UMGC opens search for Chief Academic Officer to lead global academic enterprise
Senior leaders at the University of Maryland Global Campus have taken to LinkedIn to highlight a new Chief Academic Officer role positioned to reshape how the institution delivers online and global public higher education.
The University of Maryland Global Campus has opened recruitment for a Chief Academic Officer and Vice President, Global Academic Learning Enterprise, according to LinkedIn posts shared by senior members of its leadership team.
The role is positioned as a central driver of academic quality, portfolio strategy, and institutional outcomes across UMGC’s global, adult-serving learner population.
UMGC is a public university focused on online and hybrid higher education, serving working adults, military-affiliated learners, and students worldwide through degree, credential, and non-degree programs.
The opening was first highlighted on LinkedIn by Matthew Belanger, Vice President, Experience Strategy and Design and Senior Advisor to the University President, who framed the position as extending well beyond a traditional academic affairs remit.
Belanger wrote that UMGC was seeking “a servant leader and visionary academic executive who can help define the next generation of online and global public higher education.” He described the role as responsible for shaping an academic enterprise that is “learner-centric, product-led, globally scaled, data-driven, skills-based, and AI-powered,” signaling UMGC’s continued move away from legacy academic structures.
CAO to oversee academic portfolios, quality, and AI integration
According to the role outline, the CAO will lead UMGC’s Global Academic Learning Enterprise, which consolidates functions typically spread across academic affairs, curriculum governance, and faculty leadership. Reporting to the Chief Learner Experience and Success Officer, the position carries responsibility for academic quality, accreditation, faculty excellence, and portfolio-level decision-making.
The CAO will oversee UMGC’s three Schools—Cybersecurity and Information Technology, Business, and Integrative and Professional Studies—not as independent academic silos, but as academic product portfolios aligned to learner segments, workforce demand, and institutional priorities.
The remit also includes responsibility for academic product strategy, program investment and sunsetting decisions, and the development of stackable learning pathways designed to support lifelong learning. UMGC says the role will play a key part in setting academic guardrails for the responsible use of AI across curriculum, assessment, and learning systems.
Recruitment reflects broader shift in public higher education
In a separate LinkedIn post, Angie Besendorfer, a senior leader at UMGC, emphasized that the institution was intentionally seeking a different type of academic leader. Besendorfer wrote that the university was “looking for an innovative, results-oriented leader who wants to help shape the next generation of online and global public higher education.”
The recruitment reflects broader pressure on public universities to balance scale, quality, and workforce relevance, while maintaining academic integrity and public trust. UMGC positions the CAO role as central to that balance, combining traditional academic stewardship with product-led execution and measurable learner outcomes.
Belanger closed his post by framing the opening as a rare opportunity to influence the future direction of public higher education at scale: “This is a rare opportunity...don't miss it. Let's build what's next... together.”
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