BOSTON, Mass. – Wentworth Institute of Technology President Dr. Zorica Pantić, who has served as the Institute’s president since 2005, was recently appointed to represent the Commonwealth Coast Conference (CCC) on the National Collegiate Athletic Association’s (NCAA) Division III Presidents Council. Dr. Pantić’s term of service on the council began following the DIII Business Session at the 2014 NCAA Convention on January 18 and will continue through January 2018.

The 15-member Presidents Council is Division III's primary governance body, overseeing the Division III Management Council and the division's committee structure. The Council meets on a quarterly basis and has budgetary oversight, as well as the ultimate authority to establish, direct and implement policies for the Division.

Dr. Pantić, who has served as the CCC Board of Directors chair since July of 2013, joins the Presidents Council after serving with the NCAA Chancellor/Presidents Advisory Group since the spring of 2012. The appointment marks the first time a CCC President has been named a member of the NCAA Division III Presidents Council.

"I'm honored to represent the Commonwealth Coast Conference as a member of the Presidents Council," said Dr. Zorica Pantić. "I look forward to the great opportunity to be part of this leadership team and be involved with an organization that is critical to the success of our student-athletes."

For more than 30 years, Dr. Pantić has been an academic entrepreneur, technology advocate, agent for change, and a champion for diversity, making a positive impact at regional, state, and national levels. As Wentworth’s first female president and the first female engineer to lead a higher education institution of technology in the United States, Dr. Pantić’s leadership is exemplified by her strategic thinking and vision for implementing key initiatives and programs that advance educational opportunities for students pursuing studies in engineering, technology, design, sciences, and management.

Under her leadership, Wentworth has increased its enrollment by 9.6%; raised more than $22 million in private and corporate donations; launched five new engineering-specific bachelor’s degree programs in biomedical engineering, civil engineering, electrical engineering, engineering-interdisciplinary, and mechanical engineering; launched its first master’s programs in Architecture and Construction Management; restructured the academic organization into a four college system to increase efficiencies and enhance multi-disciplinary educational opportunities; commenced construction on two new and renovated facilities–a modern campus center and a Center for Sciences and Biomedical Engineering; and developed a variety of outreach programs to increase the diversity of the student body.

Before arriving at Wentworth, Dr. Pantić served as the director of the School of Engineering at San Francisco State University (SFSU) and the founding dean of the College of Engineering at the University of Texas at San Antonio (UTSA) – one of just 10 female engineering deans in the U.S. at the time. At all academic institutions, she developed active outreach and retention programs that resulted in significant increase in the number of female and underrepresented minority students in STEM disciplines.

Dr. Pantić earned her bachelor’s, master’s, and doctoral degrees in electrical engineering from the University of Nis in Serbia, at which she is currently serving as the President of the Alumni Association.

(Contributions to this release courtesy of the Commonwealth Coast Conference)