Professional Development 

2007 Walton S. Bittner Service Citation

For Outstanding Service to UCEA

The Walton S. Bittner Service Citation, established in 1968, recognizes a member for outstanding contributions to continuing education at his or her institution, and for service of major significance to UCEA. The award was initiated in appreciation of Bittner's long-term commitment as a NUEA executive officer, and in recognition of the devotion with which he served the Association. Bittner was Secretary/ Treasurer of NUEA from 1927-1956.

William T. McCaughan

Dean, Oregon State University
Extended Campus

During a career of more than 30 years spanning three institutions and thousands of miles, Bill McCaughan has been a trailblazer in distance education. He pioneered programs that reached out to underserved populations, including Alaskan villages and Oregon tribes. And in six years at OSU, he put his stamp on Extended Campus.

"Dean McCaughan has succeeded in transforming Oregon State University's adaptation to and acceptance of distance education in ways that have changed how we serve non-resident students-and lifelong learners," says Sabah Randhawa, Provost and Executive Vice President at Oregon State University. "He has led the Extended Campus into the university mainstream."

McCaughan retired from OSU at the end of 2006. Under his watch, Extended Campus online degree program enrollments grew from 800 to approximately 7,500 students from 2001-2004, and continued to grow at an average rate of 20 percent per year thereafter. Ecampus students twice have been recognized by UCEA as outstanding non-traditional students. Meantime, McCaughan actively worked with the tribal Government to Government Education Leaders representing the nine tribes in Oregon, resulting in an initiative to create a state-wide Native American Tribal College, which he will continue to lead in his retirement.

McCaughan has been active in UCEA at the regional and national levels. He served as a member of UCEA's Leadership and Management Commission, and chaired the Distance Learning Community of Practice. In 2005, he and OSU hosted the UCEA West regional conference. His quiet leadership garnered the respect of his peers at every turn.

"Bill has been the consummate professional and soft-spoken gentleman in an arena-namely distance education-where there is often much consternation and not a little disagreement between faculty and administrators," says Richard Novak, Associate Vice President for Continuous Education and Distance Learning at Rutgers University. "Bill has been able to bridge the gap between faculty and administration, serving as a voice of reason and standing up for intellectual rigor. Through his involvement in UCEA, colleagues from all types of institutions and from all areas of the country have been able to benefit from Bill's experience and expertise, freely shared."

Prior to serving at OSU, McCaughan served in the positions of Vice Provost for Outreach and Extended Studies at Texas Tech University and Vice Provost for Outreach and Information Services at Texas Tech University Health Sciences Center. Earlier, he spent 27 years in Alaska, working for 19 of those years with the University of Alaska System. During that time, he oversaw the development of a statewide satellitebased television network, LearnAlaska, which provided educational services for 250 Alaskan Villages.

McCaughan received bachelor's and master's degrees in education from Abilene Christian University in Abilene, Texas, and a second master's degree and doctorate in Adult and Higher Education from Columbia University in New York.