Appointed Janauary 2001

James L. Ratcliff is consultant and principal at Sand Hills Advisors, a Scottsdale, AZ, consulting firm. He has a distinguished career in management, research and education. In June 2022, he retired as Chairman of the Board and CEO of Rowpar Pharmaceuticals, Inc., Scottsdale, AZ, maker of the ClōSYS brands of oral care products and has served in that capacity since January 2000.

In 2020, Dr. Ratcliff was a recipient of the CEO of the Year Award by CEO Today Magazine .In 2017, 2018, 2019, and 2020, Dr. Ratcliff was cited by Corporate Livewire as innovative leader in oral care for North America. In 2014, Rowpar received the U.S. Small Business Administration’s Exporter of the Year Award. Rowpar’s ClōSYS brand of premium oral care products is recommended by dentists, hygienists, doctors and nurses, and is among the top 10% of oral care products,

From 1989 to 2000, Dr. Ratcliff served as Senior Research Scientist, Professor and Director, Center for the Study of Higher Education at the Pennsylvania State University.  From 1992 to 1996, Dr. Ratcliff as served as the Director of the National Center on Postsecondary Teaching, Learning and Assessment, a five-university research consortium funded by the U.S. Department of Education. 1979-1989, Dr. Ratcliff was Professor and Program Head for higher education at Iowa State University.  Since 1978, Dr. Ratcliff has served as consultant and advisor to colleges, universities, departments of and ministries of education and accrediting agencies. He has also served as a visiting faculty member at Florida Atlantic University, Grants and Contracts Officer at Washington State University, and visiting scholar at the University of Vermont.

Dr. Ratcliff is author of 120 articles, books, book chapters, is co-inventor on over 40 patents and patents pending.  He is a past member of the Arizona Biotechnology Assn., American Academy of Oral and Systemic Health, American Educational Research Association, the Association for the Study of Higher Education, and the Global Chamber, and the Phoenix Committee on Foreign Relations, the International Association for Dental Research and is a fellow of the Society for Research into Higher Education. He holds a Ph.D. in Higher Education from Washington State University, a M.A. in History from Washington State University, and a B.A. in history from Utah State University.