Mark Nemec, a political scientist, higher education expert and business leader, has been appointed the next dean of the Graham School of Continuing Liberal and Professional Studies, effective July 1. 

From roots in academia, Nemec turned to the use of data and analysis to help global organizations, including institutions of higher education, operate more strategically and effectively. He currently is president and chief executive officer of Eduventures, a Boston-based information services company providing research, data and advice to the higher education community. He previously served on the executive team of Forrester Research, a provider of similar offerings to the technology industry. 

Nemec previously taught American politics as a visiting assistant professor at Davidson College, and as an instructor at the University of Michigan, where he earned his PhD. He wrote Ivory Towers and Nationalist Minds: Universities, Leadership and the Development of the American State (University of Michigan Press, 2006) and contributed to The Educational Legacy of Woodrow Wilson: From College to Nation (University of Virginia Press, 2012). 

His appointment follows a national search, led by a faculty committee chaired by Deputy Provost Roy Weiss. 

As dean, Nemec will lead the Graham School’s initiatives to bring University of Chicago educational experiences to non-traditional students and new constituents, in Chicago and around the world. His appointment comes at a moment of particular opportunity, as the University’s expanding outreach, global demographic changes, and educational and technological innovations combine to create new possibilities.

Nemec also earned an MA in education with a focus on higher education and public policy from the University of Michigan, and a BA in English from Yale University. 

About University of Chicago    

Originally known as University Extension, the school of continuing education was a part of the University of Chicago at its founding. It quickly became a national model for making quality education accessible to a wide variety of students—through lecture courses around the city, correspondence courses for more distant students and mail-order access to University libraries. 

Renamed in 1997 for alumnus and former Trustee William B. Graham and Catherine V. Graham, the school now serves more than 6,000 students in greater Chicago, and increasingly, around the globe. The Graham School offers master’s degree programs, certificate programs, non-credit courses, and a variety of seminars and online studies.