Online Learning Consortium Names Kathleen Ives CEO and Executive Director
FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE
On the heels of the rebranding of the Sloan Consortium to the Online Learning Consortium (OLC), this appointment signifies OLC’s firm commitment to its mission of helping member institutions advance the quality of their online learning initiatives.
NEWBURYPORT, Mass. (July 21, 2014) — The Online Learning Consortium (OLC), formerly The Sloan Consortium, today announced its board of directors has named Kathleen Ives, D.M., as the Consortium’s Chief Executive Officer and Executive Director. This appointment and the new organization name signify an ongoing commitment to advance the OLC’s mission of helping member institutions launch and sustain high-quality online learning initiatives, and to collaborate globally with other leading organizations serving the higher education community.
Dr. Ives assumes this leadership role after serving as interim CEO and Executive Director since last October. She came to OLC in 2005, and served as Associate Executive Director and Chief Operating Officer, responsible for overseeing the organization’s operations as well as facilitating workshops in higher education online best practices.
“Kathleen has demonstrated exceptional leadership since becoming interim CEO and Executive Director last fall,” said Joel Hartman, president, OLC Board of Directors. “She has skillfully led the recent transition of Sloan-C to OLC. Her deep experience and understanding of our members’ complex needs will ensure the continued advancement of the Consortium and expansion of our services, as well as the constituencies we serve.”
Under Dr. Ives’ direction, many new and successful initiatives have been initiated this year, including:
- Advanced Online Teaching Certificate Program
- New Mastery Series Programs (Spatial Thinking/Web Mapping, Nursing and Online Labs)
- Rollout of a revised OLC Quality Scorecard for U.S. online programs with more indicators
- Creation of a Spanish version of OLC’s Quality Scorecard to measure Latin American programmatic quality
- New partnerships with CREAD and Whitney International to develop and facilitate OLC Institute programs throughout Latin America
- Introduction of the Global Online Higher Education Report (GlobalOHER) in partnership with five leading international higher education and intergovernmental organizations to undertake the first-ever research effort focused on the global impact of online learning
Additionally, she serves as faculty for the Institute for Emerging Leadership in Online Learning (sponsored by Penn State and OLC) and on the Leadership Advisory Board for the Center for Learning Innovations & Customized Knowledge Solutions (CLICKS).
Prior to OLC, Dr. Ives oversaw all forms of alternative instruction at Quinsigamond Community College in Worcester, Massachusetts (distance learning, accelerated programming) and has taught in on-ground, online, and blended modalities for several universities.
Dr. Ives has extensive corporate experience focused on transitioning traditional business models with new technologies. She began her career at CBS and helped to develop the online information service that evolved into Prodigy. She then spent 14 years designing and implementing consumer online information services, first at AT&T and then at Verizon where she spearheaded the development of the nation’s first online Yellow Pages product, now called Superpages.com.
She has degrees in communication, communication management, and organizational leadership from the University of California at Davis, the University of Southern California, Annenberg School of Communication, and the University of Phoenix-Online, respectively.
About Online Learning Consortium
The Online Learning Consortium (OLC), formerly The Sloan Consortium, is the leading professional organization devoted to advancing the quality of online learning worldwide. The member-sustained organization offers an extensive set of resources for professional development and institutional advancement of online learning, including, original research, leading-edge instruction, best-practice publications, community-driven conferencesand expert guidance. OLC members include educators, administrators, trainers and other online learning professionals, as well as educational institutions, professional societies and corporate enterprises. Visit http://onlinelearningconsortium.org/ for more information.
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