Novak, Wiltenburg To Commence Leadership Terms

From the March 2007 Issue of InFocus

Richard Novak begins his term as UCEA President in April.

UCEA President-Elect Rich Novak believes continuity has much to do with success. Novak’s active participation in the Association—and close work with UCEA President Barbara Scott—has readied him for his upcoming term, which begins after the Association’s 92nd Annual Conference in April.

"I feel extremely optimistic and energized about my term as President of UCEA," says Novak. "Because there has been a collaborative development of initiatives among the Association’s officers in the last few years, this means that I, in my Presidency, have an opportunity to build on those activities in a major way that would not otherwise be possible in any single year," he explains.

Novak, Associate Vice President for Continuous Education and Distance Learning at Rutgers University, was UCEA Membership Chair and a member of the Board of Directors. He was awarded the Walton S. Bittner Service Citation for "Imaginative Leadership in the Advancement of Continuing Education and Distinguished Service to the Association" in 2004.

In Novak’s view, there has never been a better time to be a member of UCEA. "While clearly our profession faces many challenges, we are seeing developments in higher education that are well-suited to responses from the world of continuing education," he continues. "We had the opportunity to discuss some of these during the Strategic Visioning process over the course of the last year and several are highlighted in the Strategic Visioning document. At the same time that there are opportunities in our field, UCEA will be rolling out several new programs and services, all of which are quite exciting and engaging."

Launching New Initiatives

Among Novak’s several objectives to advance in the coming year, forming a new fourth Commission focused on International Affairs tops the list. The Commission will hold its first meeting at the end of the Annual Conference in Vancouver. In addition, the Association plans to hold a second joint Forum with the Chinese Continuing Education Association (CCEA). This Forum will take place in Beijing China in early November 2007.

"We will also continue following through on the results of the strategic visioning process. That will include a needs assessment of professional members and an evaluation of different professional development activities, such as the Executive Assembly," he explains.

Novak is spearheading a movement to integrate new technology into the membership experience. "I am perhaps most jazzed about the roll out of a community building portal that will encourage networking among UCEA members in a completely online member community. This state-of-the-art, outsourced solution will include all of the features with which social networking participants are familiar. We hope to support the work of committees, Commissions, Communities of Practice and the Board through the various functions available. It will hopefully become the professional version of MySpace for Continuing Education professionals."

Novak is an associate member of the graduate faculty in Adult and Continuing Education at Rutgers. He provides leadership for a complex system of continuing education units, distance learning and off-campus learning facilities. He directs RutgersOnline, the centralized home for all University online instruction, and is also responsible for operations of the University Inn and Conference Center and the Center for Continuing Professional Development. Novak is a graduate of Rutgers College and holds an Ed.D. from Rutgers University, Graduate School of Education.

This President-Elect is not shy about lauding the Association he will soon lead. "UCEA is a tremendous supportive network of extremely knowledgeable professionals who seek to build this field, this profession, in a collaborative and collegial way," he says. "I believe at the heart of what we do is concern for good teaching and learning, and UCEA represents a commitment to those goals and a dedication to making it happen."

Wiltenburg Chosen as President-Elect

Robert Wiltenburg begins his term as UCEA President-Elect in April.

Robert Wiltenburg, Ph.D., Dean of University College and an Associate Dean in Arts and Sciences at Washington University in St. Louis, will begin serving as UCEA’s President- Elect in April.

"I’m honored, humbled, and eager to work with Rich Novak and the rest of the Board and others throughout the Association. It’s an unusually interesting time to be in CE, and UCEA needs to be ever more effective in helping all of us come to grips with the challenges and opportunities posed by many important changes in technology, work and living patterns, immigration and social mobility, and an emerging global economy and global culture," says Wiltenburg

Wiltenburg has been Dean at Washington University since 1996. He received the Missouri Governors Award for Teaching Excellence, and continues to regularly teach literature from Shakespeare to Milton, as well as humanities for first-year medical school students. He earned a bachelor’s degree in English in 1968 from Cornell University in Ithaca, N.Y., a master’s degree and a doctoral degree, both in English and both from the University of Rochester in New York.

"What has prepared me best for this role is service on a commission, followed by three years on the Board as Treasurer, grappling with the issues before the Association. I’ve learned from the presidents and others on those Boards, and from our exemplary Association staff," he says.

Among Wiltenburg’s agenda items are to continue improving the Association’s research capabilities and products, add value to the members through partnerships, and help articulate national policies of most concern to CE.

"A particular interest of mine is the reviving and growing conversation about liberal learning, and its possible complementarity and convergence with professional and vocational education," he says. "I want to listen to as many members as possible over the next year to see what issues, both within and beyond the Association, they feel need to be addressed."