Nancy Coleman is an American educator. She has served as the Dean of the Harvard Division of Continuing Education, which includes the Harvard Extension School, since July 2020.
Colemen earned a B.S. in marketing from Stonehill College and an Master of Business Administration from Questrom School of Business at Boston University. [1] [2] [3] She also earned a Ed.D. in Human and Organizational Learning from George Washington University in 2016. [1] [2] [3] She wrote her dissertation on leadership behaviors in distance education units. [2]
Coleman was Vice President of Academic Services at Keypath Education, an online program management provider from 2014 to 2016. [1] [4] [2] For ten years, she was the Vice President of New Business Development with Advanced Management Services. [2]
After serving as assistant director for three years, Coleman was promoted to Director of Distance Education at Boston University in 2008 and stayed in that position until 2014. [1] [4] [2] [3] Here, she oversaw all online degrees and courses. [3] During her tenure at Boston University, the department she led earned several national distance learning awards including Sloan-C Excellence in Institution Wide Online Learning and multiple United States Distance Learning Association (USDLA) teaching and curriculum awards. [2]
She then went on to become the Associate Provost and founding Director of Strategic Growth Initiatives at Wellesley College in 2016. [1] [4] [5] [2] [3] There, she created and led Wellesley Extended which provided summer programs, online learning, and professional education. [1] [4] [3]
On July 13, 2020, Coleman became the 7th dean of the Harvard Division of Continuing Education. [1] [2] [3] She is the first woman to lead this institution. [5] She has previously worked in both small and large institutions, the corporate world, start-ups, and has taught both online and in the classroom. [4] [5] Coleman is a certified Project Management Professional. [2]
Coleman is the founder of the Contemporary Women’s Leadership Institute, a global program for undergraduate women. [4]
In 2020 and 2021, Coleman was president of the University Professional and Continuing Education Association. [1] [4] [5] [2]