Founding Faculty
UPCEA is proud to have partnered with notable leaders in the field to develop and implement the PCO Professional Development programs. Using the perspective of practical application, the Founding Faculty helped determine the competencies and skills to cover within the PCO Professional Development programs. Meet our Current Faculty.
Tonya Amankwatia
Assistant Vice Provost of Distance Education and Extended Learning
North Carolina A&T State University
Tonya Amankwatia, Ph.D., is Assistant Vice Provost of Distance Education and Extended Learning at North Carolina A&T State University. Amankwatia served as Director of Instructional Innovation at Regent University, and as Director of Distance Education and Instructional Technology at DeSales University. She has initiated various international, governmental, regional and corporate higher education collaborations, including one with NATO-ACT. Amankwatia also serves as a QM Master Reviewer and a Middle States Commission on Higher Education Volunteer Peer Evaluator. She holds a doctorate in Learning Sciences and Technology with a concentration in Instructional Design from Lehigh University, as well as an M.A. in Christian Education from Oral Roberts University and a B.A. in Mass Communications from the University of South Florida.
Susan D. Catron
Dean Emerita from University of California, Davis
Susan Catron, M.P.P.A., Ed.D., is Dean Emerita for Continuing & Professional Education at the University of California, Davis. As the self-supporting $40 million academic division’s chief academic officer and strategic leader, Catron oversaw a team of 230 academic and professional staff serving 50,000 learners each year–regionally and globally. In her prior role as Senior Associate Dean, Catron led program innovation and academic strategic planning. She holds a doctorate in educational leadership from UC Davis, and a master’s in public policy from California State University, Sacramento. Her research has focused on program innovation, online educational quality, and educational accountability.
Nancy Coleman
Dean, Harvard Extension School and Continuing Studies
Harvard University
Nancy Coleman, Ed.D., is Dean of the Division of Continuing Education at Harvard University. Previously, Coleman served as Associate Provost and Founding Director of Strategic Growth Initiatives at Wellesley College, where she oversaw the work of Wellesley Extended, encompassing summer, online learning, and professional education. Her career has spanned higher education, corporate and start-up ventures. Prior to Wellesley, Coleman was VP of Academic Services at Keypath, an OPM provider, overseeing instructional design and student services for all global locations; and Director of Distance Education at Boston University leading a business unit overseeing online degrees and certificates across the university. She holds a doctorate from George Washington University, an M.B.A. from Boston University, and a B.S. in Marketing from Stonehill College.
Vickie Cook
Vice Chancellor for Enrollment & Retention Management at the University of Illinois Springfield.
Vickie Cook, Ph.D., is Vice Chancellor for Enrollment & Retention Management at the University of Illinois Springfield. Previously, Cook served as Associate Vice President of Innovation and Technology, and Dean of the School of Education and Director of Online Learning at Greenville University. Cook has published more than 40 journal articles and book chapters in a variety of national educational publications, and serves as a peer reviewer for six of the top journals in the field of Online Learning and Education. She holds a Ph.D. in Higher Education Administration and an M.A. in Adult Education from Capella University, and completed her B.A. at Western Illinois University.
Kevin Currie
Chief Executive Officer
Continuing & Professional Education Consulting Group
Kevin Currie served as Special Advisor to the Dean of the College of Professional Studies at Northeastern University and as Executive Director of Northeastern University Online. Prior to this, he served as the Senior Associate Dean of the College of Professional Studies at Northeastern University, and as the Director of the Corporate Training Group at Boston University. In his current role as Chief Executive Officer of the Continuing & Professional Education Consulting Group, he works with institutions on new program identification, existing program evaluation, and unit reorganization or creation. He earned his B.A. in English from Framingham State University, and holds a Certificate in Training and Development from Boston University.
Jim Fong
Chief Research Officer
UPCEA Research and Strategy
Jim Fong is Chief Research Officer for UPCEA Research and Strategy. Fong has more than 20 years of experience working as a marketer and researcher in the higher education community. Prior to joining UPCEA, Fong worked as a higher education strategic marketing consultant and researcher for two firms. He served as Director of Marketing, Research and Planning for Penn State Outreach prior to the start of his consulting work. Fong continues to teach graduate classes online for Framingham State University. Fong holds an M.B.A., an M.S. in Applied Statistics and a B.S. in Mathematics, all from the University of Vermont.
Roxanne Gonzales
Provost and Vice President for Academic Affairs
New Mexico Highlands University
Roxanne Gonzales, Ed.D., is Provost and Vice President for Academic Affairs at New Mexico Highlands University. Gonzales has dedicated her career to providing access to higher education having served as an administrator and faculty in the U.S., England, and Germany with a focus on post-traditional populations. Previously, Gonzales served as Executive Dean of Venango College at Clarion University. She has also previously served in leadership roles that include Academic Dean of the College for Professional Studies at Regis University, and Dean of Distance Learning as well as a tenured Associate Professor of Adult Education at Park University. Gonzales holds a doctorate in Higher Education Administration from the University of Massachusetts-Boston.
Jay Halfond
Professor of the Practice Emeritus
Boston University
Jay Halfond, Ph.D., is Professor of the Practice Emeritus at Boston University, where he was on the faculty from 1997 to 2020 and served as Dean of Metropolitan College and Extended Education from 2001 through 2012. Before 1997, Halfond held administrative positions at Harvard University and Northeastern University. Halfond has published over a hundred articles, including regular contributions to the New England Journal of Higher Education and Huffington Post, and, for a five-year period, a monthly column, “On Ethics,” for the Boston Business Journal. He holds a doctorate from Boston College, an M.A. from Brandeis University, and a B.A. from Temple University. Halfond is Faculty Director for UPCEA's online professional development programs.
