Sloan-C - About Sloan-C


[Operations] [Board of Directors]
Operations
	President A. Frank Mayadas. Ph.D. At the Alfred P. Sloan Foundation, Dr. Mayadas is involved in a number of areas: online education, globalization of industries, industry studies, and career choice in technical fields. He started the Sloan online learning program in 1993. This program (known as Asynchronous Learning Networks or ALN) has had a profound impact in moving the field forward. Members of the Sloan Consortium now number over 1400. Dr. Mayadas has been a keynote speaker at several distance education conferences and has testified before Congress on web-based learning.
	Executive Director John R. Bourne, Ph.D. is Professor of Electrical and Computer Engineering at Olin College, Professor of Technology Entrepreneurship at Babson College, and directs the Sloan Center for on OnLine Education at Olin and Babson Colleges. The Sloan Center at Olin and Babson Colleges hosts the Sloan Consortium. He was previously Professor of Electrical and Computer Engineering and Professor of Biomedical Engineering at Vanderbilt University, where he had been on the faculty since 1969. Dr. Bourne has been the Editor-in-Chief of the Begell House Critical Reviews in Biomedical Engineering since 1979. He founded the Journal of Asynchronous Learning Networks and remains as editor. He established the Alfred P. Sloan Foundation supported Asynchronous Learning Network (ALN) Web in 1996.
	Chief Operations Officer Keith Bourne is the Chief Operations Officer for the Sloan Consortium. Keith has a background in finance, marketing, technology, and online education. In addition to serving as the COO of Sloan-C, he has worked with experts in the field on various projects including research on blended learning, business strategies in online education, marketing online programs, and emergency ALN. Prior to his work with Sloan-C, Keith founded the company Web2URadio, a wireless music service provider, in 1998 and served as the Chief Marketing Officer until 2001. He has several years experience in developing marketing and sales strategies. He received his BSBA from the University of North Carolina at Charlotte and his MBA from Babson College.
	Chief Information Officer and Survey Director Jeff Seaman, Ph.D. has worked in education information technology for over 20 years. In addition to teaching at such schools as Cornell, the University of Wisconsin, and the Wharton School, he has created and run information technology organizations for the University of Pennsylvania and Lesley University. The client list for his consulting company, Pondview Associates, includes schools such as Harvard, Tufts, Boston University, Brandeis, and the University of Pennsylvania and technology vendors including IBM and Microsoft. He has served on advisory boards for many technology companies, including Apple, Claris, IBM, Microsoft, and Word Perfect. His industry experience includes serving as Chief Technology Officer at HighWired.com where he led the development of an online learning system and as the Vice President of Engineering for Vista Associates where he did functional design work and led the engineering team. Dr. Seaman has degrees in Demography/Statistics, Sociology, Electrical Engineering, and Housing, all from Cornell University.
	Chief Learning Officer Janet C. Moore, Ph.D. is the Chief Learning Officer for the Sloan Consortium She is an editor for the Sloan-C View, the Journal of Asynchronous Learning Networks, effective practices, and annual volumes in the Sloan-C quality series. She participates in various initiatives, including helping design and conduct Sloan-C workshops and seminars, and Sloan-C Catalog reviews. She is the author of Elements of Quality: The Sloan-C™ Framework, Pillar Reference Manual.
	Director of Technical Operations Martine Dawant is a Sloan consultant in private practice. M.S., Université Catholique de Louvain (Belgium). Her domain of work and research focuses on Asynchronous Learning Networks. She created and maintains the Sloan-C Web, a resource of information for online education practitioners and newcomers. She develops various web-based applications that support and distribute ALN knowledge and resources. She creates online workshops and seminars.
	Director of Publications Kathryn (Katie) Fife is the Publishing Manager for Sloan-C. She manages the publication of the Sloan-C View, and the Journal of Asynchronous Learning Networks, as well as the annual book series on quality, workbooks, and special publications that result from Sloan-C activities. She has experience from her years in the publishing industry prior to joining Sloan-C and holds a BA from Tufts University in anthropology and Spanish.
