Peirce College president to retire

At a trade conference for educators several years ago in Boston, Peirce College president Arthur Lendo was shocked to hear his school held up as a model of online education.

The speaker didn't know that the president of the small, Philadelphia-based college was in the audience, and Lendo said he "had a hard time keeping a straight face."

Lendo, 63, will retire from Peirce next month after 18 years as president. His greatest legacy, he said, is the school's transformation into a regional hub for online education.

Peirce - founded in 1865 to help Civil War veterans find work in the new industrial economy - boasts that 60 percent of its students take some or all of their courses online.

Peirce students, most of whom are working professionals over 25, also take classes at the school's downtown campus or at satellite sites around the region.

When Lendo first took on the presidency in 1991, his experience in the 1980s at a technology-development company offered a vision of how to combine education with the then-emerging Internet.

He came to Peirce after six years as dean of continuing education at St. Joseph's University, with a plan to expand the school online.

"Being in the city, we were confined, and that led us to the philosophy of taking the college to the student," Lendo said.

The school launched its online programs in 1999. It offers undergraduate degree programs in business, law, and technology.

"There were factions of people who believed it wasn't as good quality as land-based [education], there were people who believed it was a fad," said Peirce's executive vice president and chief operating officer, James Mergiotti, who is now the president-elect. "Lendo saw beyond all that."

During Lendo's tenure, Peirce changed from a two-year to a four-year college. It grew from serving about 900 students to between 2,300 and 2,700 students annually.

Over the last few years, the school set up several dozen satellite sites at schools and community centers around the region. Between the land-based sites and online programs, students represent 43 states and more than 30 countries, said Jonathan Morein, a Pierce spokesman.

When he steps down on June 30, Lendo said, he'll leave with a sense of "satisfaction and calm."

Although he hasn't written his speech for Peirce's June 15 commencement ceremony, Lendo said it will likely contain lots of thanks to students, staff and faculty. Local news anchor Lisa Thomas-Laury will deliver the keynote address.

This month, Peirce's board of trustees announced the establishment of a scholarship in Lendo's name. Recipients will need to demonstrate innovation with new technology.

Mergiotti said it was the only gift they thought Lendo would accept.

"If we gave him a watch or a car, he'd probably give it away," he said.

Lendo's departure from Peirce also marks the end of his career in education, at least for now. He'll be teaming up with several other investors to build a beach resort in the Caribbean.