Who Should Join?
The Community and Economic Engagement Network serves all sorts of professionals, and the following individuals may find value in the conversations and connections:
- Deans
- Provosts
- Administrators
- Directors
- Managers
- Program Coordinators
- Financial Officers
- Strategic Partnerships Executives
- Local Economic/Community Leaders
- Vice Presidents
- Workforce Development Specialists
- Human Resource Staff
- ...and all other interested UPCEA Members!
Join the Discussion
Log in to CORe, UPCEA's member community and online networking space where you can ask, answer or search for questions on relevant topics. Get advice, answers and ideas from your colleagues online via CORe, UPCEA's professional networking platform.
Your membership gives you full access to:
- Active conversations, and the chance to ask your questions in real time
- Robust search of conversation archive
- A diverse resource library
- UPCEA's entire member directory
- Exclusive member content -- including benchmarking studies, conference session slides, and webinar recordings
UPCEA Engagement Award
The UPCEA Engagement Award recognizes an outstanding mutually-beneficial exchange of knowledge and resources between a member institution and one or more external constituents such as local communities, corporations, government organizations, or associations. The recognized partnership will demonstrate a knowledge partnership that has resulted in a measurable and sustainable shared impact in areas such as economic development, community development, workforce training, or capacity building.
This award will be bestowed annually at the UPCEA Annual Conference to one of the recipients of the regional Engagement Award. Each UPCEA Region will select an Engagement Award recipient annually. All regional recipients are nominated for the association award by regional leadership. The recipient of the national award will be given to the most outstanding regional award recipient. The Community and Economic Engagement Network will recognize all regional recipients at the UPCEA Annual Conference and award recipients (university and partner representatives) will be invited to present in a concurrent session at the annual conference.
Attend Network Events
The CEE Network curates webinars and coffee chats throughout the year, on a number of topics related to the work of the Network. Check out the event page linked below and keep an eye out for our upcoming events.
Today, the field of professional, continuing, online education is characterized by engagement in very complex, highly specialized areas of practice. UPCEA’s eight Networks are designed to serve professionals practicing in the key areas that define this vibrant and growing sector of higher education.
Networks are open to any UPCEA Member. Members can join any one (or multiple) of these networks by logging in to their profile, going down to My Networks + Committees then click "Browse Networks + Committees". Select the network you would like to join, and click "Join this Network/Committee".
Volunteer and grow as a leader, presenter, or mentor.
Take an active role in your membership! Members are encouraged to serve as volunteer leaders. There are many ways to get involved! Click below and let us know how you'd like to volunteer with UPCEA.
Have a question about the Network? Ask a volunteer leader!
UPCEA Network Leadership is composed of UPCEA members who serve in these roles. Below you can find a current listing of this year's network leadership team. To learn more about becoming a volunteer, click here.
2024-2025
Leadership Team
Kimberly Love
CHAIR
Weber State University
[email protected]
Marjaneh Gilpatrick
CHAIR-ELECT & CO-VICE CHAIR, COMMUNICATIONS
Northern Arizona University
[email protected]
Denise Lauritano
PAST CHAIR & VICE CHAIR, DIVERSITY & INCLUSION
University of British Columbia
[email protected]
Chris Matthews
CO-VICE CHAIR, ANNUAL CONFERENCE AND SPECIAL EVENTS
Southern New Hampshire University
[email protected]
Samantha Stevens-Hall
CO-VICE CHAIR, ANNUAL CONFERENCE AND SPECIAL EVENTS
University of Toronto
[email protected]
Andrea Tessier
CO-VICE CHAIR, AWARDS AND RECOGNITION
Penn State University
[email protected]
Bob Lipske
CO-VICE CHAIR, AWARDS AND RECOGNITION
University of Hawaii at Manoa
[email protected]
Rod Lastra
CO-VICE CHAIR, PROFESSIONAL DEVELOPMENT
University of Manitoba
[email protected]
Michael Pierick
CO-VICE CHAIR, PROFESSIONAL DEVELOPMENT
University of California, Merced
[email protected]
George Calderaro
CO-VICE CHAIR, COMMUNICATIONS
Columbia University
[email protected]
Joel Nelson
VICE CHAIR, AT-LARGE
Ohio State University
[email protected]
R. Dean Claud
VICE CHAIR, AT-LARGE
Old Dominion University
[email protected]
Gale Spak
VICE CHAIR, AT-LARGE
NJIT, Emeritus
[email protected]
Get Involved with UPCEA
Professional development isn't just about attending sessions. Get involved with UPCEA to meet members from other institutions, share the great work your institution is doing, and hone your own skills. From submitting a session proposal for a conference or an article for a publication to serving as a volunteer on a conference planning committee, there are as many ways to engage with us!
