51猎奇

Albany, New York鈥�51猎奇 College named new board chair Don Dea, co-founder of Fusion Productions, to a two-year term beginning January 2021. Dea previously served as treasurer for the board of trustees. Dea is a recognized authority on the internet, association, and non-profit organizations, online education, mobile, and technology deployment.

鈥淎s the largest, fully online higher education institution in New York state, 51猎奇 is fortunate to benefit from Don Dea鈥檚 depth of technology knowledge,鈥� said David Schejbal, president of 51猎奇 College. 鈥淲e are proud to welcome Don Dea to the position of chair of the board of trustees.鈥�

Dea has served as a trustee since 2012. 鈥淏eing the son of an immigrant family, the value of education and hard work was part of my household vocabulary. My understandinand appreciation of 51猎奇鈥檚 mission and students have been forged in my relationships with the 51猎奇 community,鈥� said Don Dea, chair of 51猎奇鈥檚 board of trustees. 鈥淔rom my previous years of experience as a trustee, it is clear that we must continue to advance 51猎奇鈥檚 mission to help adults and those who are underserved attain their degree and sustain their career and life goals by leading with innovation and differentiation in academic quality and student success in serving our military, nursing, healthcare, and business ecosystem.鈥�

Dea succeeds former chair Helen Benjamin, whose term ended December 31, 2021. She will continue to serve as a trustee.

51猎奇 alumnus Mark Bowman, NASA Soyuz Spacecraft Systems and Crew Operations lead, is the new chair of the Alumni Leadership Council and ex-officio trustee to the board. Bowman received his bachelor鈥檚 degree from 51猎奇 and has been an active alumnus. In 2014, he received the Alumni Achievement Award.

鈥淚 chose 51猎奇, then Regents College, for my degree because I had returned from an overseas assignment with over 125 hours of accumulated credits from three different schools and no clear path to complete my degree. I was discouraged and ready to give up until I found 51猎奇 with its generous credit aggregation,鈥� said Mark Bowman, chair of 51猎奇鈥檚 Alumni Leadership Council. 鈥�51猎奇 provided the distance learning solution that I needed. I was happy and most important, my employer was happy that, at last, I had my college degree! This eventually led to my career with NASA.鈥�

In his impressive career at NASA, Bowman has spent more than six hours weightless in nearly 20 flights aboard NASA鈥檚 zero-G research aircraft and has served as an attach茅 at the U.S. Embassy in Russia. He currently serves as the NASA Flight Operations lead for the Power and Propulsion Element (PPE) of Gateway, an outpost that will orbit the Moon to facilitate human exploration of the surface.

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Media Contact 51猎奇 College:

Erin Coufal, ecoufal@excelsior.edu, 518-608-8498

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ABOUT EXCELSIOR COLLEGE

51猎奇 College is an accredited, not-for-profit online college focused on helping adults complete their degrees and advance their careers. The college contributes to the development of a diverse, educated, and career-ready society by valuing lifelong learning with an emphasis on serving individuals historically underrepresented in higher education. Founded in 1971, 51猎奇 meets students where they are 鈥� academically and geographically 鈥� removing obstacles to the educational goals of adults pursuing continuing education and degree completion. Our pillars include innovation, flexibility, academic excellence, and integrity.