University Administration

Tullisse (Toni) A. Murdock, Chancellor

Toni Murdock was appointed acting Chancellor in November 2005, succeeding James H. Craiglow who had recently retired from the position. For about eight months afterward, she continued in her role as president of Antioch University Seattle, a presidency that began in July 1997. In May 2006, Toni accepted the Chancellor position full-time and relocated to Yellow Springs with her partner. At the Board's meeting in June 2007, the Trustees were unanimous in their approval of an extension to Toni's contract through June 2010.

Prior to coming to Antioch University, Toni served for eight years as the associate provost for academic planning and programs at Seattle University. Her journey to the Northwest was preceded by a time at the University of Arizona where she was the assistant dean of the College of Arts and Sciences and as an administrator and faculty member at Western Wyoming College.

Toni obtained her bachelor’s and master’s degrees at New Mexico State University and her doctorate from the University of Arizona. She also attended the 1988 HERS/Bryn Mawr Institute for Women in Higher Education. She has been actively involved in promoting diversity in the curriculum and faculty. She has worked with numerous projects funded through the Ford Foundation and served as the president of the Seattle Coalition for Educational Equity, an organization of Seattle K-16 educational institutions committed to increasing the number of students of color graduating from higher education institutions.

In 2003 during her tenure as President at Antioch Seattle, the Early College High School Initiative program was established for Washington state schools that serve predominately Native American Students. To date the AUS campus has received grants totaling $10,952,500 from various foundations for the program, including the Gates Foundation, the Kellogg Foundation and the Lumina Foundation. In 1992 Toni took on the challenge of rebuilding the ACE Network for Women Administrators in the State of Washington and served eight years on the ACE Office of Women in Higher Education's National Executive Board. She has received numerous awards and recognition for her work in women’s leadership.

Toni is an avid outdoors woman who finds solace in mountain climbing, canoeing, cross-country skiing, and backpacking.