Dr. Gregory W. Fowler is President of University of Maryland Global Campus, the largest provider of postsecondary education in Maryland and one of the largest online public universities in the country. UMGC serves roughly 100,000 learners through a network of more than 100 locations across the United States, Europe and Asia, and about 55 percent of them are military affiliated: active duty servicemembers, veterans, spouses and dependents. The university has been teaching that population since 1947, when it began offering courses to returning GIs, and it was among the first American institutions to operate on overseas bases.

Fowler became UMGC's president in January 2021, and its first non-interim African American president, arriving from Southern New Hampshire University, where he was President of SNHU Global Campus after serving as chief academic officer of its College of Online and Continuing Education. Earlier he was associate provost and dean at Western Governors University and taught literature and American studies at Penn State Erie. His agenda at UMGC rests on three moves: an admissions and advising redesign built around a success coaching model that, in his words, wraps learners in a cocoon of support and resources; a rebuilt course development infrastructure for next-generation learning experiences; and new revenue streams and partnerships that put the institution's global footprint to work. He grew up in Albany, Georgia, one of eight children, and holds a bachelor's degree from Morehouse College, a master's in English from George Mason University, a PhD in English and American studies from the University at Buffalo, and an MBA from Western Governors University. He is a two-time Fulbright recipient and serves on the boards of the New England Commission of Higher Education, the National Cryptologic Foundation, and the Consortium of Universities of the Washington Metropolitan Area.