumental in bringing to Argosy new undergraduate and graduate programs in business, education and psychology. His other achievements at Argosy included leading the drive to gain reaccreditation by the Higher Learning Commission and implementing new academic programs at the master’s and doctoral levels in school psychology and industrial/organizational psychology.

Dr. Gardner earned his PhD in Higher Education Administration from Michigan State University, and he held numerous leadership positions at Michigan State University and Olivet College in Olivet, Michigan. During a career covering 25 years, Dr. Gardner has held positions in higher education that include University President, Senior Vice President for Management, Vice President for Finance and Administration, and Vice President for Enrollment Management.

In addition to his extensive background in administration, Dr. Gardner has taught economics courses at Davenport University, education courses at Argosy University, and served on numerous dissertation committees in business and education. He is a former president of Data Point Research Consultants, a private higher education consulting firm, and has also consulted with numerous colleges and universities in the areas of admissions, academic program planning, and enrollment management.

Dr. Gardner is a board member and past president of the Arizona Private School Association, serves as a Consultant-Evaluator for the Higher Learning Commission, and has membership in numerous organizations/associations including the Detroit Economic Club. His areas of scholarly research and interests include enrollment management, financial management, strategic planning, organizational leadership, college/university administration and for-profit postsecondary education.

Board of Trustees

Martin Gottlieb, M.P.A.

Chairman of the Board

Martin Gottlieb joined First Federal Bank of California, a Southern California bank, in 1980 as Vice President. He rose to the position of Corporate Executive Vice President of this bank consisting of 40 offices and $11 Billion in assets. He also served as Corporate Executive Vice President of FirstFed Financial Corporation, a New York Stock Exchange company and on the Boards of Directors of Oceanside Insurance Company and Seaside Financial Company. He retired from banking in 1995. Other board memberships include: Board Chairman of the UCLA/Santa Monica Medical Center Foundation, Charles Ruggles Medical Foundation, Chairman of the Santa Monica Chamber of Commerce, and the Santa Monica Christian Towers. He was also Founding President of Las Vegas Boys and Girls Club. In 1994 the California State Assembly honored Gottlieb for his extensive community service.

Gottlieb earned his BS from Arizona State University and received his Master of Public Administration from Pepperdine University. He later served for three years as an adjunct faculty at Pepperdine. Since retirement and returning to his Arizona roots, he has been involved with various Central Arizona community activities, serving as Board Member for Wells Fargo Bank, Central Arizona; Vice Chairman of the Yavapai Regional Medical Center $80M expansion program; past Chairman of Yavapai Big Brothers Big Sisters, and Past President of the Prescott Frontier Rotary Club. He currently serves on the Board of Visitors, Embry-Riddle Aeronautical University and was a member of the Advisory Board for Mayo Clinics Arizona Transplant House and Vice Presidenet of the Jewish Community foundation. In 2006 Gottlieb was named Philanthropist of the Year by the Yavapai County Community Foundation.

Michael Horowitz, Ph.D.

Dr. Michael Horowitz has served as a professional psychology school leader and faculty member since 1988. He became The Chicago School of Professional Psychology's president in 2000, where under his leadership the school has focused on becoming the “school of choice” in professional psychology.

Before joining The Chicago School, Dr. Horowitz was dean and professor at the Arizona School of Professional Psychology. Dr. Horowitz is a past president of the National Council of Schools and Programs of Professional Psychology. He is a site visitor for the American Psychological Association’s Committee on Accreditation and a consultant/evaluator for the Higher Learning Commission of the North Central Association of Colleges and Schools.

Dr. Horowitz is the co-director of the Fatherhood Research Project, a collaborative study of the experience of fatherhood. His professional and scholarly interests include organizational leadership, political advocacy, graduate education and the expansion of professional psychology education and practice. He is a member of the Board of Directors of Chicago Youth Centers and the President's Council of Heartland Alliance.

Dr. Horowitz received his Ph.D. in Clinical Psychology from Northwestern University and a Certificate in Psychoanalysis from the Chicago Center for Psychoanalysis. He did his undergraduate studies at Columbia University, graduating cum laude with a B.A. in Psychology and Political Science. He was honored at Columbia with the Cumming Prize for Outstanding Psychology Graduate.

Kenton D. Jones, J.D.

A native of Phoenix, Arizona, Kenton D. Jones is an attorney as well as an airplane pilot, motorcycle rider and scuba diver. Jones has an outstanding history of community involvement, including long stints as a member and president of the Yavapai Humane Society Board and as a member of the Board of Directors of Big Brothers/Big Sisters.

In 1992 Kenton founded GirlSport, Inc., a non-profit organization created to enhance competitive sports programs for young women in Yavapai County with the goal of obtaining college scholarship opportunities for girls. The organization has had considerable success over the years.

Jones has an Associate of Arts degree from Yavapai College and a Bachelor of Arts from Northern Arizona University. He earned his Juris Doctor at Arizona State University. His major legal work is in the area of governmental and constitutional law. He resides in Prescott, Arizona and has two daughters and two grandchildren.

