Helms College is pleased to announce that Dr. Gary Markowitz has been named Senior Vice President of Helms College. With over thirty years of being an entrepreneur and leader in higher education, Dr. Markowitz, will help advance Helms College while overseeing Admissions, Student Services, and Financial Aid.
 
Dr. Markowitz most recently served as the first President of Keiser University’s Miami Campus for seventeen years, opening with ten students and expanding to over 1,000 full-time students.   Before joining Keiser University in 1999, Dr. Markowitz opened a home-based business and in eight years grew it to five locations with over ninety employees.  He then sold it to a publicly traded corporation and re-entered the world of higher education which is his true passion.
 
“As Helms College continues to grow, we intend to recruit high level education professionals capable of building on the college’s professional infrastructure to deliver exceptional post-secondary experiences for our students,” said James K. Stiff, President of Goodwill of Middle Georgia & the CSRA and Helms College. “Gary has an impressive background of skills and leadership spanning almost three decades in higher education, and we’re confident his experience will be valuable as we guide Helms College toward increased enrollment locally and to additional campuses nationwide.”
 
Dr. Markowitz holds Doctor of Education, Master of Science and Bachelor of Administration, degree, all earned at the University of Miami. Prior to his role as Campus President, Gary was the Director of Continuing Education for all Keiser University’s Florida campuses.
 
In addition to Dr. Markowitz, Paul Portugal will join Helms College as the Director of Admissions.
Portugal received his Bachelor of Science degree in Education from Florida International University and has over 20 years of higher education admissions leadership experience. Prior to joining Helms College, Paul was the Director of Admissions for Keiser University in Miami.
 
With campuses in Macon and Augusta, Helms College is nationally accredited and provides Associate Degree and Diploma programs in Culinary Arts at its School of Hospitality. Additional educational programs in the School of Health Sciences are currently available at the Augusta Campus.