Gerald
A. Heeger has served as president of the University
of Maryland University College (UMUC) since 1999,
and has had an important impact on the university’s
faculty, staff, and students in 29 countries.
UMUC is recognized as one of the leading continuing
education institutions in the world, providing
educational opportunities for United States military
service members in programs in more than sixty
countries. Dr. Heeger earned a political science
degree from the University of California, Berkeley,
and a master's and doctorate degree from the
University of Chicago.
With Dr. Heeger’s leadership, UMUC currently
offers thirty four degree programs that can be
earned completely online and more than seventy
certificate programs. He is recognized for his
creativity in partnering higher education with
corporations and for innovation in program development.
Dr. Heeger served for eight years as dean of
New York University’s School of Continuing
and Professional Studies. While there, he created
NYU Online, a landmark education initiative.
Previously, Dr. Heeger was dean of the New School
for Social Research and dean of University College
at Adelphi University, where he subsequently
served as both provost and executive vice president.
He has also been a faculty member at the Woodrow
Wilson Department of Government and Foreign Affairs
at the University of Virginia.
Dr. Heeger was invited in July 2000, to testify
before the bipartisan Web-Based Education Commission,
established by Congress in 1998. He served on
the International Advisory Board of the Universidad
Argentina de la Empressa in June 2000. In October
2001, Dr. Heeger was elected to serve a three-year
term on the Middle State Commission on Higher
Education.
He was re-elected a three-year term
in 2004 and now also serves on the Middle States
Executive Committee. Dr. Heeger has served
as the chairman of the Servicemembers Opportunities
Colleges and is a member of the University
of Continuing Education Association’s Continuing Higher
Education Review editorial board.
Dr. Heeger has helped to create educational
opportunities for thousands of students worldwide
who find traditional course delivery inadequate
or even impossible. His leadership in
continuing education has enabled thousands of
students worldwide to achieve their educational
goals.