Helen R. Washburn, Ph.D.

Dr. Helen Washburn retired to Columbia, MO in 2004 after an eighteen year tenure as president of Cottey College, an independent two-year women’s college in Nevada, MO.  She was a member of the Board of Trustees at Stephens College and served as chair for the last two years.  In May 2008 she resigned that position when she was appointed to the Missouri Coordinating Board for Higher Education by Governor Matt Blunt.

While president of Cottey College, Dr. Washburn participated in CBHE activities.  She was a member of the Missouri PreK-16 Coalition, which developed the Report on Mathematics in Missouri, and worked with committees striving to improve transfer and articulation between Missouri colleges and universities.

Active in professional organizations during her career, she served as president of the American Counseling Association, board chair of the Women’s College Coalition, and on the boards of the National Association of Independent Colleges and Universities and the American Community College Association.  Dr. Washburn’s community service was recognized when she was named Citizen of the Year by the Nevada, MO Rotary Club (1997) and the Nevada, MO Chamber of Commerce Pace Setter (2004).

She earned her Bachelors and Masters degrees from the University of Idaho and her Ph.D. from the University of Oregon.

Dr. Washburn’s term expires June 27, 2009.