John Cicero, Ph.D.

Provost Dr. John Cicero joined National University in 2012 moving from Dean to Vice Provost, and Interim Provost. He was responsible for finalizing the successful merger of North Central University and NU, now serving 50,000 students. His most recent work is in promoting Generative AI in the classroom. Cicero’s quiet but steady leadership style is based on principles of integrity, innovation, active empathetic listening, and distributed leadership building a culture of trust and innovation. A longtime advocate for adult education, Cicero sees NU’s “Whole Human Education” focus as the moral imperative needed to truly serve the many needs and priorities facing adult learners. Before NU, he served more than 20 years as a professor of engineering and computer science. He earned his Bachelor of Science and Ph.D. from the Illinois Institute of Technology, and a Master of Science from Northwestern University.