John G. Sperling, Ph.D.
Founder, Apollo Group, Inc.
and University of Phoenix
Dr. John Sperling is the founder of Apollo Group, Inc. and executive chairman of the board of directors. He also served as the president of Apollo Group, Inc. until February 1998 and chief executive officer until August 2001.
Before he founded Apollo Group, Inc. Dr. Sperling was a professor of Humanities at San Jose State University, where he was also the director of the Right to Read Project and the director of the NSF Cooperative College-School Science Program in Economics. He has also held faculty positions at the University of Maryland, Ohio State University and Northern Illinois University.
Dr. Sperling was honored as Arizona's Entrepreneur of the Year in 1995 and in 1999 he was named one of the top eight entrepreneurs by Businessweek Magazine. In addition to his work with Apollo Group, Inc. Dr. Sperling has been a long time supporter of research in the areas of the environment, Alzheimer's, women's health and cancer.
Dr. Sperling was an Ehrman Scholar and earned his Ph.D. in economic history from Cambridge University. He holds a master's in English history from the University of California at Berkeley and a bachelor's degree from Reed College.
William Pepicello, Ph.D.
President, University of Phoenix
Dr. William Pepicello became University of Phoenix's acting president in July 2006 and was formally appointed the sixth president of the University in September 2006. In addition to his leadership responsibilities at University of Phoenix, President Pepicello serves as a consultant-evaluator for the Higher Learning Commission of the North Central Association, a non-governmental organization that grants accreditations to public and private schools and districts and has been improving schools for the last 100 years. He also serves on the Commission for Postsecondary Education under the Office of the Governor for the State of Arizona and is a member of the advisory board of the Greater Phoenix Boys and Girls Clubs.
In 1995, President Pepicello came to University of Phoenix, where he served as the first dean of the College of General and Professional Studies. He subsequently held the position of vice president of Academic Affairs until 2000. After leaving the University briefly to serve as the president of the University of Sarasota, President Pepicello returned to University of Phoenix and became the founding dean of the School of Advanced Studies. In November of 2003 he was named the vice provost for Academic Affairs and in January 2006, President Pepicello was promoted to provost of the University.
Accomplished in the areas of classical languages, linguistics, psychology, anthropology, folklore and humor studies, President Pepicello has held faculty positions at the University of Delaware, Temple University, and University of the Pacific. He has also served in an administrative capacity, including department chair for classics at Temple University and regional dean for Southern California for National University.
President Pepicello earned his bachelor's degree in classics from Gannon University in his hometown of Erie, Pennsylvania. He holds both master's and doctorate degrees in linguistics from Brown University.
Adam Honea, Ph.D.
Provost and Senior Vice President for Academic Affairs
Dr. Adam Honea is the provost and senior vice president for Academic Affairs for the University of Phoenix. He is responsible for oversight of the eight colleges and academic research. Previously Dr. Honea was the dean and vice president for Academic Research where he oversaw the development and management of the information system and technology programs. He has been a part of the University of Phoenix since 1991 and through the years Dr. Honea has also held positions as a faculty member and associate dean. As a faculty member, Dr. Honea was selected as Outstanding Technology Assistant Department Chair in 1997 and in 1995 he was named Outstanding New Mexico Faculty.
Prior to his tenure at University of Phoenix, Dr. Honea was a general partner and co-owner of Innovative Training Systems, where he developed software training products and provided computer training. He has also held positions at University of New Mexico and Humboldt State University.
Dr. Honea has published and presented a number of articles on technology, adult education and their convergence.
Dr. Honea earned his doctorate degree from Stanford University where he was both a National Science Foundation and National Defense Education Act Fellow. He received both his master's and bachelor's degree at Missouri University.
Jorge Klor de Alva, J.D., Ph.D.
Senior Vice President for Academic Excellence and
Director University of Phoenix National Research Center
Dr. Klor de Alva previously served as President of the University of Phoenix and Senior Vice President of Apollo Group, Inc. He was also a member of the boards of directors of Apollo Group and the University of Phoenix from 1991 to 2003. Prior to re-joining Apollo Group in the Fall of 2005 as President of Latin American Operations, he was the Chairman, President, and CEO of Apollo International, Inc. (with operations in Europe, Asia, and Latin America serving over 170,000 students).
Before joining Apollo Group full-time in 1996, he held the Class of 1940 Endowed Chair at the University of California-Berkeley, and before that he was Professor of Anthropology at Princeton University. He has received a number of grants from Spain and Mexico, the National Endowment for the Humanities, the National Science Foundation, and he was a Fulbright Scholar, John Simon Guggenheim Fellow, Harry Frank Guggenheim grantee, and Fellow at the Getty Center for the History of Art and the Humanities. Dr. Klor de Alva has a B.A. in philosophy and a law degree (J.D.) from the University of California-Berkeley, and a Ph.D. in history/anthropology from the University of California-Santa Cruz. He has published over eighty scholarly articles, is co-author of ten social studies textbooks, and has another fifteen books on social science subjects. His most recent books include, In the Language of Kings (WW Norton: 2001) and The Americans (McDougal Littell: 2007 [latest edition]), the latter is a widely used survey of U.S. history.
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