Keith Bailey, a leader in online learning with a track record of innovation and collaboration, has been named the dean of online learning and continuing professional education at West Virginia University, effective June 30, 2016.

“We are so excited to bring Dr. Bailey into this new role at the university,” said Provost Joyce McConnell. “He has an infectious energy and enthusiasm. He is not going to sit still and he will energize his team from the get-go.”

In the newly-configured position that Bailey will step into this summer, he will be responsible for developing innovative academic online programming at the university, along with face-to-face instruction for undergraduate and graduate degree programs and continuing professional education programs and certifications.

Through WVU Online and Extended Campus, West Virginia University currently offers 34 graduate degrees and certificates delivered in an online, blended, or off-campus format. At the undergraduate level, there are three undergraduate degree completion programs and two certificates. A fourth degree, early childhood development, is expected to be offered next year. The university also offers more than 200 extended learning courses in areas ranging from professional training, creative arts and photography to information technology and forensic science. The majority of these courses are offered online but there are notable exceptions, including three courses on the craft beer industry.

“As a land-grant institution, we are committed to providing access to higher education,” McConnell said. “That means offering robust and exciting online and continuing education programming, and it’s why Dr. Bailey is such a good choice for WVU going forward. He has vision, experience and a track record of relationship-building.”

Bailey is currently the director of the Office of Online Learning at the University of Georgia. Under his leadership, the office has seen a 166% increase in online line programs and certificate offerings and a 136% increase in summer online course enrollments over the last few years. Before joining the administration at UGA, Dr. Bailey held various positions in online learning at the Pennsylvania State University. He served two interrelated roles within the College of Arts and Architecture: assistant dean for online learning and educational technology and director of the e-Learning Institute. These roles enabled him to serve as a leader and collaborator on several university-wide councils with the charge of identifying, planning, and proposing solutions for key leadership challenges as they related to online learning initiatives for the university.

At both Penn State and UGA, Bailey has collaborated with other units to champion the growth of new initiatives while fostering and inspiring innovative and creative approaches for the delivery of instruction. He has overseen the creation of three start-up online learning units, the development of award-winning open source pedagogical tools, and the establishment of online continuous quality improvement processes.

Now he is looking forward to taking on leadership of online learning and continuing professional education at West Virginia University.

“I am honored to become a part of the WVU community and excited to be able to leverage my previous experiences as we collaborative expand the university’s land-grant mission by increasing access and opportunity through online education,” Bailey said.

In announcing Bailey’s new role, McConnell also took the opportunity to thank Associate Provost for Undergraduate Education Sue Day-Perroots for establishing the unit Bailey will oversee. Day-Perroots was the founding dean of Extended Learning at WVU and she guided the creation of an umbrella unit—Academic Innovation, which was established in 2013 to encompass extended and online learning, continuing professional education, and the Teaching and Learning Commons. As the assistant vice president of Academic Innovation, Day-Perroots forged partnerships with schools and colleges that brought national recognition for WVU in distance education and summer session programming.

“Dr. Day-Perroots is a visionary,” McConnell said. “She and her staff built a strong foundation for the next leader of this unit—Dr. Bailey—and we cannot thank them enough.”

-WVU-

ac/4/21/16

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