President: Dr. Donald Hecht Northcentral University Street Address 505 W. Whipple St. Prescott, AZ 86301

Dr. Donald Hecht, head of Northcentral University, said at Thursday's Town Council work session, that the Internet-based college would provide jobs and revenue for the town.Hecht said that the university would employ about 100 full-time staff after phase 1 of the proposed university is completed.

Dr. Savard, a member of one of the early Northcentral graduating classes, first became an adult Student when the school was in a garage and such grand graduation ceremonies were still a gleam in founder Don Hecht's eyes. The effort is genuine and one the University works every day to improve, Northcentral Founder Don Hecht said in impromptu remarks to family and friends of three new PhDs whose dissertations were cited as the year's best. The research being recognized as outstanding and worthy of special honors today is exceptional, Dr. Hecht said, adding that the University's success is hinged to honoring every adult Student's own exceptional pursuit of academic excellence. "Establishing and maintaining a quality online-only university has been a labor of love that, like any worthwhile pursuit in life, hasn't come without speed bumps," he said.

Donald Hecht, Ph.D. Roadrunner Development Group, LLC Founder, Northcentral University, Retired

Founder Dr. Donald Hecht envisioned a "better way" education solution. Donald Hecht was able to land his first professional job with a Bachelor's, but saw his colleagues getting promotions because they had graduate degrees. He quickly realized he would have to continue his education in order to advance his career. For 15 years, Hecht worked to earn his Master's and Doctoral degrees at the nearest university, travelling 35 miles several times a week to attend classes. Plus, the on-campus requirements for advanced degree programs added more time and stress to his long days-searching for parking in jammed lots, hours of late-night lectures in large classes with uncomfortable seats-while juggling a full-time job and family life. Throughout this experience, Hecht became convinced there needed to be a better way for busy adults to earn advanced degrees. That "better way" ultimately developed into Northcentral University. In 1978, Dr. Hecht founded the Southern California University for Professional Studies (SCUPS), to provide correspondence courses and degree programs designed for adult Students. Over the next several years, technology advanced rapidly; and in 1996, Dr. Hecht met with a group of his faculty and administrators to discuss how personal computers and the Internet might be used to further improve their delivery of higher education. They all agreed that the quality courses offered through SCUPS could be made available anywhere, entirely online, to anyone who had access to a computer. After discussions with the State Board and the North Central Association of Colleges and Schools (NCA), Dr. Hecht decided to establish a separate institution to offer online degree programs-and Northcentral University was founded.