Association CEO Point/Counterpoint: Don’t Stop Thinking About Tomorrow
Concurrent Session 10
Brief Abstract
The position of the CEO in the higher education association space is not for the faint-hearted. The digital and physical post-secondary environments have blurred; and higher education remains decisively in the throes of detractors targeting high tuition, student debt, poor completion rates, and unemployed and underemployed graduates. These CEOs or ‘academic partners’ need to assist their member institutions in not only embracing advances in pedagogy, technology, and artificial intelligence; but new values and leadership practices usurping traditional strategies and putting these colleges and universities firmly in the in the drivers’ seats.
Presenters
Kathleen S. Ives, D.M. has worked in online technology for over 30 years and is currently the Online Learning Consortium's Chief Executive Officer and Executive Director where she oversees the organization's strategic direction. Additionally, she serves on the EdSurge Advisory Group, the Executive Strategic Council for IMS Global Learning Consortium and on the Leadership Advisory Board for the Center for Learning Innovations & Customized Knowledge Solutions (CLICKS). Formerly, Dr. Ives oversaw all forms of alternative instruction at Quinsigamond Community College in Worcester, MA (distance learning, accelerated programming). She serves as adjunct faculty for graduate and undergraduate business programs at Wentworth Institute of Technology in Boston. Dr. Ives began her career at CBS and helped to develop the service that evolved into Prodigy. She then spent fourteen years designing and implementing consumer online information services, first at AT&T and then at Verizon where she spearheaded the development of the nation's first online Yellow Pages product, now called superpages.com. Dr. Ives has degrees in communication, communication management, and organizational leadership from the University of California at Davis, the University of Southern California, Annenberg School of Communication, and the University of Phoenix-Online, respectively. When not steeped in digital and online learning, she serves as a volunteer at both Greater New England Dog Rescue performing site visits for ‘forever homes’ and Great Lakes Caring Home Health and Hospice assisting in patient transition care.
Patsy Moskal is the Director of the Digital Learning Impact Evaluation in the Research Initiative for Teaching Effectiveness at the University of Central Florida (UCF) where she evaluates the impact of technology-enhanced learning and serves as the liaison for faculty scholarship of teaching and learning. In 2011 Dr. Moskal was named an OLC Fellow in recognition of her groundbreaking work in the assessment of the impact and efficacy of online and blended learning. She has written and co-authored numerous works on blended and online learning and is a frequent presenter on these topics. Patsy's co-authored book--Conducting Research in Online and Blended Learning: New Pedagogical Frontiers--with Dziuban, Picciano, and Graham, was published in August 2015. She currently serves on the OLC Board of Directors.
Dr. Robert J. Hansen was named Chief Executive Officer of the University Professional & Continuing Education Association in 2010. Under Hansen’s leadership, UPCEA has grown by 125% in the past seven years. He established a number of initiatives focused on the association’s unique role in online leadership and management under the umbrella of the National Council for Online Leadership, including: the Summit for Online Leadership and Administration, the Online Leadership Roundtable for chief online learning officers, and the UPCEA Hallmarks of Excellence in Online Leadership. In 2016 UPCEA developed a companion framework, the Hallmarks of Excellence in Professional and Continuing Education. With the two Hallmarks, UPCEA now provides a comprehensive set of standards that reflect the ambitions, potential, and importance of units that serve adult learners.
Hansen previously served as Associate Provost for University Outreach at the University of Southern Maine, a regional public university located in Portland, Maine. Prior to that position, he spent six years at Saint Xavier University of Chicago as Assistant to the President & Secretary of the Corporation, and then as founding Executive Director of Orland Park Campus & Off-Campus Programs. Hansen also previously served as Assistant to the Governor for Education in the administration of former Illinois governor, Jim Edgar. Hansen earned a B.S. in Psychology from the University of Illinois, an M.A. in English Language and Literature from the University of Michigan, and a Ph.D. in English from the University of Notre Dame.
Dr. Deb Adair is the Executive Director of Quality Matters, a non-profit organization providing a program for quality assurance in online learning and serving K12, postsecondary, government, corporate, and other organizations involved in eLearning in the U.S. and internationally. With over 25 years' experience in higher education, she has held faculty appointments with several institutions, served as an organizational consultant, and worked in the adult literacy field prior to joining QM. Deb received her A.A. degree from Broward Community College, a B.S. degree from Boston University, and a M.S. and Ph.D. from University of Arizona. She serves on the advisory boards of the Presidents' Forum and the technology-based education associations WICHE Cooperative for Educational Technologies and the National University Technology Network and has authored and presented widely on the topic of quality assurance for online learning.
Extended Abstract
Association CEOs are uniquely positioned to maintain an ear-to-the ground through rigorous and continual member engagement. By leveraging lessons from the past, panelists will offer their insights into the future:
- What online and digital trends do higher education leaders need to assimilate to stay relevant in this Fourth Industrial Revolution and what practices to higher education leaders need to discontinue in preparing the future workforce to add immediate value once employed?
- Many of today’s colleges and universities are internally driven by the same structures of power and decision-making over 1) resources, 2) authority, 3) legitimacy. How do institutions discourage a practice that encourages uniformity and replication of past successes while discouraging academic transformation?
- Today’s student population is the most diverse in our nation’s history, characterized by the intersection of race, gender, sexual orientation, religion, family composition, age, and economic status among others. How do institutions encourage innovative instructional pedagogy perpetuating inclusion and equity for all?