Bea Gonzalez named president-elect of UPCEA

SYRACUSE — Bethaida (Bea) González, dean of Syracuse University’s University College, will serve as the 2013-14 president-elect of the University Professional & Continuing Education Association (UPCEA).

University College on Tuesday released a statement about González’s election as president-elect.

González will then serve as president of UPCEA for the 2014-15 year, the school said.

The Washington, D.C.–based UPCEA is an association for universities engaged in professional, continuing, and online education, according to the University College news release.

She is the third administrator from Syracuse University that’s been elected to the position. She follows D. Walter Morton, who served as UPCEA president in 1937-38, and Alex Charters, who served in 1965-66.

As a long-time member of UPCEA, González has been asked to present at many conferences and workshops, including UPCEA’s 95th conference in San Francisco in April 2009; the UPCEA executive committee on diversity in Toronto  in May 2011; and UPCEA conferences in Harrisburg, Pa. and Vancouver, B.C. in 2007, according to University College.

As dean of the University College, González directly supervises programming in continuing education and summer programs.

González was also formerly the president of the Syracuse Common Council.

Founded in 1915, UPCEA now serves more than 350 institutions, including most of the “leading” public and private colleges and universities in North America, according to the organization’s website.

The association serves its members with conferences and specialty seminars, research and benchmarking information, professional networking opportunities, and timely publications, the website says.

Contact Reinhardt at ereinhardt@cnybj.com