Award Recipients

Vera Zdravkovich

2011 Academic Leadership of the Year

Vera Zdravkovich served as the Academic Vice President at Prince George's Community College (PGCC) for eight years until her retirement in 2005. In this role she led the development of the assessment process of the general education, established Collegian Centers, disciplinary communities to improve student retention and success, provided leadership to the accreditation reporting, established an International Center and a Technology Resource Center, and expanded and strengthened the faculty professional development process.

She has written successful NSF grants and served as a PI on a number of them. She has also served as an off- and on-site reviewer for several NSF programs. Since her retirement, Dr. Zdravkovich has assumed the position of the PI and Director of CyberWatch an NSF supported Advance Technological Education (ATE) Center, a consortium of 46 academic institutions (34 community colleges and 12 universities), businesses and professional organizations focused on strengthening information assurance education. Main facets of CyberWatch are curriculum development, faculty development, student competitions and internships, and dissemination. Dr. Zdravkovich also serves as a Mentor to several NSF supported ATE centers and projects. The new national Centers of Academic Excellence 2 Year (CAE2R) in Information Assurance Education program established in 2010 by the National Security Agency and the Department of Homeland Security has benefited significantly from her leadership. Her other senior and leadership positions include Dean of Science, Engineering, Mathematics, and Health at PGCC, Co-Chair of the state-wide fully articulated teacher education program, and Director of the state-wide program MarylandOnLine (MOL). She holds a Ph.D. in organic chemistry from George Washington University, and a baccalaureate in chemical engineering from the University of Belgrade.