C. Eric Kirkland

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C. Eric Kirkland

C. Eric Kirkland

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Biography

The University of Management and Technology - Management

Executive Vice President at Salem University
Education Management
Cecil Eric
Kirkland
Greater Pittsburgh Area
Results-oriented executive with extensive experience motivating high-performance teams to meet challenges with thoughtful, analytical, evidence-based decision-making. Proven record of achieving operating goals while maintaining fidelity to strategic objectives. Major achievements in higher education administration include developing over fifty accredited academic programs, establishing continuous quality improvement, creating a comprehensive assessment system, implementing best practices in distance education, piloting competency-based education, and supervising cross-functional teams to enhance student enrollment, persistence, and completions. Expert in strategic planning, program evaluation, and project management.

Specialties: Project Management, Program Evaluation, Research Design, Survey Methods, Statistical Analysis, Accreditation, Curriculum Design and Development, Strategic Planning and Execution

Experience

  • Legal Services Corporation

    Assistant Inspector General for Evaluation

    LSC was founded in 1974 by Congress to provide free civil legal aid services for the poor via a nationwide competitive grants program.

    Results:
    ▪ Designed and conducted the first national program evaluation to determine the actual level of civil legal services delivered to the poor in the US.
    ▪ Coordinated development of strategic plans in accordance with the Government Performance and Results Act.
    ▪ Prepared analyses of the benefits and costs of open market competition for legal services as an alternative to a Federally-funded grant program.

  • Grantham University

    Vice President of Education, Chief Academic Officer, Professor

    Grantham was founded in 1951. I joined an entrepreneurial executive team that achieved a complete turnaround from fewer than 200 students to a thriving enterprise with enrollment exceeding 1,200 and quarterly profits of more than $300,000.

    Results:
    ▪ Rejuvenated a moribund institution by providing administrative and academic leadership to design and launch eight new degree programs.
    ▪ Recruited, hired, motivated, and retained qualified faculty to deliver all programs via distance education.
    ▪ Supervised a continuous course inventory replenishment system, coordinating with publishers to ensure up-to-date textbooks and Internet learning resources were provided for all courses.
    ▪ Analyzed financial performance, developed business plans, and met with investors.
    ▪ Negotiated purchasing the institution by a sale of stock instead of a sale of assets, which saved buyers $1.5 million while providing favorable tax treatment for seller’s long-term capital gains.

  • University of Management andTechnology

    Vice President of Operations, Professor

    UMT is a proprietary international distance education university, founded in 1998 by Yanping Chen, MD, PhD and J. Davidson Frame, PhD of George Washington University, to provide advanced Project Management education internationally. My primary role as COO was to supervise the development of North American operations and to guide the maturation of the institution to offer a wide range of undergraduate and undergraduate programs spanning multiple disciplines, creating a sustainable financially sound university.

    Results:
    ▪ Enhanced the institution by developing the undergraduate college from inception to profitable implementation, establishing curricula, earning accreditation, and achieving student satisfaction and retention rates greater than 80%.
    ▪ Achieved enrollment growth from a few dozen students per quarter to hundreds per month, supported by new web-based student information and learning management systems.
    ▪ Designed and launched ten undergraduate degrees, four master’s programs, and the nation’s first Doctor of Business Administration in Project Management accredited by PMI GAC.
    ▪ Guided development of an outstanding military-friendly institution with affiliations including goArmyEd, DANTES, Community College of the Air Force/Air University, Air University-ABC Program, Coast Guard Institute, Servicemembers Opportunity Colleges, and the Veterans Administration.
    ▪ Improved financial stability enabling significant dividends to owners as well as exponential growth in retained earnings year-over-year.

  • COSMOS Corporation

    Director of Education and Communications Research

    Cosmos was a program evaluation consultancy founded by Dr. Robert Yin, a pioneer in the field of analytical case study methods. Served private and nonprofit foundations and government agencies, both by directing evaluations and by providing training and consulting for self-evaluations.

    Accomplishments
    • Designed and led program evaluations for the National Science Foundation’s Research on Education, Policy, and Practice branch and the Informal Science Education branch; the Benton Foundation; the DeWitt Wallace Reader’s Digest Foundation; and The Skillman Foundation.
    • Served as project manager for a series of case studies for the National Institute of Standards and Technology, including developing evaluation logic models, conducting field worker training, collecting artifacts, analyzing data, and reporting results.
    • Obtained over $3 million in new awards from NSF to evaluate Systemic Statewide Initiatives in education and from The Skillman Foundation to extend its Parenting Matters Initiative throughout Detroit.

