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Press Release - June 7, 2005
Leadership changes announced for Penn State World Campus Program Planning and Management
Tuesday, June 7, 2005
Navigating through Penn State's online education program just got easier.
A new leadership team has been created to oversee the activities of Program Planning and Management in the Distance Education/World Campus unit of Penn State Outreach. Program Planning and Management coordinates World Campus program development and delivery processes in collaboration with academic units.
Pete Rubba, senior director of Penn State World Campus, said, "The leadership changes within the Program Planning and Management unit reflect the continued growth and diversification of the World Campus."
The leadership changes include:
» Karen I. Wagner Pollack has been appointed associate director for inter-campus relationships, with operational responsibility for the development and delivery of courses and programs through the Blended Learning Initiative. She also is serving as the primary World Campus contact for other Penn State locations for blended program delivery and course sharing.
Pollack joined the Distance Education/World Campus staff in 1998 as a program manager, working with the colleges of Health and Human Development, Liberal Arts, Business, and Communications. She came to Penn State in 1991 as manager of Marketing and Customer Service with Business Services. She also served as a public information officer with University Relations. She is a recipient of the Edward L. and Dessa B. Keller Memorial Scholarship Award.
Pollack earned her bachelor of arts degree in journalism and master of arts in telecommunications, both from Penn State. She is a Ph.D. candidate in instructional systems, with an emphasis in education technology and change management, at Penn State.
» Janet A. May has been appointed associate director for evaluation, with leadership for the ongoing evaluation of all World Campus programs and all programs in Continuing Education.
May joined the Distance Education/World Campus staff in 1999 as program manager for the World Campus, with responsibilities for managing programs in the science, engineering and technology areas, the iMBA program and the Automatic Sprinkler Fitters' Apprentice Training Program. She also has worked across the World Campus and Continuing Education at University Park on evaluation. Previously, she was instructor of mathematics and science, technology and society at Penn State DuBois, where she also served as acting director of Academic Affairs from 1997 to 1999. She also was a mathematician, aerospace technician and data analyst at NASA's Goddard Space Flight Center. She is the recipient of the Penn State Distance Education/World Campus Executive Director's Award for Excellence.
May earned her bachelor of arts degree in mathematics secondary education from the State University College of New York at Buffalo and her master of science in mathematics from the University of Maryland at College Park. She has pursued doctoral studies in mathematics education at the University of Pittsburgh.
» Modupe E. Irele, special assistant to the World Campus director and assistant coordinator of evaluation, has taken on shared responsibilities for World Campus evaluation and also will serve as World Campus program manager.
Irele joined the Distance Education/World Campus staff in 1999 as a research assistant. In 2001, she became a program evaluator for the World Campus. She has been in her current role since 2004, with responsibilities for designing, developing and implementing evaluation instruments to evaluate World Campus courses and programs; conducting research studies; chairing Distance Education Operations team meetings; and conducting institutional benchmarking. Since 2004, she also has served as affiliate professor of education with the Adult Education Program. She is the recipient of the Penn State Distance Education/World Campus Executive Director's Award for Excellence.
Irele earned her bachelor of arts and master of arts degrees in French from the University of Ibadan in Nigeria, her master of arts in education from the University College Dublin in the Republic of Ireland and her D.Ed. in adult education from Penn State. She won the William Rainey Harper Research Award from University Continuing Education Association for her dissertation.
Pollack, May and Irele will join Peter K. Forster, associate director for international and corporate partnerships, and Blake Withall, associate director for operations, in managing the Program Planning and Management unit.
» Concurrent with these changes, Sarah Cook has been appointed senior program assistant, with operational responsibility for managing the General Undergraduate Program. She also will represent Program Planning and Management on technology and infrastructure and systems matters and coordinate instructor hiring, orientation and related activities with program assistants.
Cook joined the Distance Education/World Campus Student Services staff in 1999. She has been a member of the Program Planning and Management staff since 2001. Previously, she spent a year as a staff member in Penn State's Office for Disability Services. She earned her bachelor of arts degree in art history from the College of William and Mary.
Editor contact: Deborah A. Benedetti, 814-238-4895; dab12@outreach.psu.edu
Penn State is committed to affirmative action, equal opportunity, and the diversity of its workforce.
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