WASHINGTON, November 18, 2021 – UPCEA, the Washington, D.C.-based association for college and university leaders in professional, continuing, and online education, is pleased to announce the election of four new officers and nine new directors to serve on the UPCEA Board of Directors. Elected earlier in November, these individuals will assume their roles at the conclusion of the 2022 UPCEA Annual Conference in Orlando, Florida on April 14, 2022.

“I am so pleased to welcome these exemplary individuals to their leadership roles on behalf of the Governance and Nominations Committee and all of UPCEA,” said Lisa Templeton, Associate Provost, Division of Ecampus at Oregon State University; 2021-2022 UPCEA President-Elect, and Chair, UPCEA Governance and Nominations Committee. “I look forward to working with these strong and qualified leaders during their terms, and I know that our new officers and directors will have a positive impact on both the association and our field.”

“UPCEA’s mission is vitally important to the future of higher education,” said Bob Hansen, UPCEA CEO. “Whether it is leadership in online learning or the rise of alternative credentials, the field needs a Board that is nimble, visionary, and strategic. These new officers and directors bring those attributes to the work of building a truly consequential Board.

UPCEA welcomes four officers and nine Directors At-Large to the 2022-2023 Board of Directors:

	David Cillay, Ph.D., Chancellor, Global Campus and Vice President, Academic Outreach and Innovation (AOI) at Washington State University, will serve as Board President-Elect for a one-year term (2022-2023) and then ascend to the role of Board President (2023-2024). Dr. Cillay’s unit is responsible for Identifying, implementing, and sustaining new and innovative access options that expand the reach of Washington State University, support faculty and students in the use of academic technology, and ensure a high-quality educational experience for all students who access WSU through technology. He oversees WSU’s Global Campus, Learn365, Professional Education, and Learning Innovations.
	Kim Siegenthaler, Ph.D., Associate Provost for Online Strategies at Georgia State University, will serve as Secretary/Treasurer for a two-year term (2022-2024). Dr. Siegenthaler has 30+ years of experience in higher education as a faculty member, administrator, and distance educator. As inaugural Associate Provost for Online Strategies at Georgia State University, she advances a university-wide strategy for delivering high-quality online courses, certificate programs, degree programs and executive education to traditional and life-long learners. In 2021, she led the launch of Georgia State Online with over 80 online and hybrid program options from the associate to the doctoral level. Dr. Siegenthaler oversees the Center for Excellence in Teaching, Learning & Online Education (CETLOE) with its mission to advance the scholarship and practice of exemplary instruction at Georgia State. The center includes units for Teaching Effectiveness, Learning Analytics, Learning Community Development, Learning Design, Learning Technologies and Georgia State Online.
	Asim Ali, Ph.D., Executive Director, Biggio Center for the Enhancement of Teaching & Learning at Auburn University, will serve as Network Senate Chair for a two-year term (2022-2024). The Biggio Center is a group of five units and 75 professionals that support Auburn’s academic community to enhance their careers, build engaging courses, effectively assess student learning, and implement innovative pedagogy and technologies. Earlier, Dr. Ali served as the founding Director of Auburn Online, tasked with implementing institutional strategic goals for online learning. He earned a bachelor of science in software engineering, masters in information systems management, and PhD in adult education with research focused on self-directed and technology-enhanced learning. Dr. Ali also teaches introduction to information systems management.
	Jasmeial “Jazz” Jackson, Ed.D., Chief Student Success, Equity and Inclusion Officer at Thomas Edison State University, will serve as Diversity and Inclusive Excellence Committee Co-Chair for a two-year term (2022-2024). Dr. Jackson oversees advising, faculty, career services, military and veteran support, student accessibility services, tutoring services, academic integrity, and equity and inclusion within his role. He collaborates with every institutional division, ensuring a holistic, intentional student experience that equips learners with the knowledge, skills, and support they need from enrollment and beyond to achieve their academic and personal goals successfully. Dr. Jackson works on strategic teams across the university to coordinate university-wide retention initiatives. He has a Doctorate of Education in Higher Education Administration, Master of Business Administration, and a Bachelor of Science in Construction Engineering. He lives by a quote by Mahatma Gandhi, “Live as if you were to die tomorrow. Learn as if you were to live forever.”
	Tonya Amankwatia, Ph.D., Assistant Vice Provost, Distance Education and Extended Learning at North Carolina Agricultural and Technical State University, will serve as a Director At-Large for a two-year term (2022-2024). Dr. Amankwatia has been active in the larger distance education, faculty development and educational technology fields for more than 20 years. Dr. Amankwatia is a founding faculty member in UPCEA’s Online Professional Development Program and participated in numerous UPCEA programs and groups. As Assistant Vice Provost of  North Carolina A&T’s Extended Campus, the PCO unit at the historically black university, she directed the approval of 6 new online programs in 2021. Dr. Amankwatia has facilitated various international, governmental, regional and corporate PCO collaborations including ones with NATO-ACT, National Cryptologic School, IBM, and AWS.
