UIS names Vickie Cook director of the Center for Online Learning, Research and Service

Vickie Cook has been selected to be the new director of the Center for Online Learning, Research and Service at the University of Illinois Springfield. She will begin effective September 16, 2013, pending U of I Board of Trustees approval.

Cook received her Ph.D. in Higher Education Administration from Capella University, and is currently the Associate Vice President for Innovation and Technology at Greenville College in Greenville, Illinois, where she has successfully launched seven online programs. Her prior positions include serving as Dean of the School of Education and Director of Online Learning at Greenville. Cook was a faculty member at UIS from 2006 to 2009, before leaving for a deanship at Greenville College. Prior to 2006, she served as Dean of Continuing Education and University Alliance at Kaskaskia Community College.

She succeeds the founding director of the UIS Center for Online Learning, Research, and Service, Associate Vice Chancellor for Online Learning Ray Schroeder.

"We are delighted that Vickie Cook accepted our invitation; she is an outstanding leader in the field of technology-enhanced learning," said Schroeder. "Vickie has the abilities and expertise that make her an ideal person to lead the Center for Online Learning, Research and Service. I know that the Center will continue to lead in innovation and quality in online learning under her leadership."

The Center for Online Learning, Research and Service is the recipient of many national awards for excellence in online learning. The center has launched two Massive Open Online Courses (MOOCs) and is engaged in research on the pedagogy and quality outcomes of MOOCs, predictive analytics reporting, and community college degree completion online.