Anne Heinz to Retire as CU‑Boulder Dean of Continuing Education

University of Colorado Boulder Provost Russell Moore today announced that Anne Heinz, dean of Continuing Education and associate vice chancellor for Summer Session and Outreach and Engagement, will retire effective June 30, 2015, after 26 years at the university.

“Throughout her time at the university Anne has been a champion for exploring ways to improve services to not only nontraditional students but all students, and to demonstrate the value of the university to the state of Colorado,” Moore said. “Her passion and dedication will be greatly missed when she retires in June.”

Heinz began her career at CU-Boulder in 1989 as director of professional development and then was appointed dean of Continuing Education and associate vice chancellor for Summer Session in July 1996. Her duties were expanded to cover Outreach and Engagement in October 2009. In addition, she has held a faculty appointment in the School of Education since 1989.

“In particular, her dedication to the success of nontraditional students is notable,” Moore said. “During her past 18 years as dean of Continuing Education, Anne oversaw the expansion of traditional and online course offerings to improve the experience for this population and established CU Complete, a program helping former CU students to return and complete their degrees.”

Moore added that under her leadership, CU-Boulder has expanded summer offerings, introduced two new academic sessions to campus — Maymester and Augmester — and established the Faculty in Residence Summer Term (FIRST) program, which brings faculty from national and international universities to teach for the summer.

Heinz has received several honors for her service to the university over the years including the CU-Boulder Women Who Make a Difference award and a Leeds School of Business service award, both given in 2005.

Heinz holds a bachelor’s degree in journalism from Southern Illinois University, Carbondale, and master’s and doctoral degrees specializing in administration and higher and continuing education, both from the University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign.

Moore also announced the formation of a search committee, chaired by James Williams, dean of University Libraries, to lead a national search for her successor.

Working in partnership with CU-Boulder schools and colleges, the dean of Continuing Education and associate vice chancellor for Summer Session and Outreach and Engagement serves degree and nondegree students and community members through a variety of credit and noncredit programs that are offered on and off campus using traditional classroom and technology-enhanced delivery systems. The division generates about 22,000 enrollments annually and Summer Session principally serves about 8,000 degree students. This past year, CU-Boulder Outreach and Engagement activities reached more than 346,000 community members, 72 school districts and 46 Colorado counties.

In addition to Williams, members on the search committee include Nathaniel Bindel, director of budget and finance in Continuing Education; Ryan Chreist, assistant vice chancellor for alumni relations; Sona Dimidjian, associate professor of psychology and neuroscience; Carol Drake, assistant dean for Summer Session; John Griffin, associate professor of political science; Juedon Kebede, CU Student Government executive and undergraduate communications student; Ben Kirshner, associate professor of education; Mary Kraus, professor of geological sciences; William Kuskin, professor of English and associate vice provost for education innovation; Armando Parés, assistant dean of Continuing Education; and Douglas Smith, assistant dean in the College of Engineering and Applied Science.

Questions and comments may be directed to James Williams, chair of the search committee, at james.williams@colorado.edu or 303-492-7511.