	Jennifer Bott, Ph.D., Provost and Vice President for Academic Affairs at Western Michigan University, will serve as a Director At-Large for a two-year term (2022-2024). Dr. Bott is the chief academic officer and chief administrative officer of Western Michigan University with responsibilities including the oversight of all academic activities, as well as the development and execution of long-range planning for the university. Before serving as Dean of the Miller College of Business at Ball State University, Dr. Bott was Associate Provost leading the Online and Distance Education programs, leading administration of over 60 degrees and nearly 10,000 students.
	Andrea Carroll-Glover, M.B.A., Vice Provost of Online Strategy and Programs at Saint Mary’s University of Minnesota, will serve as a Director At-Large for a two-year term (2022-2024). In her current role, Carroll-Glover leads innovation and the advancement of online learning initiatives. Carroll-Glover has more than 20 years of executive experience with deep higher education and distance education. She has made significant online education and higher education contributions serving online and traditional universities leading online growth strategies, product innovation, marketing efforts.
	Stacy Chiaramonte, M.B.A., Associate Vice President, Graduate Studies at Worcester Polytechnic Institute, will serve as a Director At-Large for a two-year term (2022-2024). Chiaramonte is responsible for developing and implementing the strategy for student-centric education programs targeted toward part-time working professionals and other non-traditional students at WPI, as well as the implementation and execution of all online and corporate education programs. During Chiaramonte’s tenure, WPI Online has doubled the number of programs offered and grown the number of enrolled students while increasing student support and quality. Chiaramonte holds a Bachelor’s in Business Administration from the University of Massachusetts, Amherst and an MBA from Babson College.
	Yakut Gazi, Ph.D., Associate Dean, Learning Systems at Georgia Institute of Technology, will serve as a Director At-Large for a two-year term (2022-2024). Dr. Gazi’s higher education experience spans over 28 years in four countries. In her current role she oversees the design, development, delivery, and continuous improvement of Tech’s credit-bearing and professional education online courses. A recipient of the American Society of Engineering Education Continuing and Professional Development Division’s 2021 Certificate of Merit, she serves on the Academic Advisory Council for Quality Matters© and is an elected council member and First Vice President of the International Association for Engineering Continuing Education. Dr. Gazi has her Ph.D. from Texas A&M University, and an M.A. and a B.S. from Bogazici University. A Turkish-American, Dr. Gazi is married, with a daughter.
	George Irvine, Ph.D., Associate Vice Provost for Professional and Continuing Studies and Online Initiatives at University of Delaware, will serve as a Director At-Large for a two-year term (2022-2024). Dr. Irvine leads the Division of Professional and Continuing Studies to annually serve approximately 14,000 online and continuing education students. In prior positions, Dr. Irvine led corporate and international programs at UD’s Lerner College of Business and Center for International Studies. Dr. Irvine has considerable international development expertise due to his work at the German Marshall Fund, IIE, and the Kenan Institute.  His award-winning dissertation from UD’s Biden School focuses on the changing publicness of American research universities.
	Shino John, M.Div., Associate VP for Strategic Growth and International Development at Rutgers University Division of Continuing Studies (DoCS), will serve as a Director At-Large for a two-year term (2021-2023). John is a leader with over 20 years of experience in higher education, and his portfolio includes continuing education for over 10,000 students and oversight of the Rutgers Makerspace, a collaborative lab environment to prototype and create academic and entrepreneurial projects with advanced design and fabrication equipment. John also chairs DoCS’ award-winning Diversity, Equity, and Inclusion (DEI) Committee and is a passionate proponent for DEI in professional, continuing, and online (PCO) education. John and the leadership of DoCS are committed to advancing DEI and inclusive excellence in the workplace through continuing education and recruiting candidates from historically underrepresented communities to fulfilling careers in PCO education. John also serves on the Board of Trustees of Pillar College, a HACU Hispanic-Serving Institution based in Newark, NJ.
	Breeda McGrath, Ph.D., Associate Campus Dean Online at The Chicago School of Professional Psychology, will serve as a Director At-Large for a two-year term (2022-2024). A higher education leader, McGrath supervises over 30 graduate programs including international psychology, organizational leadership, behavioral economics, behavior analysis, forensic psychology, counseling, and psychopharmacology. As a licensed clinical psychologist and nationally certified school psychologist, McGrath is an active member of the American Psychological Association and a school crisis prevention and intervention trainer. Originally from Ireland, McGrath collaborates with international colleagues in Indonesia, Senegal, Greece, and India, and provides consultation for immigrant rights groups. McGrath previously served as the UPCEA International Network Chair.
	Carola Weil, Ph.D., Dean of Continuing Studies and Associate Professor (CAS) at McGill University, will serve as a Director At-Large for a two-year term (2021-2023). Dr. Weil previously served in academic leadership roles in continuing education and communication/journalism studies at the University of Southern California and American University. A political scientist and policy analyst by training, with a focus on international/human security, conflict transformation, public diplomacy, and organizational development, Dr. Weil’s career has straddled public policy, nonprofit and philanthropic sectors as well as higher education, including Women In International Security, and the US Institute of Peace. A dual citizen of Germany and the US, she is multi-lingual and has served on several non-profit boards.

