WASHINGTON, April 18, 2019 – UPCEA, the Washington, D.C.-based association for college and university leaders in professional, continuing, and online education, welcomed one new officer and five new directors to serve on the UPCEA Board of Directors during the 2019 UPCEA Annual Conference.

“The Board’s newest members are an impressive group, and the Board Development committee is pleased to be the first to welcome them in their Board service,” said Richard Novak, Vice President for Continuing Studies and Distance Education at Rutgers University, 2007-08 UPCEA President, and Chair, UPCEA Board Development Committee. “I look forward to seeing the important work that these strong and qualified leaders will contribute to the association and the field during their time on the Board.”  

Rovy Branon, Vice Provost for Continuum College at the University of Washington, will serve as President-Elect for a one-year term (2019-2020). UW Continuum College serves over 55,000 learners annually through its 400 programs. Dr. Branon holds a Ph.D. in Instructional Systems Technology from Indiana University. His advocacy for increasing access to higher education has been featured on: CBS TechRepublic, Fox Business, GeekWire, Portland NBC affiliate KGW, The Seattle Times, USA Today and other regional publications. Previously, Dr. Branon was the associate dean for online learning and the executive director of the Academic Advanced Distributed Learning Co-Lab at the University of Wisconsin-Extension in Madison.

Susan Catron, M.P.P.A., Ed.D., Interim Dean for Continuing & Professional Education at the University of California, Davis, will serve as a Director-At-Large for a two-year term (2019-2021). As the self-supporting $40 million academic division’s chief academic officer and strategic leader, Catron oversees a team of 230 academic and professional staff serving 50,000 learners each year–regionally and globally. In her prior role as Sr. 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.

Huntington Lambert, Dean of the Division of Continuing Education and University Extension at Harvard University, will serve as a Director-At-Large for a two-year term (2019-2021). The Division serves 28,000 learners annually with more than 1500 open access online and on-campus for-credit courses as well as 40 undergraduate and graduate degree programs and fields of study; Harvard Summer School and study abroad programs in more than 20 worldwide locations; Harvard Professional Development Programs serving more than 3,000 learners; Harvard Institute for Learning in Retirement. Previously, Lambert served as Associate Provost of OnlinePlus at CSU. Prior to this, Lambert was a founder and interim CEO of CSU Global Campus.

Karen Pedersen, Dean of Kansas State University Global Campus, will serve as a Director-At-Large for a two-year term (2019-2021). Pedersen has a long history of serving in various digital learning leadership positions at both public and private higher education institutions. Prior to joining Kansas State University, she worked as the Chief Knowledge Officer for OLC where she fostered initiatives related to learning innovation, quality enhancement, leadership development, and institutional transformation. Pedersen has expertise leading award-winning online and off-campus units, expanding partnerships, engaging cross-institutional academic operations, and realizing significant enrollment growth and retention outcomes. Other experiences include serving on the launch team for a competency-based education initiative, leading a system-wide enrollment management transformation, and building academic collaborations internationally.

Aaron Brower, UW System Senior Associate Vice President and Executive Director for the UW Extended Campus (formally CEOEL), will serve as a Director-At-Large for a two-year term (2019-2021). UW Extended Campus/CEOEL has built a national reputation for award-winning online programs for adults and professionals. Among these programs is the UW Flexible Option, the first-in-the-country direct-assessment CBE for a public university system. Brower has more than 30 years’ experience as a faculty member, administrator and program developer. He has written 4 books, more than 50 peer-reviewed articles and book chapters and received over $18M in grants to support his work on educational innovation, student learning, and outcome assessment.

Bob Hieronymus, Vice President of Business Development and Partnerships at Emsi, will serve as Corporate Director-At-Large for a two-year term (2019-2021). Hieronymus’ focus is on developing and maintaining partner and industry relationships in higher education. Emsi, a member of the Strada Education Network, is based in Moscow, Idaho. Emsi uses labor market analytics to inform and connect people, education and business. Within higher education, Emsi helps colleges and universities measure their economic impact, align their programs with regional demands, prepare students for the right careers, and track student outcomes.

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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.