Barbara Mistick

Barbara Mistick has served as president of NAICU since September 2019. She is a visionary leader who is passionate about the independent sector of higher education and committed to increasing access for all students. Mistick and the NAICU team work closely with Congress, the executive branch, and the independent sector of higher education to develop policies that best serve our nation's learners.

Mistick expanded NAICU’s mission to secure institutional aid, along with student aid, to ensure private, nonprofit colleges and universities were equitably treated when Congress distributed $77 billion in Higher Education Emergency Relief Funds. She enhanced NAICU’s communication strategies and virtual tools to keep members informed of federal efforts and opportunities for assistance. Mistick also led the development and publication of NAICU’s first-ever national economic and community impact study, which was updated in 2024.

During the course of her 30-year career in the public, private, and nonprofit sectors, Mistick has been an entrepreneur, educator and leader at institutions such as Wilson College (PA), the Carnegie Library of Pittsburgh, the H.J. Heinz School of Public Policy and Management at Carnegie Mellon University (PA), the National Education Center for Women in Business at Seton Hill University (PA), and at various businesses she managed and/or founded.

Mistick is a graduate of Carlow University (PA) and the University of Pittsburgh (PA), and earned a Doctor of Man