John McGrath

Résumé/CV

John J. McGrath, Ph.D.

11 Kendra Court, Ridgefield, Connecticut 06877

Email: Drjjmcgrath@gmail.com ● Cell Phone: (203) 240-8702 ● Website: mcgrathjohn.com

 

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RESUME

EDUCATION

Ph.D. — Graduate School of Arts and Sciences, Criminal Justice Program (Highest Honors), Fordham University, New York. 1989. 

Post-Doctoral Work:

Harvard University, Program for Experienced College Presidents, 2014.

University of Notre Dame, Entrepreneurship, 2000.

Master of Professional Studies (M.P.S.) — Criminal Justice, Long Island University, 1977.

Bachelor of Arts (B.A.) — Philosophy, (Summa Cum Laude), Long Island University, 1975.

 

PROFESSIONAL EXPERIENCE

American Collegiate Acquisitions, Inc. (ACA) Ridgefield, Connecticut.   

Chairman of the Board, Chief Executive Officer and President

ACA’s mission is acquiring underperforming proprietary colleges and restructuring the academic, administrative and financial operations to create financially healthy institutions, 2015. The company seeks to turn-around underperforming colleges, including:

  • Inspiring strong and entrepreneurial executive management.
  • Creating new strategic plans.
  • Developing realistic business models that provide attractive return on investment. 
  • Initiating new undergraduate and graduate degree programs.
  • Opening and securing accreditation for new college branch campuses. 

 

EVCI Career Colleges Holding Corp. (EVCI).  New York, N.Y.

Chairman of the Board (2007), Chief Executive Officer (2003) and President (1997), 1997-2015.

EVCI is a public company, originally traded on the Nasdaq, Pacific and Boston Stock Exchanges, that owns and operates proprietary colleges in New York and Pennsylvania. 

 

Leadership Abilities:

  • Worked with the EVCI Board of Directors to meet corporate strategic mission.  
  • Principal liaison between all Boards of Directors.
  • Supervised and evaluated college presidents. 
  • Experienced with sophisticated financial modeling and sensitivity analysis of budgets. 
  • Met with strategic and institutional investors to financially advance company.
  • Fundraising from donors.  
  • Collectively raised over $120 million from public and private investors.
  • Experienced with increasing shareholder value.

 

TCI College of Technology, (Subsidiary of EVCI).  New York, N.Y.

Chairman of the Executive Committee of the Board of Directors, 

Chief Executive Officer (2005) and President (2012), 2007-2015.

TCI College is regionally accredited by the Middle States Commission on Higher Education along with the Board of Regents of the State of New York. The College is authorized to offer 21 Associate Degree Programs and has approximately 3,000 students. 

 

Primary Responsibilities Included:  Working with the TCI Board of Directors to set the strategic vision and mission for the College, communicate the vision and mission to all internal and external constituencies and secure the needed resources to accomplish the strategic goals. Specifically: 

  • Responsible for the academic, administrative and financial operations of the college. 
  • Inspiring entrepreneurship and accountability for entire college community.
  • Oversight of the faculty and the promotion of academic excellence.
  • Overall administrative departmental oversight for student life including: Admissions, Financial Aid, Academic Advising, Registrar Office, Bursar, Retention Office, Learning Center, Career Placement Office, Library, Information Technology, Human Resources, Student Government, and other departments.
  • Ensuring academic integrity and high quality of all degree programs.
  • Directly working with regulatory counsel on compliance. Inspiring a culture of compliance throughout the entire college community.
  • Fundraising, securing grants and serving as an outside active advocate for college.

 

Selected Accomplishments 

  • Received “Visionary Vanguard Award” from the TCI college community in recognition of successful entrepreneurial initiatives as Chief Executive Officer and President, 2015.
  • Secured Middle States Commission on Higher Education accreditation for the College. 
  • Secured New York State Board of Regents Reaccreditation for the College.
  • Secured recognition from the American Bar Association for the Paralegal Degree Program.
  • Ophthalmic Dispensing Degree Program has been consistently rated #1 in New York State. Accredited by Commission on Opticianry Accreditation.
  • Engineering consistently rated one of the top three Associate Degrees in the United States by “Community College Week.” 

 

 

Additional Competencies

  • Opened four new “College Sites” throughout New York City.
  • Partnered with New York City High School Superintendents (who oversee approximately 180 High Schools Principals) with respect to increasing student enrollment at the college.
  • Reached agreement with the employee union for two separate contracts.
  • TCI became the second largest two-year proprietary college in the New York City metropolitan area.