	Director of Online Learning Kathleen S. Ives, D.M. has worked in online technology for over 20 years and serves as The Sloan Consortium's Events Producer. Formerly, Dr. Ives oversaw all forms of alternative instruction at Quinsigamond Community College in Worcester, MA (distance learning, accelerated programming). She teaches online for University of Phoenix and Axia College of Western University, and in an accelerated environment for working adults at both Regis College in Weston, MA and the University of Phoenix, Greater Boston Campus. 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. Dr. Ives sits on the Massachusetts Department of Education's Distance Learning Advisory Board for Adult Basic Education. 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.
	Marketing and Publications Coordinator Joanna Tong works with both the marketing and publishing aspects of Sloan-C. She graduated with a B.S. in Marketing from Bentley College in Waltham, MA. Prior to joining Sloan-C, she was the Marketing Assistant for the Boston General Office of New York Life Insurance Company.
	Finance Manager Patricia (Tricia) Benson handles daily finances and analysis of funds for Sloan-C. She holds a BS in marketing from North Adams State College in North Adams, MA. Prior to joining Sloan-C she was the Staff Accountant at Franklin W. Olin College of Engineering. Patricia has experience as a program auditor and grant cost monitor from her years at the General Accounting Office and the Defense Contract Administrative Service.
	Events Producer Jennifer Rafferty, M.A. is an independent education consultant. She has worked in the field of distance education as both an instructor and administrator since 1998. Formerly, she managed the Massachusetts Adult Basic Education Distance Learning Project at the University of Massachusetts Boston. Jennifer has also consulted with the Massachusetts Department of Education for the development of distance education guidelines for state funded distance learning programs. She holds degrees from Mount Holyoke College and the University of Wisconsin-Madison, respectively.
	Events Producer Jonathan Small serves as the Assistant Dean of E-Learning at the New England College of Finance (NECF) in Boston, MA. He is responsible for day-to-day management of NECFOnline including faculty and student support, course design and development, and the integration of new technologies for the college's academic programs. In late 2006 Small began consulting for the Sloan Consortium as their Web Events Producer. For Sloan-C he markets, designs and hosts workshops and training programs. Previously Small served as the E-Learning Program Manager for NECF. In this position he managed the administration of the college's online programs. Before joining the online department he served as a Marketing Coordinator and Student & Member Advisor fostering relationships with partner companies in the financial services industry. Mr. Small began his career at the Boston office of Agnew Carter/MS&L; an international public relations firm. Small is a graduate of the Pennsylvania State University where he received a degree in Communications.
Effective Practice Editors (Effective Practices Website)
	Karen Swan is Research Professor in the Research Center for Educational Technology at Kent State University. Prior to coming to Kent, she was at the University of Albany where she developed one of the first online graduate programs in Educational Technology and taught online for many years. Dr. Swan’s research has been focused mainly in the general area of media and learning on which she has published and presented nationally and internationally. Her current research focuses on online learning, mobile computing and on student learning in ubiquitous computing environments. Dr. Swan has authored several hypermedia programs, a DVD ROM on ubiquitous computing, and co-edited books on Social Learning from Broadcast Television and Ubiquitous Computing in Education. She served as a project director on several large scale grants including work for the US Department of Education, the National Science Foundation, and the NYC Board of Education, and is currently the Principle Investigator for an NSF grant focused on teaching data literacy across the middle school curriculum. Dr. Swan is the Special Issues Editor for the Journal of Educational Computing Research, Editor of the Journal of the Research Center for Educational Technology, and serves on the editorial review boards of several education and technology journals and program committees for a number of similar conferences, including the Sloan-C annual ALN and Blended Learning conferences. She was the 2006 recipient of the Sloan-C award for Most Outstanding Achievement in Online Learning by an Individual.
	Tana Bishop is the Associate Dean for Administration in the Graduate School at University of Maryland University College. Prior to that, she was Assistant Director for the United Kingdom and Iceland with UMUC's European Division. She also worked in Japan as the Executive Director of the Navy Relief Society, a non-profit financial institution. Other professional experience included many years as an educator. She spent more than a decade living and working outside the United States. That international experience has influenced her interest in offering synchronous courses and degree programs to diverse student populations. Dr. Bishop holds bachelor's and master's degrees in Japanese Studies and a Ph.D. in Education. Her areas of specialization include the economics of education, educational leadership, and international teaching and learning. She currently serves as President of the Maryland Association of Higher Education.
