From 1965 to 1970, Atwell was
vice chancellor for administration at the University of Wisconsin,
Madison. In 1970 he became president of Pitzer College, one of
the Claremont group of colleges in Southern California, and served
in that position until joining ACE.
As president of ACE, Atwell
is the leading spokesperson for American higher education on a
broad range of public policy issues. ACE is the umbrella organization
for the nation's colleges and universities; its membership includes
about 1500 accredited, degree-granting institutions and over 200
associations. It serves as a coordinating body for higher education
on federal legislative, regulatory, budget, and legal issues.
Atwell has been deeply involved in efforts to preserve and expand federal funding for higher education; increase educational opportunities for minority citizens; improve the competitiveness of the American economy, and address the problems of big-time intercollegiate athletics. He frequently represents American higher education at international gatherings.
Atwell is widely published in
the field of higher education management an student aid policy,
and has served on numerous national committees and boards. He
is a member of the board of trustees of the College Retirement
Equities Fund, which, together with its allied corporation, the
Teachers Insurance Annuity Association, provides pension
benefits for over 1.2 million current and former employees of over 4,000 educational
and research institutions. He also is a trustee St. Norbert College
(WI), Connecticut College, and Eckerd College (FL), and a member
of the board of directors of CAUSE, the association for managing
and using information technology in higher education.
Atwell is a frequent speaker at national and state gatherings of higher education and business leaders, and has received numerous honorary degrees and other awards.
