Katzman is the 6th annual award winner, and is being honored by Global Silicon Valley (GSV) as a “consummate education entrepreneur” who has had a “profound impact in changing the world for good.” In addition to serving on Renaissance’s Board of Directors, he also serves on the boards of Woodrow Wilson Foundation and the National Alliance for Public Charter Schools. He previously served on the board of the National Association of Independent Schools for six years.

Noodle Partners today announced a partnership with Tulane’s School of Professional Advancement (SoPA), expanding its overall relationship with Tulane University. New online SoPA programs will focus on educating working adults and offering applied learning programs that incorporate both industry-relevant knowledge and a grounding in the liberal arts and will launch in fall 2018.

Noodle Partners, the nation’s fastest-growing online higher education provider, today announced that it will be launching three new online master’s degree programs with Claremont Graduate University (CGU) this fall.

“Wake Forest is a premier institution, and we are excited to add the School of Business to our growing list of university partners and help them meet their institutional goals and academic mission,” said John Katzman, CEO of Noodle Partners.

Working with Noodle Partners, Claremont Graduate University (CGU) will build on existing strengths across the university to launch an array of cutting-edge, market-competitive online degree opportunities by September 2018. CGU is one of the nation’s leading graduate-only institutions, and online programs will thrive by serving students who are experienced learners. By offering flexibly designed programs and degree options online, CGU will be able to reach a larger group of students who will enjoy renowned faculty, small class sizes, and practice-based research, which will provide the tools needed to solve real world problems and build meaningful careers.

One of the newer players to step into that online program manager (OPM) space, Noodle Partners, got a boost this week: $14 million in Series A funding led by edtech venture capital firm Owl Ventures. The announcement comes about a year after the startup raised $4 million in a seed round from Osage Venture Partners and New Markets Venture Partners, bringing Noodle Partners’ total raised to about $18 million.

San Francisco-based Owl Ventures led the investment, joining Noodle Partners’ seed investors, Osage Venture Partners and New Markets Venture Partners. The capital will go toward expanding Noodle’s online programs at Tulane, American and the additional dozen universities with which the company is working.