University Leadership

Jim Hyatt

Interim Vice President of Finance & Chief Financial Officer

Jim Hyatt, Antioch University’s Interim Vice President of Finance and Chief Financial Officer, is a nationally respected higher education leader with more than 40 years of experience. He has provided leadership in finance, operations, planning, and institutional strategy at institutions, including the University of California, Berkeley, Virginia Tech, the University of Arizona, and the University of South Florida System. Jim has also served in interim executive roles for Notre Dame de Namur University and the University of Providence, where he led efforts to improve fiscal transparency, faculty and staff accountability, and strategic budgeting. Earlier in his career, he was Executive Vice President of the National Association of College and University Business Officers (NACUBO), shaping national policy on higher education finance and governance.

Jim has published widely on financial management, budgeting, pension reform, and administrative restructuring through the University of California Digital Library and NACUBO Press. He has also served on numerous university foundation boards. Awarded the Berkeley Citation for distinguished service, Jim counsels universities, foundations, and national organizations on fiscal strategy, governance, and operational excellence, helping them translate financial principles into sustainable practice.

Josh Jacobs, EdD

Vice President of Institutional Advancement

With a track record of innovation, strategic thinking, and effective team leadership, Josh Jacobs, EdD, is passionate about driving positive change in organizations and making meaningful contributions to the communities he serves.

He is a fixer, fueled by curiosity, who wants to help groups achieve ambitious goals that benefit humanity.

He is drawn to leaders and organizations like Antioch University that pursue high-impact change to better the lives of people. 

Laurien Alexandre, PhD

University Executive Director of Strategic Communications & Dean Emerit

Laurien Alexandre, PhD, Dean Emerit, has served as University Executive Director of Internal Communication (since 2024). 

During her over 33 years at Antioch University, Laurien was initially hired as the Academic Dean of the two California campuses (1991-1999). She is the founding Director of the PhD in Leadership & Change (1999-2023) and then the founding Provost and Dean of the Graduate School of Leadership and Change (2015-2023). During these years, she also served as University Vice Chancellor of Academic Affairs (2006-2013). 

Prior to coming to Antioch University, Laurien worked at Immaculate Heart College Center, an ecumenical institute devoted to research and training on peace, justice, and global concerns, where she directed teacher training programs (K-16)  on international and multicultural classrooms. Dr. Alexandre also taught for over 10 years at California State University, Northridge, in the Department of Mass Communications/Journalism, where her focus was on graduate courses in media analysis.

Laurien has traveled extensively in Latin America and the Caribbean.  Her scholarship, including books, articles, speeches, and presentations, has focused on media studies, international politics and gender studies, higher education experimentation and graduate studies, and most recently, the role of education in strengthening democracy. She is also a professional translator, from Spanish to English.

Maria-Judith Rodriguez Herrera, MA/MBA

Vice President for Human Resources

Maria-Judith, MBA serves as the Vice President for Human Resources at Antioch University. In this role, she oversees all aspects of the HR function and sets the strategic direction and efforts in alignment with the institution’s mission and growth directions.

Prior to Antioch, she served as Chief HR Officer and Title IX deputy Coordinator at Amherst College for a decade and earlier headed HR at the Puerto Rico-based Arecibo Observatory, a research center managed by Cornell University. She has a diverse professional background, which includes experiences within a variety of industries including education, consulting, pharmaceutical and manufacturing. She holds her MA in Industrial Organizational Psychology from the InterAmerican University of Puerto Rico and her MBA in Human Resources Management from the University of Phoenix.

Maria-Judith reports directly to the Chancellor and serves on the Chancellor’s Executive Team. She believes HR plays a critical strategic role in key areas of institutional success by fostering individual and organizational development, leading strategic efforts, and nurturing a work culture that embraces diversity and inclusion. She also believes in the importance of being an active citizen through community work, both professionally and personally.

Mary Granger, JD

University Counsel

Mary Granger, JD, serves as University Counsel for Antioch University and reports directly to the Chancellor. In this role, she oversees the Office of General Counsel, managing the legal affairs of the University and providing legal advice to Antioch’s leadership, its academic Schools, and campuses. The goal of the Office of General Counsel is to promote a culture of respect, diversity, inclusion, and legal compliance throughout the University in furtherance of Antioch’s mission and values.

Mary began her career at Antioch’s Office of General Counsel in 2015, serving previously as Attorney, Assistant University Counsel, and Associate University Counsel. Mary is a graduate of the University of Maine School of Law.

In her role as University Counsel, she also serves as the Chief Legal Officer for the Coalition for the Common Good.

Sandra (Sandy) Madar, PhD

Vice President of Academic Affairs & University Provost

Sandra (Sandy) Madar, PhD, joined Antioch University in January 2026 as Vice President of Academic Affairs & University Provost, with more than three decades of experience as a faculty member, scholar, dean, and senior academic officer. Much of her career has centered on the health sciences—designing, strengthening, and expanding graduate and professional programs that prepare students to meet the complex needs of their communities. Sandy has earned a reputation as a translator: someone equally fluent in data, numbers, and quantitative analysis who can bring those findings to life through narrative, context, and human-centered insight.

