Richard R. Shurtz

Richard R. Shurtz is President and CEO of Stratford University, headquartered in Fairfax, Virginia, a position he has held for over 30 years. Prior to Stratford University, Dr. Shurtz was Vice President of Physical Sciences for the BDM Corporation. Prior to BDM, he was a research physicist at the Night Vision Laboratory. Dr Shurtz’s research areas have included: Artificial Neural Systems, Semiconductor Lasers, Infrared Imaging, and Image Processing. He holds 15 patents and has authored 30 technical publications.

Stratford University is a member of several organizations including the Virginia Career College Association (VCCA) where Dr. Shurtz is on the VCCA Board of Directors. Dr. Shurtz is also active in the Northern Virginia Workforce Investment Board and frequently lobbies for legislative initiatives in both Richmond and Washington on behalf of these organizations. He received the 2009 Ernst & Young Entrepreneur of the Year Award in the Government/Education Services category for the Greater Washington Region.

Dr. Shurtz frequently speaks about Competency-Based Education and Training (CBET), and believes that CBET can be used for both career and economic development. Since 2000, he has also hosted Tech Talk 3WT radio (1500 AM) radio at 9 a.m. each Saturday morning—a program designed to attract new individuals to IT technology careers by translating complex IT topics into layman’s terms. Dr. Shurtz has presided over Stratford University’s growth from a single small campus to multi-campus locations in Woodbridge and Alexandria, VA; as well as in Baltimore, MD and in New Delhi, India. Under Dr. Shurtz’s leadership, Stratford University became accredited by the Accrediting Council for Independent College and Schools (ACICS), the American Culinary Federation (ACF), the Commission on Collegiate Nursing Education (CCNE), and the Accrediting Bureau of Health Education Schools (ABHES).

Dr. Shurtz received both his PhD (1975) and MS (1972) from Catholic University in Physics; and his BS (1968) from the University of Arkansas in Physics and Mathematics.