Wondwosen Tamrat (PhD) is associate professor and President of St. Mary’s University (SMU) in Ethiopia. He has a PhD in Higher Education from the University of KwaZulu Natal, South Africa, three master’s degrees from Addis Ababa University, Ethiopia, University of Warwick, United Kingdom, University of Melbourne, Australia and a Graduate Certificate in Quality Assurance in Higher Education from the University of Melbourne, Australia. He has taught at tertiary level for more than two decades. He is strongly committed to the revitalization of the African higher education sector which is reflected in his writings and responsibilities at continental and global levels. He is an affiliate scholar of the Program for Research on Private Higher Education headquartered at the State University of New York at Albany, US, a board member of the International Network for Quality Assurance Agencies in Higher Education (INQAAHE) and coordinator of the sub-cluster for private higher education in Africa under the African Union’s higher education cluster of the Continental Education Strategy for Africa (CESA). He is a member of the Advisory Council of the Ministry of Education in Ethiopia, member of the International Advisory Board of the International Journal of African Higher Education and a jury at the Ethiopian Quality Award. He has published over 50 articles, and four books (two more in the pipeline). He contributes regularly to global higher education outlets such as University World News, Inside Higher Education and International Higher Education, with more than 100 commentaries to his name. He also reviews articles for several peer reviewed international journals. He recognizes the critical role of partnership and leadership in spearheading improvements in the sphere of higher education at local, regional and global levels. His scholarly output, network and wide experience in the sector can provide additional strength to the IAU Administrative Board.