USM Board of Regents Appoints Dr. Gregory Fowler as Next President of University of Maryland Global Campus

Fowler to Join UMGC from Current Position as President of Southern New Hampshire University’s Global Campus

Baltimore, MD. (Dec. 9, 2020) – The University System of Maryland (USM) Board of Regents has appointed Dr. Gregory Fowler as the next president of University of Maryland Global Campus (UMGC). Fowler, currently the president of Southern New Hampshire University Global Campus, will begin his tenure as UMGC president on January 4.

Fowler has served as president of Southern New Hampshire University’s (SNHU) Global Campus since September 2018. He first joined the institution eight years ago in a dual role as chief academic officer and vice president for academic affairs.

“The board has identified an outstanding leader to move UMGC forward,” Board of Regents chair Linda Gooden said. “Given that UMGC is the nation’s largest online public university and serves a broad diversity of students, the selection of UMGC’s next president has been critically important to the university and to the USM. Dr. Fowler’s extensive leadership experience in adult and distance education is an ideal fit for leading UMGC.”

Fowler is a two-time Fulbright Senior Scholar (Germany and Belgium) with 25 years of experience in higher education management. He has presented at events throughout the world, including Germany, where he also taught at the John F. Kennedy Institute for North American Studies at Freie Universitat-Berlin. He has held senior-level academic and administrative positions at numerous institutions, including Western Governors University, Penn State University, and the National Endowment for the Humanities.

In addition to a Ph.D. (SUNY-Buffalo) and an M.B.A. (Western Governors University in Utah), Dr. Fowler earned an M.A. (George Mason University), a B.A. (Morehouse College), and was a Charles A. Dana Scholar (Duke University). He has also completed several higher education and executive leadership and negotiation programs at Harvard University.

“I am honored and humbled to be selected as the next president of the University of Maryland Global Campus,” Fowler said. “I have always admired the institution’s mission and success in transforming the lives of adult learners. I look forward to joining the UMGC team as well as being part of the larger team that is the University System of Maryland.”

SNHU enrolls more than 170,000 students and learners in all 50 states and over 130 countries around the world. Fowler’s program portfolio has included more than 200 undergraduate and graduate programs in the liberal arts and social sciences, nursing and health professions, and STEM programs. He has provided vision and leadership to executive teams and faculty, including academic vice presidents, executive directors, deans, and more than 6,500 faculty and subject-matter experts.

Under Fowler’s leadership, SNHU coordinated a partnership with the Thurgood Marshall Fund, the Kresge Foundation, and Delaware State University to design a completion program using online education at SNHU for students identified as “near-completers” at historically black colleges and universities. Fowler is also credited with increasing the Prior Learning Assessment and Current Learning Assessments capabilities of SNHU, allowing more military, industry-certified, and non-traditional skills students to be evaluated and receive academic credit.

Fowler currently serves as a board member and Commissioner for the New England Commission of Higher Education (NECHE), where, among other duties, he recently worked with a team reviewing the shift to remote learning and the impacts on the future of higher education. He has also served as chief academic officer and vice president for academic affairs at Hesser College, near Boston, as well as associate provost of degree program management and student learning at Western Governors University.

UMGC is the system’s open-access university that offers online academic programs—including bachelor’s and master’s degrees, a doctoral program, and certificate programs—in fast-growing and in-demand fields such as cybersecurity, data analytics and healthcare management. Established in 1947, UMGC has a global footprint and a specific mission: to meet the higher education needs of adult learners whose responsibilities may include jobs, family, and military service.

“I thank Regent Sam Malhotra for leading the search committee that identified Greg Fowler as UMGC’s next president,” USM Chancellor Jay Perman said. “All of us are deeply impressed with Dr. Fowler’s scholarship and his talents as a strategic and creative thinker. SNHU is recognized as a pioneer in online higher education, and there’s no doubt that Dr. Fowler has contributed greatly to that innovation. I also thank Dr. Larry Leak for his service as interim president. Dr. Leak’s deep knowledge of UMGC and his energetic leadership have provided stability and momentum throughout the search process, and I’m delighted he’s agreed to stay on at UMGC temporarily to advise throughout the presidential transition.”

Fowler has overseen programs that serve students in both face-to-face and online graduate programs, impacting military students around the globe, U.S.-based DACA students, and refugees in nations such as South Africa and Lebanon.

The search for UMGC’s next president began in September 2020, after Javier Miyares announced his retirement in July following a 45-year career in higher education that culminated in his transformative eight-year tenure as UMGC president. In Fall 2020, Chancellor Perman announced Miyares’ transition into an advisory capacity to the chancellor, focusing on Systemwide data analytics and how to better position the USM for distance education during and after the COVID-19 pandemic. Lawrence E. Leak, PhD, immediately assumed the role of interim president at UMGC while the board completed its search for a permanent replacement.

To learn more about UMGC, visit this link.

The USM comprises 12 institutions: Bowie State University; Coppin State University; Frostburg State University; Salisbury University; Towson University; the University of Baltimore; the University of Maryland, Baltimore; the University of Maryland, Baltimore County; the University of Maryland Center for Environmental Science; the University of Maryland, College Park; the University of Maryland Eastern Shore; and the University of Maryland Global Campus. The USM also includes three regional centers—the Universities at Shady Grove, the University System of Maryland at Hagerstown, and the University System of Maryland at Southern Maryland—at which USM universities offer upper-division undergraduate and graduate courses.

Systemwide, student enrollment exceeds 172,000. The USM and its institutions compete successfully nearly $1.5 billion in external grants and contracts annually. USM institutions and programs are among the nation's best in quality and value according to several national rankings. To learn more about the University System of Maryland, visit www.usmd.edu.
About Southern New Hampshire University

Southern New Hampshire University (SNHU) is a private, nonprofit institution with an 88-year history of educating traditional-aged students and working adults. Now serving more than 170,000 learners worldwide, SNHU offers approximately 200 accredited undergraduate, graduate and certificate programs, available online and on its 300-acre campus in Manchester, NH. Recognized as the "Most Innovative" regional university by U.S. News & World Report and one of the fastest-growing universities in the country, SNHU is committed to expanding access to high quality, affordable pathways that meet the needs of each learner. Learn more at www.snhu.edu.

Contact: Mike Lurie
Phone: 301.445.2719
Email: mlurie@usmd.edu