M. Kathleen Murphy

Kathleen Murphy has headed Yavapai Big Brothers Big Sisters since 1976 and currently serves as President and Chief Executive Officer of the organization, which has a paid staff of 35 and ranks in the top 2% of Big Brothers/Big Sisters group nationwide in terms of children per capita served. In addition, she served for two years as President of Big Brothers/Big Sisters of America Executive Director's/CEO's. In addition, Murphy conducts workshops and training seminars on board development as well as training sessions on building successful mentoring programs, fundraising and recruitment and has consulted with churches and schools on molestation prevention.

Along with her seat on the board of Northcentral University, Murphy is a member of the board of directors for Wells Fargo Bank and a member of the founding committees for Yavapai County United Way, Child Safe and Passport to Higher Education. In 2003 she was named Woman of the Year by the Partners for Active Leadership in Yavapai County and was the 2006 recipient of the Margaret Slack Award.

Murphy has been a part-time teacher at Yavapai College and worked two years with the Juvenile Justice Center in Maricopa County. She is a former partner in Muphy's Restaurants Incorporated.

A native Arizonan and graduate of Arizona State University, Murphy has three children and two grandchildren and has lived in Prescott, Arizona since 1973. She is an avid backpacker, camper and hiker and competed in several triathlons. She volunteers as a Big Sister and has been a volunteer art teacher in area schools for many years.

Karen F. Rizk

Karen Rizk is a Vice President, Commercial Lending with National Bank of Arizona. She was been with National Bank of Arizona since 1999. A graduate of Arizona State University with a B.S. degree in finance, she has worked in the banking industry as a branch manager and commercial lending officer for over 22 years. Prior to that, she and her husband lived in Jordan, Tunisia and South Korea for more than ten years where her husband served as a central banking and private enterprise advisor for the United States Agency for International Development. Rizk also studied at Southern College in Chattanooga, TN and taught elementary school for two years early on in her career.

Because education has always been important to her, she has focused her extra-curricular efforts in her community in the educational arena – serving since 1986 on the Yavapai Community College Foundation Board and as President of the Board for two years. In 1996, she was appointed by the then Governor Fife Symington to the State Board of Directors for Community Colleges. She was re-appointed by Governor Jane Hull for another term. She served as Chairperson of that board for nearly three years. Rizk is a former member of the Board of Directors for the Yavapai Big Brothers/Big Sisters and is a Paul Harris Fellow with the Rotary International.

Rizk is active with the Prescott Chamber of Commerce and will serve as President of the Chamber Board of Directors in 2008.

Rizk and her husband reside in Prescott, AZ. They have two grown daughters and four grandchildren.

Cynthia A. Russell, DNSc., RN

Dr. Cynthia A. Russell is the Vice President of Nursing Operations with Orbis Education, Fishers, Indiana, a position she has held since 2006. As VP, she assists in bringing together top-tier nursing education programs with high quality health care systems to creatively address the workforce shortage in nursing. Cynthia brings nearly twenty five years of experience in higher education to confront this challenge. She progressed to rank of professor at Valparaiso University, Valparaiso, Indiana where she also served as acting dean for three years. In 2000, she moved to Phoenix, Arizona to become the Dean of Nursing and eventually served as Provost/Vice President of Academic Affairs at Grand Canyon University before returning to Indiana. At Grand Canyon University she assisted in the institution’s transition from a not-for-profit to a proprietary institution.

With baccalaureate and master’s degrees in nursing from the University of Wisconsin-Madison, Cynthia attended Rush University, Chicago, Illinois where she earned the Doctorate of Nursing Science with an emphasis in geropsychiatric nursing. As an Adult Psychiatric Clinical Nurse Specialist, her practice has focused on family sensitive care, especially for those addressing the heavy demands of dementia. In addition, she is certified in integrative imagery. She has been active in nursing research, authoring or co-authoring numerous publications. A member of Sigma Theta Tau International, Cynthia has served as chapter president and vice president and numerous committee appointments. She is also a member of the American Nurses Association and the Global Nursing Exchange. Cynthia has supported community-based service groups including Hilltop Neighborhood House and Porter County Family Counseling Center in Valparaiso, Indiana. Cynthia lives with her husband, Douglas Lemster, on their hobby farm in Valparaiso, Indiana.

A. Lee Smith, Ph.D.

Dr. A. Lee Smith is a native of Cleveland, Ohio and resides in central Illinois with his wife, Valerie and two children, Erica and Keith. Lee has worked in the insurance industry for 25 years having served in a multitude of areas including claims management and consulting, management training and marketing. In addition to Lees industry experience, he also has an extensive teaching background having taught at the University of Cincinnati, the Union Institute, Saint Leo University and Midstate College. Lee currently holds the rank of associate professor at Northcentral University. His areas of concentration are in strategic management, ethics philosophy and business ethics. Lee received his Bachelors of Science degree in marketing from Myers University. He continued his studies at Lake Erie College where he earned a MBA in management. He completed his academic studies at Northcentral University obtaining a Ph.D. in strategic management.