 

Educational Video Conferencing, Inc. (EVCI: Nasdaq, Pacific, and Boston Stock Exchanges).  New York, N.Y.

Co-Founder, Vice Chairman of the Board of Directors, and President, 1997-2000.

EVCI’s original mission was to videoconference undergraduate and graduate degree programs from multiple colleges and universities to enhance the academic and professional qualifications of employees at large financial corporations, 1997 to 2001.

 

Leadership Abilities

  • Negotiated and executed contracts with 20 colleges and universities, including:  University of Notre Dame, Saint John’s University and Adelphi University.
  • Negotiated and executed contracts with over 15 corporations, including: Merrill Lynch, Citibank, American International Group, Lockheed Martin.
  • Partnered with Bell Atlantic to offer “Telecommute to College Program” which became its largest marketing initiative on the eastern seaboard of the United States in 2000. 

 

Financial Achievements:

  • Initiated Initial Public Offering at $12 a share and rose to over $40 a share in one year.
  • EVCI was ranked #1 public company in Westchester County (suburb to NYC) in 2003.
  • Collectively raised over $120 million from public and private investors.

 

Mercy College, Dobbs Ferry, N.Y. – Private undergraduate and graduate college with over 10,000 students at five Campuses and seven Extension Centers throughout New York. Accredited by the Middle States Commission of Higher Education.

 

Special Assistant to the President, 1996.

Started and ran an initiative called “Educational TeleVideo Communications” to offer undergraduate and graduate degree programs to non-traditional students throughout New York State. Negotiated and secured contracts with the following corporations:

  • New York City Police Department, 1996.
  • Chase (Chemical) Bank, 1996.
  • Citibank Corporation, 1996.

 

Assistant Vice President, 1992-1995.  

Started and ran seven new accredited Extension Centers which registered approximately 1,600 full-time undergraduate students. 

  • Added $2.4 million in annualized net operating profit for the college.

 

Dean, White Plains Campus, 1990-1995. 

Chief Administrative Officer of a Branch Campus with over 500 undergraduate and graduate students. 

  • Created a Weekend College.
  • Brought Master’s Degree Program in Human Resource Management to campus.
  • Added $2.8 million in annualized net operating profit for the college.

 

Chairman, Department of Law and Criminal Justice, 1989.

  • Engaged in outreach initiatives with over 25 Police Departments, including NYPD.
  • Promoted active intellectual engagement of faculty in scholarly disciplines.
  • Advanced critical thought processes for discovery of new knowledge.

 

Professor, Associate Professor, Assistant Professor, Instructor, 1980-1996.

  • Specializations include: Constitutional Law, Criminal Law, Criminal Procedure Law, Evidence, Paralegal Studies, and Jurisprudence.
  • Voted “Best Teacher” by student body in 1982.

 

Adjunct Associate Professor, Fordham University, Social Theory, 1989.

Adjunct Professor, Long Island University, Criminal Justice, 1986-1988.

Selected Scholarship as Faculty Member 

  • Principal and Organizer:  Debate on “Constitutional Constructs for Peace in Northern Ireland,” Fordham University, 1996. Received international press coverage including worldwide coverage by CNN Cable Network.
  • Principal Speaker for “Human Rights Symposium,” Pace University School of Law, 1996.
  • Master of Ceremonies:  “Irish Race Convention” at the Jacob Javits Convention Center in NYC, 1994. Endorsed by every major Irish organization in the United States.
  • Principal Speaker: Constitutional Law Proposals for Ireland,” Rutgers University, 1993.
  • Consultant Reader for “Thought Quarterly Review,” Fordham University, 1990-1993.
  • Principal Speaker on Constitutional Law, Criminal Law, Criminal Procedure Law, and Evidence to many police departments throughout New York State, 1980-1995.

Law Firm of Bernard Kenny, New York, N.Y.

Legal Administrator and Paralegal, 1977-1980.

 

Senior Ocean Lifeguard, Cedar Beach, Town of Babylon, NY.

  • Triathlete and long-distance competitive swimmer, 1971-1984.

 

Personal Information

  • Married with two adult children. 
  • Excellent health.

 

Please See Curriculum Vitae for Expanded Academic and Professional Qualifications.