St. Cloud State University President Earl Potter signed the American Council on Education’s Moving the Needle initiative, along with other school presidents around the nation.

According to The American College President 2012 report, only 26 percent of the nation’s college and university presidents are women. At a time when 60 percent of presidents will retire in the next decade, the initiative raises awareness of the gender gap in university leadership. The initiative also has a goal calling for 50 percent for women to achieve gender parity of chief executives at higher education institutions by 2030.

The American Council on Education is also invested in leadership programs to address the needs of diverse women and men, who are underrepresented in higher education leadership.