Robert B. Lambeth Jr. is retiring after 40 years with the The Council of Independent Colleges in Virginia, Inc., a nonprofit organization representing 27 accredited nonprofit independent colleges and universities in Virginia. Lambeth is the longest serving president of a state private college association in the U.S.
Since 1983, Lambeth served as president of CICV, and in that time, he worked with over one hundred presidents of Virginia’s independent colleges and universities to encourage collaboration and unity among the schools, according to the release.
He was responsible for the development and expansion of the Tuition Assistance Grant (TAG) Program for Virginia students. It has served over 300,000 students attending Virginia independent colleges and universities. The TAG Program will provide a $4,500 grant to over 20,000 Virginia students attending nonprofit private colleges in the 2022-23 school year with a total appropriation of 90.8 million dollars.
During Lambeth’s presidency, CICV developed a self-insured health insurance program for the employees of CICV institutions. The Virginia Private Colleges Benefits Consortium (VPCBC) currently covers 3,300 employees and 6,100 total lives. Lambeth also led the creation of the first nonprofit higher education multiple employer retirement plan in the United States. The CICV provides retirement benefits to 16 institutions and has more than $1 billion in combined assets.
“Robert is the most effective and talented executive I’ve ever worked with,” said Phillip Stone, former President of Sweet Briar College and Bridgewater College (both CICV member schools) in a statement. “In Virginia, he’s the person most responsible for TAG grants. Robert came up with innovative ways to help colleges share operations to save money. Robert did it with great dignity and effectiveness.”
At the request of the CICV Board of Directors, Lambeth will continue his work until a successor is selected.
To learn more, please visit http://cicv.org/.