Sandy comes to Antioch from the University of Mount Union (OH), where she most recently served as Associate Vice President for Academic Affairs and Dean of Undergraduate Studies. She provided academic leadership for 75 undergraduate programs and stewarded major institutional initiatives in academic planning, program review, faculty development, and program economic analysis. Her most formative work at Mount Union occurred during her five years as the Founding Dean of the College of Natural & Health Sciences, where she guided graduate programs in Physician Assistant Studies and Physical Therapy and oversaw multiple undergraduate health and natural science departments. She led feasibility studies for new master’s and doctoral programs, including Advanced Practice Nursing (MSN/FNP) and Occupational Therapy (MSOT). She also strengthened clinical partnerships and expanded early-assurance pathways into PA, PT, and medical programs.

Before joining Mount Union, Sandy spent nearly two decades at Hiram College (OH) in senior

academic leadership roles. Amongst other positions at Hiram, she served as Interim Vice President and Academic Dean and Associate Vice President for Strategic Academic Initiatives. In these roles, she co-created new programs in public health and exercise science, expanded pre-health pathways, and led interdisciplinary efforts that wove science, ethics, and experiential learning together. As the founding director of the nationally recognized Biomedical Humanities Program, she built a distinctive curriculum that bridged empirical evidence with the narratives that shape human experience—a hallmark of her leadership to this day.

As a professor of biology and biomedical sciences, Sandy has taught widely in anatomy, physiology, and bioethics. Her scholarship has been published in Academic Medicine, The Anatomical Record, Nature, and the Journal of Human Evolution and reflects her distinctive through-line: rigorous quantitative analysis paired with an ability to translate complex scientific findings into accessible human-centered insights. Sandy holds a BS in Anthropology and Zoology from the University of Michigan, and a PhD in Biomedical Sciences jointly awarded by Kent State University and the Northeast Ohio University’s College of Medicine.

In her role as Antioch University’s VPAA, she also serves as the Vice President of Graduate Studies for the Coalition for the Common Good.

Stephanie Helms Pickett, EdD

Vice President for Inclusive Excellence & Student Affairs

Stephanie Helms Pickett (she/her), EdD, joined Antioch University and serves as Vice President for Inclusive Excellence and Student Affairs on Antioch's Executive Leadership. Stephanie has extensive experience in higher education administration, working at private, public, single-sex, predominantly White, and historically Black institutions of higher education, in residence life, commuter life, multicultural affairs, orientation, leadership, international student affairs, disability services, and academic support services. She served as the Associate Vice Provost for Inclusive Excellence and Strategic Practice at North Carolina State University and as the Director of Assessment and Professional Development, as well as the Director of the Women’s Center at Duke University. Dr. Helms Pickett is an Adjunct Assistant Professor in Educational Leadership and Higher Education Policy in the College of Education at NC State University and an Adjunct Assistant Professor in Organizational Learning and Leadership in the School of Education at the University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill.

Her research interests are in the areas of higher education policy, women’s engagement, cultural competency, faith, and leadership. She is a qualified administrator of the Intercultural Development Inventory and uses it in her practice to assist others in developing an intercultural mindset. She presently serves as a member of the BRIDGES Advisory Board, a leadership program advancing women in higher education.

Stephanie holds a Bachelor of Arts degree in Radio & Television Broadcasting from Southern Illinois University at Carbondale, and a Master’s and Doctorate degree in Higher Education Administration from North Carolina State University.

Tom Hoener

Vice President for Enrollment Management & Marketing

Thomas J. (Tom) Hoener joined Antioch University in January 2026 as the Vice President of Enrollment Management & Marketing. Tom is an experienced enrollment management leader whose work is grounded in both professional expertise and lived experience.

His own collegiate pathway is like that of many Antioch students, completing his BA through a weekend program designed for adult learners. As a first-generation college student and son of an immigrant mother from Panama, Tom has experienced and long valued widening access and supporting students whose educational journeys are shaped by complex life circumstances.

Tom launched his higher education career in 2001 when he joined Mount St. Mary’s College, developing recruitment strategies for adult and graduate programs and partnering with faculty to introduce new graduate offerings. These efforts contributed to significant graduate enrollment growth and improved access for evening and weekend students.

In 2007, Tom joined California Lutheran University, first as Executive Director of Graduate and Adult Enrollment, then Assistant, and then Associate Vice President of Enrollment Management, where he unified a decentralized graduate and adult enrollment structure into a cohesive, data-informed, cross-functional, and collaborative approach that strengthened communication, clarified processes, and produced a significant increase in graduate enrollment.

Now based in Ventura, California, Tom is inspired by Antioch University’s justice-oriented mission. His work is guided by a belief that strong enrollment leadership expands opportunity, strengthens institutional vitality, and helps more students realize the transformative promise of higher education. Tom holds an MS in Counseling Psychology and a BA in Liberal Studies, both from Mount St. Mary’s University.