Drexel University Online will honor faculty and professional staff for their outstanding contributions to online learning during the sixth annual National Distance Learning Week (NDLW) ceremony on November 8, 2012 from 4:00 p.m. to 7:30 p.m. Richard Grandrino, professor of Engineering Management and Chris Morse, program manager of Engineering Management, will accept the “Outstanding Online Instructor Award” and the “Outstanding Online Professional Staff Award” respectively in the Great Court of the Main Building.
Chris Morse has worked as the administrative assistant for Engineering Management and College of Engineering Online since April 2009. “For the past six months I’ve been working with faculty to transition the entire Engineering Management curriculum from Vista to Blackboard Learn. This was a great challenge, but also an opportunity to institute established best practices in course design and improve our offerings,” Morse says. “Drexel University has long been a leader in distance education, so to be included in this awards ceremony is a great honor.”
Richard Grandrino has been teaching in the Engineering Management Department since 1994 and considers Drexel his “home away from home” after graduating from the university with a B.S. in mechanical engineering and later an MBA. “As an instructor, I am responsible for development and delivery of the entire Quantitative Analysis core curriculum, with which all Engineering Management Master’s degree students engage. I have been teaching on line since 2001. It is a different paradigm from face to face classes, but an extremely high quality program as Drexel has one of the best on line programs in the country,” Grandrino says. “My Drexel education, which is second to none, has provided me with the skills necessary to work productively in the field of engineering. I have also learned to be a quality instructor and as I strive to teach my students in the same way that I was taught; providing the students with knowledge and skills to be successful in their careers. I am honored to receive this award as it is a reflection of my ability as an instructor with a great university. I am both proud and grateful to be a Drexel alumni as well as a valued instructor. I am also thankful to work in the Engineering Management department. It has been a pleasure to work with such professional people in this department and I appreciate the opportunity that they have given me.”
Created in 2007, NDLW is officially sponsored by the United States Distance Learning Association. NDLW seeks to celebrate the tremendous growth and accomplishments occurring today in distance learning education, while showing appreciation to those who make an indelible mark in the field and with students. This year’s national honoree and keynote speaker is Karen Cator, director of the Office of Educational Technology at the U.S. Department of Education.
All faculty, professional staff and students are invited to attend the event and must RSVP by no later than October 31, 2012 by going to www.drexel.com/NDLW.