Briar Cliff University Media Announcement

SIOUX CITY, Iowa – Briar Cliff University announces the addition of four new members to the Board of Trustees.

Father Michael Erpelding graduated from Briar Cliff in 1985 with a Bachelor of Arts degree in history. He holds a Master of Arts degree in school counseling from Dayton University, Dayton, Ohio, and a Licentiate in Canon Law from the University of Saint Paul at Ottawa, Ontario, Canada.

An educational professional, Father Erpelding taught religion at Saint Edmund High School in Fort Dodge, Iowa; Saint Mary High School in Storm Lake, Iowa, and Kuemper High School in Carroll, Iowa. He also served as co-pastor of Saint Boniface Parish in Sioux City and associate pastor at several other Iowa parishes.

Currently, Erpelding is the pastor of Saint Joseph Parish in Sioux City and is the associate judicial vicar, tribunal, for the Diocese of Sioux City. He is a member of Secular Institute of Diocesan Priests of the Opus Spiritus Sancti; Canon Law Society of America; the Diocese of Sioux City’s Saint Joseph Student Aid Society and Presbyteral Council. Father Erpelding is currently on the Board of Directors for the Soup Kitchen, the Clare Guest House and RSVP, in Sioux City.

Steven Freeman holds a Bachelor of Arts degree in psychology from Briar Cliff, and a Master of Science degree in industrial psychology from the University of Nebraska at Omaha.

Currently, Freeman is senior vice president for Institutional Advancement at Caldwell College, Caldwell, N.J. Previously, he was managing partner of the Centricity Group and was a member of the Board of Directors of The McCallan Group. He also served as president of Cardinal Health, Healthcare Marketing Services.

Freeman received the Presidential Distinguished Leadership Award from BCU in 2007 and the Distinguished Professional Achievement Award from the Briar Cliff Alumni Association in 1990.

Freeman serves on the Board of Trustees for The Ralston Cider Mill, a non-profit organization devoted to the preservation of the mill. He has served on the Board of Directors for the National Pharmaceutical Council, the Board of Directors for the Midwest Pharmaceutical Advertising Council and as a member of the Media Advertising Partnership for a Drug Free America.

Beth Noel earned a Bachelor of Arts in biology from Augustana College, Rock Island Ill. Previously, she was a research assistant at the University of Wisconsin at Madison and at the University of Iowa, Iowa City. Noel also has conducted medical mission work in Sierra Leone, West Africa. An active community volunteer, she served on the Board for Bishop Heelan Catholic Schools and was honorary chairperson for the Alzheimer Association’s Wine and Roses Gala. She is a member of the American Heart Association’s “Go Red for Women” luncheon committee and served as the committee’s chairperson in 2007.

David Simmons earned a Bachelor of Arts degree in history from Briar Cliff in 1980. Currently, he serves as director of development and external affairs at the Center on Budget and Policy Priorities in Washington, D.C. Previously, Simmons was chief operating officer for Equal Justice Works and director of administration and development for the National Immigration Forum in Washington, D.C. An avid volunteer, Simmons has participated in many campaigns and serves on the Board of Directors for two non-profits in the D.C. area.

Briar Cliff University is a Catholic institution with an enrollment of more than 1,100 students from 24 states and four countries. Students are educated in the Franciscan tradition of excellence in the liberal arts and career preparation in an environment of care and compassion. For more information, please visit briarcliff.edu.