Additionally, UPCEA is pleased to announce the selection of two new members of the Diversity & Inclusive Excellence Committee and two new members of the Finance Committee. In their roles on these two Board-level committees, these individuals are undertaking critically important work for the association and the field.

	Reba-Anna Lee, Ed.D., Assistant Dean of Distance Learning, School of Professional Studies at Northwestern University, will serve on the 2022-2023 Diversity & Inclusive Excellence Committee. Dr. Lee holds a doctorate in Educational Technology. Her background includes over 10 years of K-12 teaching experience. She has worked in higher education administration and online teaching for over 15 years. In her current role, Dr. Lee is a student advocate and a champion for quality online teaching and learning. Her focus is not only on the learning journey of adult students but also on enhancing the adult student’s online learning experience.
	Kevin Vaughn, Ph.D., Dean of University Extension and Professor of Anthropology at University of California, Riverside, will serve on the 2022-2023 Diversity & Inclusive Excellence Committee. In his current role, Vaughn oversees the largest continuing education unit in Inland Southern California with 75+ programs serving youth, high school, college, international and adult learners in a number of fields including Business, Education, Technology, the Social Sciences and Humanities. He is also an anthropological archaeologist and conducts research on the south coast of Peru.
	Diego Britto, M.B.A., Vice President of Finance at Purdue University Global, will serve on the 2022-2023 Finance Committee. Diego is a forward-thinking executive with more than 24 years of fast-track, cross-industry financial and operational success and over 13 years of experience in the education industry. Diego has a diverse background spearheading new business implementations as well as risk-management and cost-saving initiatives. Since joining the University in 2008, Diego has been responsible for the financial support for all the schools and its supporting departments at the University.
	Aaron Sinkar, M.B.A., the Senior Financial and Administrative Officer for TEXAS Extended Campus (TEC) at The University of Texas at Austin, will serve on the 2022-2023 Finance Committee. Sinkar has spent the past 15 years in higher education, supporting business services functions in a variety of units, including IT, libraries, and continuing education. In his current role, he is responsible for the financial strategy and business operations for the Extended Campus. He is involved with several campus committees supporting the growth and best practices of continuing education at UT Austin.

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About UPCEA

UPCEA is the association for professional, continuing, and online education. Founded in 1915, UPCEA now serves most of the leading public and private colleges and universities in North America. With innovative conferences and specialty seminars, research and benchmarking information, professional networking opportunities and timely publications, we support our members’ service of contemporary learners and commitment to quality online education and student success. Based in Washington, D.C., UPCEA builds greater awareness of the vital link between adult learners and public policy issues. Visit www.upcea.edu.