News

The Center for Academic Excellence and the Center for Online Learning are merging to better integrate faculty support at Portland State University, university leaders have announced. The combined center becomes effective July 1.

The Center for Academic Excellence provides faculty support for teaching and learning, assessment and leadership for community partnerships and engagement. The Center for Online Learning supports online course and program design and development to coordinate instruction, ensure accessibility and learning opportunities and help faculty with instructional design and technology. A process for updating the mission and selecting a name for the combined center will take place over the next few months.

“By merging the two centers into a single unit, we are streamlining faculty access to resources that support the multiple modes of and approaches to instruction and student learning,” says Provost Roy Koch.

Gary Brown, PSU’s Director of Online Learning, will become director of the joint department. Dr. Brown has been involved in technology-mediated learning for more than 30 years and has received national recognition and numerous awards for research in this area. His accomplishments include a National Learning Communities senior fellow, principal investigator on National Science Foundation grants in engineering and science, a member of the National Advisory Board of Information Literacy and prolific author and presenter on undergraduate learning and assessment.

After more than 10 years at CAE, Kevin Kecskes, Associate Vice Provost for Engagement and Director of Community-University Partnerships, will move to the faculty in the Hatfield School of Government in the College of Urban and Public Affairs. After five years in CAE, Leslie McBride, Associate Vice Provost for Teaching, Learning and Assessment, will return to her former faculty position in the School of Community Health in the College of Urban and Public Affairs.