  • Salem University

    Executive Vice President, Accreditation Liaison Officer, Professor

    Salem is a private regionally accredited institution founded in 1888 by residents of a rural Appalachian community to provide a baccalaureate program of study committed to Christian values and broadly grounded in the liberal arts to prepare graduates for occupations, professions, and advanced studies as well as a Normal curriculum to prepare teachers. Today we offer online and classroom, undergraduate and graduate degree programs, serving students from across the Nation and 27 foreign countries.

    Results:
    ▪ Assembled and motivated a team of professional executives who are self-confident and able to make decisions with integrity, to take risks, and to lead others to achieve institutional goals.
    ▪ Supervised operations spanning all functional departments.
    ▪ Advised the president and trustees on strategic planning, mission, vision, and execution.
    ▪ Launched more than two dozen programs of study accounting for 85% of enrollment.
    ▪ Transformed a traditional classroom-based institution to implement distance and blended instruction, attracting nontraditional students and improving student satisfaction.
    ▪ Established a comprehensive school of nursing from licensed practical nurse through masters.
    ▪ Coached deans and directors to achieve programmatic accreditation for education, business, and nursing as part of the institutional commitment to continuous quality improvement.
    ▪ Led multiple self-evaluations and accreditation visits supported by a strong assessment system with an administrative dashboard for display of longitudinal institutional effectiveness indicators.
    ▪ Revitalized the institutions’ liberal arts to prepare graduates for careers and advanced studies.

Education

  • University of Pennsylvania - The Wharton School

    MBA

    Entrepreneurship & Strategic Management

  • Schiller International University

    Master of Arts - MA

    International Relations & Diplomacy

  • University of Virginia

    Ph.D.

    Educational Research Methodology & Program Evaluation
    PhD Education, Research Methodology

  • Philip Francis du Pont Scholar



Positions

  • Project Management Institute, West Virginia-Ohio Valley Chapter

    Board of Directors, Director-at-large, VP Finance, President

    urn:li:fs_position:(ACoAAAF1fYgBrYcIc6KoOqQpIvPgx6qV0uvj6p4,57927694)

  • Project Management Institute, West Virginia-Ohio Valley Chapter

    Board of Directors, Director-at-large, VP Finance, President

    urn:li:fs_position:(ACoAAAF1fYgBrYcIc6KoOqQpIvPgx6qV0uvj6p4,57927694)

  • American Association of University Administrators

    Board of Directors

    urn:li:fs_position:(ACoAAAF1fYgBrYcIc6KoOqQpIvPgx6qV0uvj6p4,57927694)

  • Project Management Institute, West Virginia-Ohio Valley Chapter

    Board of Directors, Director-at-large, VP Finance, President

    urn:li:fs_position:(ACoAAAF1fYgBrYcIc6KoOqQpIvPgx6qV0uvj6p4,57927694)

  • American Association of University Administrators

    Board of Directors

    urn:li:fs_position:(ACoAAAF1fYgBrYcIc6KoOqQpIvPgx6qV0uvj6p4,57927694)

  • Project Management Institute, West Virginia-Ohio Valley Chapter

    Board of Directors, Director-at-large, VP Finance, President

    urn:li:fs_position:(ACoAAAF1fYgBrYcIc6KoOqQpIvPgx6qV0uvj6p4,57927694)

  • American Association of University Administrators

    Board of Directors

    urn:li:fs_position:(ACoAAAF1fYgBrYcIc6KoOqQpIvPgx6qV0uvj6p4,57927694)

  • Project Management Institute, West Virginia-Ohio Valley Chapter

    Board of Directors, Director-at-large, VP Finance, President

    urn:li:fs_position:(ACoAAAF1fYgBrYcIc6KoOqQpIvPgx6qV0uvj6p4,57927694)

  • American Association of University Administrators

    Board of Directors

    urn:li:fs_position:(ACoAAAF1fYgBrYcIc6KoOqQpIvPgx6qV0uvj6p4,57927694)

  • Project Management Institute, West Virginia-Ohio Valley Chapter

    Board of Directors, Director-at-large, VP Finance, President

    urn:li:fs_position:(ACoAAAF1fYgBrYcIc6KoOqQpIvPgx6qV0uvj6p4,57927694)

  • American Association of University Administrators

    Board of Directors

    urn:li:fs_position:(ACoAAAF1fYgBrYcIc6KoOqQpIvPgx6qV0uvj6p4,57927694)