Becker to Depart Association of Public and Land-Grant Universities

Dr. Mark Becker plans to leave his role as president of the Association of Public and Land-Grant Universities (APLU) at the end of the year.

“I am in good health, and at the same time recent life events have led me to the conclusion that I need to devote more time to my health and family,” said Becker.

Dr. Mark BeckerBecker came into the leadership post in September 2022, previously serving as a member of its Board of Directors and as chair of the board for the Coalition of Urban Serving Universities. He served more than a decade as president of Georgia State University. He served in several other capacities throughout his career, including as executive vice president for academic affairs and provost at the University of South Carolina, as deaan and later assistant vice president for Public Health Preparedness and Emergency Response at the University of Minnesota School of Public Health.

Virginia State University President Dr. Makola Abdullah, the chair of the APLU Board of Directors, lauded Becker as an effective leader for APLU.

“While we wish he were not going to depart at the end of this year, we respect that this is a personal decision and wish him the very best,” said Abdullah.

Becker noted that his entire adult life has been tied to APLU. He started as a graduate student studying statistics at The Pennsylvania State University in September 1980; he has been employed by an APLU institution or APLU itself ever since.

“It has been an amazing journey, providing me with opportunities and relationships that would have been beyond my comprehension at the beginning,” said Becker. “I carry the ethos of the Morrill Land-Grant Acts in my veins, and I believe with the firmest of convictions that APLU and our members are vitally important to the future of our nation.”

The APLU Board of Directors plans to immediately begin the search process to find Becker's successor.