Marie Cini Appointed Provost at University of the People

Cini’s career spans more than 25 years in organizations serving working learners

PASADENA, CA (Jan. 18, 2022) The University of the People (UoPeople) has appointed Marie Cini, Ph.D., as its new Provost and Chief Academic Officer. An accomplished senior leader in higher education and nonprofit institutions, Cini’s career spans more than 25 years in organizations serving working learners. Cini began her new position on January 1, 2022.

“We are thrilled that Marie Cini has joined University of the People and I look forward to working closely with her to further enhance the quality of our academic programs,” UoPeople President Shai Reshef said. “Marie is a nationally recognized leader in online education and is committed to expanding access to higher education for learners around the globe.”

Most recently, Cini was Acting President of ED2WORK, a service firm focused on helping higher education institutions create new models for serving today’s learners. Prior to this, she served as president of the Council for Adult and Experiential Learning (CAEL). She has also served on the board of the Online Learning Consortium (OLC) where she was chair of the board for two years.

Previously, Cini served as Provost and Senior Vice President at the University of Maryland University College (now University of Maryland Global Campus). She also has led programs for adults at Duquesne University in Pittsburgh and held increasingly responsible positions at Thomas Edison State College in Trenton, New Jersey, and at City University of Seattle in Washington.

Cini earned her Ph.D. and master’s degrees in social psychology from the University of Pittsburgh, and a master’s degree in counselor education from the Pennsylvania State University. She was inducted into the International Adult Continuing Education Hall of Fame in 2016. She has published and presented widely on topics related to online education, nontraditional learners, and the future of higher education.

David Cohen, who served as UoPeople’s Provost for the past 12 years, will continue to assist the university as Provost Emeritus and Special Advisor to the President.

# # #

About University of the People

University of the People (UoPeople) is the Education Revolution. It is the first non-profit, tuition-free, American, accredited online university. Currently there are over 117,000 students from more than 200 countries and territories. Designed to open access to higher education globally, UoPeople helps qualified high school graduates overcome financial, geographic, political, and personal constraints keeping them from collegiate studies. The university offers associate and bachelor’s degree programs in business administration, computer science, and health science, as well as an MBA and M.Ed. program. Graduates of UoPeople can be found working at such companies as Amazon, Apple, Pfizer, Google, Microsoft and IBM. Chaired by NYU’s President Emeritus John Sexton, UoPeople’s President’s Council is comprised of two dozen leaders of the world’s foremost institutions. UoPeople collaborates with Harvard Business School Online, New York University, McGill University, and the University of Edinburgh and has been supported by foundations such as the Gates Foundation, Ford Foundation and Hewlett Foundation. Learn more at www.uopeople.edu.

.