Walden University Appoints New Board Member

Minneapolis—August 1, 2005— Walden University, an accredited online university celebrating its 35th year, is pleased to announce that Dr. Charles O. Heller has the joined the Walden Board of Directors. Walden is the flagship online school of Laureate Education, Inc. and has a current enrollment of more than 16,000 students. The university’s mission is to effect positive social change through advanced education and provide access for adult learners.

“Dr. Heller’s unique financial, business and engineering background—in combination with his solid understanding of universities—makes him an invaluable addition to Walden University’s board,” said Paula Singer, president and CEO of Laureate’s online education division.

Heller is managing director of Beacon Global, L.L.C., and of Beacon Global Private Equity, L.L.C. Beacon is a merchant bank; its private equity subsidiary invests in early- and late-stage deals, and provides merger and acquisition services to client companies. Heller is also an entrepreneur-in-residence and a professor of practice entrepreneurship at the Robert H. Smith School of Business at the University of Maryland in College Park, Md.

Previously, Heller was general partner of Gabriel Venture Partners, a venture capital fund. Throughout the 1980s and 1990s, he was involved in entrepreneurial activities, including founding and becoming CEO of two companies in the computer industry. Heller was also an engineer at Douglas Aircraft Company and Bell Telephone Laboratories. His engineering background in aircraft design and manufacturing and in the telecom fields will be invaluable to the Walden University board, particularly as it pertains to the university’s fifth and newest school at Walden, the NTU School of Engineering and Applied Science.

Heller is an internationally recognized lecturer and was a freelance writer and columnist for more than 20 years. In 1992, Ernst & Young, Inc. Magazine and Merrill Lynch named Heller Entrepreneur of the Year in Maryland. In 1998, he was named by digitalsouth magazine as one of The 50 Most Influential People in Southern Technology. In 2000, Heller was awarded the Lohmann Medal, Oklahoma State University’s highest honor for engineering alumni, and he received the Alumni Achievement Award from The Catholic University of America in 2002.

About Walden University
Since 1970, Walden University has offered working professionals the opportunity to earn advanced degrees through distance learning. Today, this comprehensive, accredited online university offers master’s and doctoral degrees in education, psychology, management, and health and human services, as well as master’s programs in engineering and IT and bachelor’s completion programs in business. For more information, visit www.WaldenU.edu.

Walden University is accredited by The Higher Learning Commission and a member of the North Central Association, www.hlcommission.org; 312-263-0456.