	John Sener is the founder of Sener Learning Services, a consulting practice which focuses on supporting the evolution of online and other technology-enabled learning environments in higher education institutions and consortia, government agencies, and non-profit organizations. He is also involved in a wide variety of Sloan-C activities and initiatives, including serving as Director of Special Initiatives and coordinating the Speakers and Consultants Bureau. He has been on the Editorial Board for the Journal of Asynchronous Learning Networks since its inception and is a Contributing Editor for the monthly newsletter Educational Pathways. While at Northern Virginia Community College, he directed development of distance and online-accessible associate degrees in engineering, information systems technology, public management, and business management. His career in education and training over the past twenty-five years includes directing a number of foundation and federally funded projects; he has also been a trainer, teacher, administrator, instructional designer, and tutor in the areas of adult literacy, basic skills, information systems, and English as a Second Language. He holds a M.S. degree in Education from Johns Hopkins University and a B.A. in Psychology from Oberlin College.
	Melody Thompson is Assistant Professor of Education in Penn State's College of Education. In that role, she teaches and advises masters' and doctoral students in the Adult Education Program, with much of her teaching being done online through the Penn State World Campus. She is also the US project leader for the e-Learning Collaborative Research Project of the Worldwide Universities Network (WUN). Her primary research interests are faculty satisfaction and the institutional policy environment for online learning, as well as diversity issues in adult education. Dr. Thompson's past positions include Director of Planning and Research for the World Campus and Director of the American Center for the Study of Distance Education (ACSDE). Dr. Thompson has lectured nationally and internationally on topics related to adult and distance education. She is the author of numerous articles and book chapters, as well as co-author of the McGraw-Hill Handbook of Distance Learning. Her articles have appeared in Journal of Asynchronous Learning Networks, Journal of Computing in Higher Education, Open Learning, Journal of Continuing Higher Education, and Adult Education Quarterly, among others. In 2003 she received the Sloan-C Award for Faculty Satisfaction for the Faculty Self-Study Research Project. She is a member of the American Association of Adult and Continuing Education and Phi Kappa Phi honor society.
	Peter Shea is an assistant professor in the department of Educational Theory and Practice with a joint appointment in the College of Computing and Information at the University at Albany, State University of New York. Previously he served as the Director of the SUNY Learning Network, the multiple-award winning, online education system for the State University of New York. Peter has also served as manager of the SUNY Teaching, Learning, and Technology Program and as Project Director in the Multimedia Educational Resource for Learning and Online Teaching (MERLOT), as well as a SUNY representative to the EDUCAUSE National Learning Infrastructure Initiative (NLII – now ELI). Peter’s current research focuses on the student and faculty experience in technology-mediated teaching and learning, most recently on the topics of “teaching presence” and community in asynchronous learning networks. He is the author of many articles and several book chapters on the topic of online learning, co-author of the book, “The Successful Distance Learning Student” (Thomson-Wadsworth) and a contributor to the recent book, “Learning Together Online, Research on Asynchronous Learning Networks” (Erlbaum). He is a co-recipient of several awards including the EDUCAUSE Award for Systemic Progress in Teaching and Learning for the State University of New York, and two Sloan Consortium Awards for Excellence in Faculty Development and Asynchronous Learning Networks Programs. He is a member of the American Educational Research Association and the editorial board for the Journal of Asynchronous Learning Networks. His research has appeared in the Journal of Educational Computing Research, The International Review of Research in Open and Distance Learning, and the Journal of Asynchronous Learning Networks among others.
Sloan-C Research Specialists
	Director of Research Dr. I. Elaine Allen is Associate Professor of Statistics and Entrepreneurship at Babson College, Faculty Director of the Center for Women’s Leadership, and Co-Director of the Babson Survey Research at the Blank Center for Entrepreneurship. She has published extensively and serves on the editorial boards of a number of medical, statistical and applied research journals. She is a Fellow of the American Statistical Association. Prior to Babson she was VP at MetaWorks, Inc. producing meta-analyses and systematic reviews for pharmaceutical clients and government agencies. She is also a Founder of Pondview Associates, an independent consultancy on statistical and information technology issues. Prior to joining MetaWorks, she co-founded ARIAD Pharmaceuticals.
