Faculty of Arts and Sciences (FAS) dean Michael D. Smith has announced that Huntington D. Lambert will become the next dean of Harvard's Division of Continuing Education (DCE). Lambert will succeed Michael Shinagel, who informed colleagues in September that he planned to step down after leading DCE since 1975.
“I am deeply grateful to the members of the search advisory committee who have worked tirelessly for nearly two years to bring this search to such a positive conclusion,” Smith said in an e-mailed statement. “I would also like to take this opportunity to acknowledge the singular legacy of Dean Michael Shinagel. His nearly 40 years as dean of the Division of Continuing Education have created the strong foundation upon which we build our vision for the future of this exciting and important part of the FAS.”
Lambert, described by Smith as a “bold innovator who possesses the rare combination of a strategic business sensibility and a true commitment to our academic mission,” will focus on continuing DCE’s commitment to learning and teaching and aim to further extend that reach online (the extension school already offers about 200 online courses of various sorts), partnering with HarvardX to enlarge the University’s digital footprint. His formal appointment begins on April 29.
Lambert comes to Harvard from Colorado State University (CSU), where he currently leads the Division of Continuing Education that serves more than 10,000 students annually. Smith cited his proven record there of improving program quality as well as building strong partnerships with faculty and university leadership.
Before he joined CSU’s continuing-education division, Lambert was a founder and interim CEO of the Colorado State University Global Campus, an all-online public university within the CSU system that now serves more than 6,000 students. As one of the four founding members of that new venture, he helped develop its strategy, business plan, and operations plan and was involved in all aspects of planning, strategy, board approvals, startup, legal authority approval, and independent accreditation, according to Smith. He also founded the CSU Entrepreneurship Center and the CSU Office of Economic Development, and was involved in the startup of 15 companies from the CSU research labs, including Envirofit.org (a nonprofit agency that develops technology to reduce pollution and enhance energy efficiency) and Solix Biofuels.
Lambert—who received his bachelor's degree from Colorado College in 1980 and a master's of science in management degree from the MIT Sloan School of Management in 1984—earlier was executive director of strategy for US WEST International in its London office, executive director of market strategy development at US West Strategic Marketing, and president of the consulting division of The Knowledge Webb.
“DCE has long been on the front lines of Harvard's efforts to harness the power of technology to educate learners across the nation and around the globe, while also using technology to improve pedagogy in the classroom,” Dean Smith said in his statement. “At this exciting moment, when technology and education are combining in new and important ways here at Harvard, [Hunt] Lambert's experience and track record of success are particularly welcome.”
