Since 1995, Lawrence C. Ragan has led efforts to integrate new and emerging technologies into a variety of distance learning educational systems at Penn State. As director of faculty development for Penn State's World Campus, Ragan oversees the design and development of professional training systems and services to prepare faculty members teaching online and blended courses. For his contributions, Ragan will be recognized as a Sloan Consortium (Sloan-C) Fellow at the 17th annual Sloan-C International Conference on Online Learning in Orlando, Fla., in November.
The fellowship acknowledges Ragan's national leadership in preparing faculty for online teaching success and for creating innovative approaches to the design of online learning environments. The consortium is a professional leadership organization that works to integrate online education into the mainstream of higher education.
The Sloan-C Fellows Program started in 2009, and the first Fellows were chosen in 2010. The second class of five Fellows has been selected for this professional distinction, which is based on demonstrated outstanding and extraordinary qualifications, contributions or leadership in the field of online learning, significant experience in online learning and a record of distinguished service to Sloan-C or the field.
Ragan has worked extensively with technologies in education since joining Penn State in 1984. Prior to the launch of World Campus in 1998 and continuing to the present, he has coordinated the design, development, delivery and evaluation of online instructional materials.
Ragan has shared his scholarship and expertise in online teaching and learning through publications, keynote presentations at national and international conferences and workshops. In 2009, Ragan was honored with the EDUCAUSE Institute Faculty Service Award for his participation in the design, development and delivery of the institute's Learning Technology Leadership program. Since 2009 he has co-directed the Institute for Emerging Leadership in Online Learning, a blended-learning leadership development program sponsored by Penn State and Sloan-C.
Penn State World Campus specializes in adult online education, delivering more than 70 of Penn State's most highly regarded graduate, undergraduate and professional education programs through convenient online formats. Founded in 1998, Penn State World Campus is the University's 25th campus serving more than 8,500 students in all 50 states and around the world. World Campus is part of Penn State Outreach, the largest unified outreach organization in American higher education. Penn State Outreach serves more than 5 million people each year, delivering more than 2,000 programs to people in all 67 Pennsylvania counties, all 50 states and 114 countries worldwide.