	Sloan-C Associate J. Olin Campbell, Ph.D. is Associate Professor, Instructional Psychology and Technology at Brigham Young University. Ph.D. Educational Psychology, Stanford University; M.Div Theology, Union Theological Seminary, New York; B.A. Psychology, Yale University. He teaches instruction design and evaluation, consultation skills, management of human resource development including total quality management, technical training strategies, and advanced instruction strategies, emphasizing learning strategies that use interactive technologies. http://www.byu.edu/ipt/faculty/campbell.html
	Christine Geith, Ph.D. Executive Director, MSU Global Michigan State University Christine Geith leads business strategy, product development and financial management as director of MSU Global at Michigan State University. She is a founder and co-executive director of the award-winning Horticulture Gardening Institute at MSU. Prior to joining MSU, Dr. Geith was executive director of eLearning at Rochester Institute of Technology where she was instrumental in launching one of the first online degree programs in the U.S. in 1991. An Arena Award recipient from the Center for Digital Education and senior associate of the TLT Group, Dr. Geith holds an MBA from Rochester Institute of Technology and Ph.D. in education administration, curriculum and instruction from the University of Nebraska-Lincoln.
	Stephen Schiffman, Ph.D. Associate Professor of Entrepreneurship Babson College and Olin College Stephen Schiffman has served in faculty and dean positions at Babson College since 1986. Under his leadership as Dean of the undergraduate program, Babson College received the 2002 Hesburgh Award for reinvention of undergraduate business education. Stephen’s research interests include entrepreneurship and the business issues of online education. His previous experience includes positions at Digital Equipment Corporation, Colorado College and University of Colorado-Boulder. Dr. Schiffman holds an M.S. from MIT in management and a Ph.D. from Dartmouth College in mathematics.
	Karen Vignare Director, MSU Global Ventures Michigan State University Karen Vignare is Director of MSU Global Ventures. She is responsible for growing globally accessible, innovative online customized professional development programs like the award winning Horticulture Gardening Institute. Karen joins MSU Global most recently from the Rochester Institute of Technology where she served as a Senior Research Analyst in Online Learning. Before RIT, Karen was an Assistant Professor for Retail, Marketing and Business Technologies at the State University of NY, Alfred. Her career began on Wall Street where she served as a Vice-President and Research Analyst for Political Economics. She is on the Advisory Board of National Telecommunications University Network and the editorial board of EdPath and Distance Education. Karen Vignare has an M.B.A from the Simon School at the University of Rochester and is currently enrolled in doctoral courses at Nova Southeastern University in Computer Technology for Education.
	Linda Enghagen, J.D. Linda Enghagen is an attorney and Associate Professor at the University of Massachusetts at Amherst. Her teaching career began in distance learning when she first taught Engineering Law & Ethics as part of the university’s Video Instructional Program in 1984. In 1990, she became the first woman to receive an Outstanding Instructor Award from National Technological University, which also offered her course. In 2002, she received a second Outstanding Teacher Award from the College of Food & Natural Resources at the University of Massachusetts. Professor Enghagen teaches cyberlaw at both the graduate and undergraduate levels and developed a corporate training program entitled Information Technology and the Law: Software, the Internet and E-mail in conjunction with the PBS Business & Technology Network. Her scholarly contributions related to intellectual property are directed to the needs of faculty members. Her publications include two books, Technology and Higher Education: Approaching the 21st Century and Fair Use Guidelines for Educators, as well as numerous articles such as Fair Use in an Electronic World and Copyright Law and Fair Use—Why Ignorance Isn’t Bliss. She also developed a pamphlet entitled Educators, Technology and the Law: Common Questions/Direct Answers and a brochure entitled Legal Literacy in the Information Age—Ten (easy to understand) Rules of Thumb. In addition, she has been a guest commentator on a local NPR affiliate where she discussed copyright piracy in a piece entitled Napster Worries Me.