Dr. Adrian Zappala serves as the Dean of Graduate Studies and concurrently as Professor of Organizational Leadership and Management at Peirce College. He joined Peirce College in 2012.
He has completed graduate work (Master's and Doctoral degrees) in Educational Leadership, Adult Education, and Business Administration. Additionally, he has completed the Management Development Program (MDP) at the Harvard University Graduate School of Education and has published and presented extensively in the fields of adult education, educational leadership, higher education, distributed learning and faculty development.
His expertise has been sought out by varied institutions both within and outside of the United States - particularly with institutions and organizations seeking to serve the growing population of nontraditional post-secondary students. In total, he has two decades of experience in faculty and administrative roles in institutions dedicated to serving the professional development needs of nontraditional adult learners. He also serves in a number of voluntary and consulting roles with a variety of educational organizations. Prior to entering higher education, he served as an educator in the public schools of New Jersey - where he is a lifelong resident.
While at Peirce College, Dr. Zappala led the development of the College's first graduate program, the Master of Science in Organizational Leadership (MSOLM), which launched in 2013. Since then, he has led the launch of additional graduate degree and certificate programs, including the Master of Science in Healthcare Administration (MSHCA) and Master of Business Administration (MBA) among others. He also teachers courses in Organizational Leadership and Business Administration and serves in a variety of committee and leadership roles within Peirce College.