Walden University Names Dr. Ward Ulmer President

MINNEAPOLIS, April 17, 2019 /PRNewswire/ -- Walden University's Board of Directors has named Dr. Ward Ulmer president. He has served in several Walden leadership roles over the past seven years and brings more than 20 years of experience as a leader, practitioner, researcher and innovator in higher education.

"The Board was unanimous in its decision to name Dr. Ulmer president," said Lee McGee, chair of the Walden University Board of Directors Governance Committee. "Dr. Ulmer is an outstanding leader who demonstrates his passion for Walden and the success of our students every day. He brings a unique blend of strong interprofessional academic credentials, outstanding operating experience and, most importantly, a powerful commitment to the university's mission of serving working professional adults who share a passion for positive social change. We are confident that Dr. Ulmer's knowledge, commitment and dedication to Walden—our students, alumni, faculty and staff—will strengthen our institution and ensure students' continued success."

Throughout his tenure as Walden's interim president, Dr. Ulmer has been responsible for the strategic direction and vision of the university and overall day-to-day management, academic quality, financial performance, accreditation and governance. He previously served as Walden's chief learning officer and vice president of college administration. Prior to his operational leadership roles, Dr. Ulmer served as the university's associate dean in the College of Management and Technology (CMT). He formerly was the vice president of Walden's Richard W. Riley College of Education and Leadership and CMT.

"I am honored and humbled to have the opportunity to serve as president of this great institution," said Dr. Ulmer. "As we approach our 50th anniversary in 2020, I reflect on how much we've accomplished to provide a variety of educational opportunities for working professionals and have enabled the Walden community to become positive social change agents in communities worldwide. I'm looking forward to continuing this great work in helping to shape the future of our institution and ensuring the success of our students."

During his time at Walden, Dr. Ulmer has been instrumental in championing the use of cutting-edge technology in education, alternative learning options for working professionals and diversity, inclusion and equity initiatives. Walden's social work program piloted a virtual reality (VR) experience with Google's Daydream and Cardboard to simulate the unpredictable environments of on-site visits. Based on the pilot's success, Walden is developing more VR trainings across its diverse curriculum. As the sixth institution approved by the U.S. Department of Education to offer direct assessment competency-based education (CBE), Walden has spearheaded eight CBE programs through its Tempo Learning®, which lets students use their real-world work experience towards the progress of their degree.

The Walden University Diversity and Inclusion Working Group has been working to ensure that diversity, inclusion and equity are effectively modeled in every area of the students' educational process and throughout the university. In recognition of their important work, the university is adding a Vice President of Diversity, Equity, and Inclusion to its leadership team this year.

Prior to joining Walden, Dr. Ulmer held leadership positions in education and business, including serving as chief academic officer and chief information officer for Latimer Education and senior vice provost for Strayer University. Dr. Ulmer earned his BSc in Business Administration from Charleston Southern University and an MA in Computer Resources and Information Management from Webster University. As a working professional, he earned two doctorates, a PhD in Higher Education Leadership from Clemson University and PhD in Applied Management and Decision Sciences from Walden University.

About Walden University
For nearly 50 years, Walden University has supported working professionals in achieving their academic goals and making a greater impact in their professions and communities. Students from across the U.S. and more than 150 countries are pursuing their bachelor's, master's or doctoral degrees online at Walden. The university offers more than 80 degree programs with over 385 specializations and concentrations. Walden University is accredited by The Higher Learning Commission, hlcommission.org. It is also one of more than 35 institutions in 10 countries that make up the Laureate International Universities network. For more information, please visit WaldenU.edu.

SOURCE Walden University

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http://www.WaldenU.edu