Heidi Anderson, a native of Gary, was recently announced as the 16th president of the University of Maryland Eastern Shore. Dr. Heidi Anderson will be the 16th president of the institution. Anderson will take office on September 1. The school is a historically Black educational institution in the town of Princess Anne, Maryland.
Anderson has previously held positions at Texas A&M University, the University of the Sciences in Philadelphia, and at the University of Kentucky, Auburn University and the University of Tennessee.
She received her Ph.D. in Pharmacy Administration, along with her masters and bachelor’s degrees, from Purdue University in West Lafayette, Indiana.
As recently as May 2018, Anderson was a candidate for the position of president at Chicago State University. She was one of three finalists interviewed during the university’s process of identifying a permanent leader for the institution. Anderson was chosen as a finalist from an initial pool of 50 applicants.
In accepting the appointment at the University of Maryland Eastern Shore, Anderson said she embraced “UMES’s focus on high quality teaching and on producing knowledgeable citizens capable of leading and competing regionally, nationally, and globally. As a first generation student I’m particularly impressed by the university’s strong emphasis on student success.”
As an academic leader Anderson has received several notable distinctions. She was named a fellow in the charter class of the American Association of Colleges of Pharmacy Academic Leadership Fellows program, and was also named a fellow of the American Pharmacists Association.
Notably, Anderson was appointed as a member of the Accreditation Council on Pharmacy Education Board of Directors from 2006-2012. She served as ACPE president in 2010 and 2011.
Anderson is married to Leon Roberts, a native of Paris, Kentucky.