Speaker: Paul Gaston, the Lumina Foundation and Kent State

The sole Trustees Professor at Kent State, Gaston is a teacher, an author, and speaker on higher education. One of four authors of The Degree Qualifications Profile (2011), published by Lumina Foundation, he has worked with more than 50 colleges and universities in defining what academic degrees mean in terms of learning outcomes. His most recent book, Higher Education Accreditation: How It’s Changing, Why It Must, has just been published (Stylus Publishing, October 2013). Three other recent books are General Education and Liberal Learning (AAC&U, 2010), The Challenge of Bologna: What U.S. Higher Education Has to Learn from Europe and Why It Matters That We Learn It (Stylus Publishing, 2010), and Revising General Education, with Jerry Gaff (AAC&U, 2009). In addition to his work on accreditation, Gaston continues to write on higher education reform internationally and to track issues arising from the reauthorization of the Higher Education Act.  Prior to his appointment as Trustees Professor at Kent State, Gaston served as a dean and provost at institutions in Tennessee, Kentucky, and Ohio. He has served on the boards of AAC&U and the Association of Specialized and Professional Accreditors.  He holds the M.A. and Ph.D. in English from the University of Virginia.

Speaker: Mitchell Nesler, PhD, Empire State College

Vice President of the Center for Planning and Institutional Effectiveness and Interim VP of the Office of Enrollment Management and Student Services. Nesler oversees assessment of student learning and the college's planning and improvement initiatives; oversees institutional research function; and provides support for accreditation reviews.

His background is in outcomes assessment and institutional research, having served in that area at ESC and for nine years at Excelsior College before that. At Excelsior he served on the President's Council, collected and disseminated research findings to senior administration, SUNY System Administration Office, and the academic community. He has been President of the North East Association for Institutional Research and has held leadership roles in the SUNY Association for Institutional Research and Planning Officers and the Association for Institutional Research.

He holds a Ph.D. in psychology from the University at Albany, where he also received his bachelor’s degree.

Speaker: Kim Pearce, Capella University

Kim Pearce is Director of Academic Quality Analytics and Accreditation at Capella University, where she oversees assessment and learning analytics, accreditation, prior learning assessment and learning assistance/supplemental instruction. Kim provided leadership to Transparency by Design/College Choices for Adults, the first public collaboration of colleges and universities that delivered online learning to adults, to public quality indicators such as program-level learning outcomes assessment results, learner satisfaction, and alumni outcomes. She spearheaded the development of Capella’s Learning & Career Outcomes site at capellaresults.com. She recently lead Capella to optimize its curriculum, instructional and assessment systems to offer FlexPath, the first HLC-approved competency-based, direct assessment programs for bachelors and masters level business programs. Kim has a BS from Appalachian State University, an MS from University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill, and is ABD at the University of Minnesota.

Speaker: Sue Talley, Capella University

At Capella, Talley leads all technology degree programs, from bachelor’s to doctoral levels. She has served in a variety of academic leadership positions, including faculty director and associate dean in the School of Undergraduate Studies, responsible for at various times the Instruction Technology, Business, Public Safety, and Nursing programs.

Talley has more than 30 years of management and leadership experience, including nearly a decade in higher education leadership roles. She previously served as Program Director of the Online Master's in Educational Technology program at Pepperdine University and was the Project Director for the PETPrep Project, a Catalyst Grant funded by the Department of Education. She began working with instructional design for educational technology in the 1970’s, working first with K-12 schools in Minnesota. She then spent almost a decade at Apple Computer, integrating technology throughout education. Talley also worked for a variety of non-profit organizations including the National Center for Education and the Economy (NCEE) and Total Information Education Systems (TIES).

Talley holds an MA and EdD in Education with a Specialization in Educational Technology, both from Pepperdine University.

Speaker: James B. Young, Lehigh University

James B. Young is responsible for strategic planning, advancement, and the budget for Library and Technology Services at Lehigh University. He was previously the founding Associate VP for Information Services and CIO at Harrisburg University of Science and Technology, responsible for building and leading all technology and library services: infrastructure, enterprise computing, classroom technologies, faculty development, and student learning assessment. He earned a Ph.D. at George Mason University, a master’s degree at the University of Michigan, and bachelor’s degree in at Michigan State University. Previously, he was employed for ten years at George Mason University where he led initiatives in curriculum development and integration, libraries, learning communities, and assessment. He regularly publishes and presents at professional conferences in the areas of knowledge management, learning communities, authentic assessment, adult learning, technology-across-the-curriculum, and electronic portfolios.

Speaker: Glenn Everett, PhD

Glenn Everett has more than two decades experience as a faculty member and director of learning technologies. At Stonehill College, he was founding Director of the Learning Technology Center. As Director of Instructional Technology at the University of Tennessee at Martin, he was a member of the committee which created Tennessee’s entirely online New College. As a tenured associate professor of English, he taught F2F, hybrid, and online courses.

Everett has served on accreditation teams at UT Martin, where the institution had to demonstrate to SACS the viability of its new initiatives in online learning and instructional technology, and the extensive reorganization of its library. At Stonehill College he was deeply involved in its NEASC reaccreditation. He currently offers consulting services in the areas of strategic planning and accreditation.

Everett holds a PhD from Brown, an MA from George Washington, and a BA from Bucknell.