Barbara Hanniford
Adjunct Faculty Member
Cleveland State University
Barbara Hanniford is an Adjunct Faculty Member at Cleveland State University. Hanniford has substantial continuing education experience at four major universities as well as college teaching experience. She served as Dean of the Division of Continuing Education at Cleveland State University from 2002-2011, and as a part-time Program Manager for the Department of Counseling, Administration, Supervision, and Adult Learning at Cleveland State from 2012-2015. Previously, Hanniford served as the Assistant Dean for Lifelong Learning at Kent State University, Program Manager for Continuing Education at The Ohio State University, and as a Research Specialist at Penn State University. She has been extensively involved in professional association activities, including editing The Journal of Continuing Higher Education for 10 years and serving as president of the Ohio Continuing Higher Education Association. Hanniford holds a doctorate in Higher Education Administration from The Ohio State University, an M.Ed. in Guidance and Counseling from Phillips University, and a B.A. in Psychology from Allegheny College.
Gary Matkin
Dean, Division of Continuing Education and Vice Provost, Division of Career Pathways
University of California, Irvine
Gary Matkin, Ph.D., is Dean, Division of Continuing Education and Vice Provost, Division of Career Pathways at the University of California, Irvine. Matkin directs the activities of the Division of Continuing Education that, with a self-supporting annual budget of $40 million, offers over 3,100 continuing education courses per year, serving approximately 40,000 students. As Vice Provost, Matkin is responsible for coordinating career services across the UCI campus, including the direct supervision of the Division of Career Pathways, whose services are available to over 35,000 UCI undergraduate and graduate students, in addition to alumni and local employers. Previously, Matkin served as Associate Dean for Continuing Education at the University of California, Berkeley. He holds a doctorate in Education and an M.B.A. from the University of California, Berkeley, and a B.S. from the University of San Francisco, and is a Certified Public Accountant.
Richard Novak
Vice President, Continuing Studies & Distance Education
Rutgers the State University of New Jersey
Richard Novak, Ed.D., is Vice President, Continuing Studies & Distance Education at Rutgers, the State University of New Jersey. Novak has been with the Division of Continuing Studies (formerly the Division of Continuous Education and Outreach) since its inception in July 1996 and has served as Vice President since 2013, and has been engaged with online learning at Rutgers since 1997. Novak provides executive leadership for a large and diverse University-wide division that coordinates hundreds of credit and non-credit programs, enrolling thousands of participants, reaching audiences from pre-school youth to retirees, on and off campus and online, and provides various support services to faculty, staff and students across the University. He holds a doctorate in Adult and Continuing Education and a B.A. cum laude in History from Rutgers University, as well as an M.A. in Christian Education from the Princeton Theological Seminary and an M.A. in Eastern Christian Studies from Maryknoll School of Theology.
David Schejbal
President
Excelsior College
David Schejbal, Ph.D., is President of Excelsior College. He served as Vice President and Chief of Digital Learning at Marquette University before assuming the presidency at Excelsior. Prior to Marquette, he was dean of Continuing Education, Outreach and E-Learning at the University of Wisconsin-Extension. In that role, Schejbal helped launch the new UW Flexible Option, the first system-wide competency-based, self-paced learning option in the nation. Schejbal also previously held leadership roles at the University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign and Northwestern University. Schejbal writes and speaks broadly about the future of higher education and how that future is shaped by social, economic, technological, and political forces. In 2012, he was one of the founding members of C-BEN: The Competency-Based Education Network: A National Consortium for the Development of Higher Education Models. Schejbal holds a doctorate from the University of Connecticut, and a B.A. from Iowa State University.
Jim Shaeffer
President
Eastern Shore Community College
Jim Shaeffer, Ph.D., is President of Eastern Shore Community College. He has worked in higher education for more than three decades at a variety of institutions. Prior to assuming the presidency at Eastern Shore Community College in July 2019, Shaeffer served as founding dean of the College of Continuing Education and Professional Development at Old Dominion University. Shaeffer began his career at the University of Wyoming, Laramie, and held progressive leadership roles at the University of Wyoming, the University of North Dakota, and James Madison University. He holds a doctorate from Northwestern University, a master’s degree from Kansas State University, and a bachelor’s degree from Iowa State University.
Julie Uranis
Senior Vice President for Online and Strategic Initiatives
UPCEA
Julie Uranis, Ph.D., is Senior Vice President for Online and Strategic Initiatives at UPCEA. Uranis manages the National Council for Online Education and leads the planning efforts for the Summit for Online Leadership and Administration and the Online Leadership Roundtable. Uranis spearheaded the development of UPCEA’s web-based professional development opportunities. Prior to joining UPCEA as a staff member, Uranis led two distinct units at Western Kentucky University. Uranis has a doctorate in Educational Leadership, a Master of Science in Technology Studies, and a Graduate Certificate in Community College Leadership from Eastern Michigan University. She completed a Bachelor of Arts degree in History from the University of Michigan-Dearborn.
Pamela Wimbush
Dean, College of Continuing Education (Interim)
Sacramento State
Pamela Wimbush, Ed.D., is Dean, College of Continuing Education (Interim)
at Sacramento State. Previously, she served as Associate Director for Distance Education and Summer Programs at the University of North Carolina at Charlotte, and as Assistant Dean of University College and Director of HamptonU Online at Hampton University. Prior to Hampton, Wimbush served as Director of the Instructional Resource Center and Online Learning at Johns Hopkins University’s Advanced Academic Programs and as Director of the Technology Applications Center at Northern Virginia Community College. She holds a doctorate in Educational Administration—Adult and Postsecondary Education from the University of Wyoming, as well as an M.A. in Management and an M.A. in Distance Education from the University of Maryland University College.