Gerald A. Heeger
Hall of Fame Class of 2005
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.