Dr. Barbara Frey has announced her retirement, and her last day at Pitt will be Feb. 20.  Barbara has been part of our University community for more than 19 years, joining Pitt in 2000. She holds bachelor’s, master’s and doctorate degrees in Education, and has held increasingly responsible positions in instructional design and faculty development here in our Center. Barbara has been involved in working with faculty on the design and development of both traditional and online courses, and her work has resulted in award-winning programs and courses, particularly in the online arena. During her tenure, she has mentored dozens of instructional designers and faculty developers working within the Pitt community, and contributed to the teaching success of hundreds of Pitt faculty with whom she has worked.

Dr. Lorna Kearns will be stepping down from her director role, effective the end of February. Lorna has served the University in several capacities over the years, first as a user consultant and then director of computing services in LRDC, and later as an instructional designer, director of Online Programs and finally Director of Next Generation Learning Initiatives at the Teaching Center. During her career, she also worked for Carnegie Mellon as Director of the Master of Science in Information Technology program in the Heinz College, and as an adjunct professor in Heinz. Under Lorna’s leadership, we have not only built solid online programs meeting the needs of hundreds of remote students, and launched MOOCs that have brought Pitt content to thousands around the world, we have also started the Course Incubator initiative, which is having a positive impact on thousands of students in our large enrollment courses. In her new role, Lorna will continue to oversee the Course Incubator initiative and the Large Enrollment Faculty Learning Community. She will also undertake a number of strategically aligned special projects.