East Panhandle Times

Nuno Fernandes officially assumed the presidency of American Public University System (APUS) today following an event with faculty, staff and guests at the university’s Finance Center in Charles Town. Mr. Fernandes, APUS’s fifth president, brings deep experience aligned with APUS’s mission to educate adult learners of all backgrounds.

“I am both humbled and honored to serve the exceptional students at this remarkable University and I look forward to working closely with our faculty and staff as we continue to build upon APUS’s proud legacy,” said Mr. Fernandes.

Serving previously as President and CEO of Ilumno, Latin America’s largest online program manager (in number of managed students), Mr. Fernandes led successful initiatives to improve student retention, student satisfaction, graduation rates and brand reputation at Ilumno’s owned and partner universities. He also helped position the company’s former and current partner institutions as leaders in expanding access to quality higher education and in becoming the dominant online market players in seven countries.

“We’re excited about our bright future with Nuno Fernandes at the helm,” said Frank Ball, APUS Board of Trustees Chairman, who led the national search process. “We’re confident that his leadership and expertise will help us continue making online higher education more accessible to adult learners.”

Mr. Fernandes’ start is another milestone for APUS which, as a large employer in Jefferson County (W.V.), has:

• Over 200 online degree and certificate programs offered through American Military University and American Public University.
• Approximately 86,600 adult learners*
• Over 123,000 alumni worldwide*
• Approximately 1,780 full time and part-time faculty**
• A local workforce of approximately 710 faculty and staff members living in West Virginia, Maryland, Virginia and Washington, D.C.** 

Mr. Fernandes takes over for Acting President Dr. Kate Zatz, who also served as a member of the Board of Trustees for 18 years, more than half of which was as Board Chairwoman. APUS is grateful for Dr. Zatz’s leadership and significant contributions.

Mr. Fernandes holds a Master of Business Administration from the W.P. Carey School of Business at Arizona State University, and a bachelor’s degree from the University of Porto in Portugal. He has also participated in several executive education programs at Harvard Business School and Carnegie Mellon University, among others. 

Original source can be found here.