DONALD E. HELLER, ED.D.
Consultant
Areas of Expertise: Governance and administration, academic affairs, faculty issues, enrollment management, accreditation, finance
Donald E. Heller is the retired provost and vice president of academic affairs at the University of San Francisco, where he was responsible for the university’s five schools, libraries, academic affairs, student life, enrollment management, online programs, branch campuses, international relations, and diversity and community outreach. While at USF, he was a key negotiator in three potential acquisitions for the university.
Prior to his appointment at USF, Dr. Heller was dean of the College of Education at Michigan State University, director of the Center for the Study of Higher Education at Penn State, and assistant professor at the University of Michigan. Before his academic career, he was an information technology manager at MIT for a dozen years. His academic work is in the areas of educational economics, public policy, and finance, and he has consulted on higher education policy issues with university systems and policymaking organizations in ten states. He has testified in front of Congressional committees, state legislatures, and in federal court cases as an expert witness.
Dr. Heller has authored over 200 publications, and he has been interviewed by and/or has published opinion columns in the The New York Times, The Wall Street Journal, The San Francisco Chronicle, The Washington Post, The Chronicle of Higher Education, NPR, and other media. He is editor or co-editor of six books, including most recently Student Financing of Higher Education: A Comparative Perspective. In 2012 he was appointed to the board of trustees of DePaul University, where he still serves.
Dr. Heller earned an Ed.D. in higher education from the Harvard Graduate School of Education, an Ed.M. in administration, planning, and social policy from Harvard and a B.A. in economics and political science from Tufts University.