Robert Mendenhall
| Robert Mendenhall | |
|---|---|
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| Personal details | |
| Born | November 18, 1954 |
| Spouse(s) | Kathleen White |
| Children | 7 |
Robert Winton Mendenhall is a pioneer of educational technology and entrepreneurship best known as the former president of Western Governors University (WGU).
Mendenhall is a convert to The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints. As a young man he served a two-year mission in the Mexico Veracruz mission. He has served in multiple church leadership roles including Bishop and Stake president. He is married to Kathleen White and they have 7 children and 22 grandchildren.
Dr. Mendenhall became president of Western Governors University in 1999, the same year the university enrolled its first students. WGU is a private, non-profit, online university offering competency-based undergraduate and graduate degrees in Business, Teacher Education, Information Technology, and Health Professions, including Nursing. It was founded in 1997 by a group of 19 western governors with the mission to improve the quality and expand access to post-secondary educational opportunities.Under Mendenhall's leadership, WGU grew to a national university with more than 84,000 students and 91,100 graduates.
In April 2016, Mendenhall stepped down as president and became WGU's first President Emeritus. In March 2016, WGU's Board of Trustees announced Scott D. Pulsipher as the new president.
In addition to his seventeen years as president, Dr. Mendenhall also served on the WGU Board of Trustees, which is composed of educators, industry leaders, and governors.
Discussing the university, Mendenhall said, "WGU was specifically created as a new model for higher education, incorporating the use of technology to expand access and reduce costs, while creating competency-based degree programs to improve accountability for learning."
Mendenhall has over 35 years of experience delivering technology-based education. Prior to joining WGU, he was general manager of IBM's K-12 education division. He also served as executive vice president for Jostens Learning Corporation.
From 1980 to 1992, he was a founder, president, and CEO (from 1987) of Wicat Systems, Inc., a publicly traded company which was a leader in providing computer-based curriculum, instructional management and testing to schools, and technology-based training to government and industry.
Mendenhall was a founding Board member of the Presidents' Forum, a trustee of the Committee for Economic Development, and also served on the NGA/ASTD Commission on Technology & Adult Learning, on IBM’s Education Advisory Council, on the National Forum on 21st Century Skills Education Advisory Board, and on the Technology Working Group for the California Postsecondary Education Commission. Mendenhall is a former member of the Board of the Department of Business and Economic Development for the State of Utah.
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