Ubell appointed Dean for Online Learning at Stevens

At all levels of learning today, Internet education is revolutionizing not only the way knowledge is delivered, but also the way students learn. Universities build virtual environments that serve the learning needs of students here at home and to thousands abroad. Acknowledging the wide scope and importance of online learning, Stevens Institute of Technology has appointed Robert Ubell to the new position of Dean for Online Learning and Corporate Development in its Graduate School. (Please visit the WebCampus site at webcampus.stevens.edu.)

Robert Ubell arrived at Stevens in 1999 to guide WebCampus through its initial development. "In his first two years as head of WebCampus," remarked Stevens Graduate School Vice President Joseph J. Moeller, Jr., "Ubell established a robust infrastructure, worked closely with the deans and directors to implement online versions of academic programs and e-learning seminars, and received grants from the Sloan Foundation, the Institute of Electrical and Electronic Engineers and New Jersey Virtual University."

Stevens President Harold J Raveche added, "WebCampus is among our most exciting and adventurous initiatives."

Ubell established relationships with a wide range of professional associations to co-sponsor and market WebCampus courses. He also pursued collaborations with several sister institutions of higher learning.

In its initial phase, WebCampus delivered graduate programs entirely online to nearly 200 students across the United States and in several countries. "Students learn and participate from wherever they are," says Ubell, who notes that many corporations find the WebCampus a particularly valuable service. Employees can further their education without the need for corporations to build brick-and-mortar classrooms. All that is necessary is a standard PC with a good Internet connection. Entering the virtual classroom any day of the week or at any time, students can participate at home, at work, even while traveling.

A unique aspect of the Stevens WebCampus is the personalized tailoring of curricula that is available to corporate clients, to meet the targeted needs of managers, engineers, and other personnel.

Ubell launched the school's e-learning unit with three online courses. Today, it offers 27 e-courses in seven graduate certificates plus an online master's degree. A non-credit service, Professional e-Seminars, begins this fall with at least four classes. More than 500 WebCampus enrollments are expected in the next academic year.

Ubell has held a number of prominent positions in publishing, including American Publisher of Nature, one of the world's most distinguished scholarly periodicals; editor of The Sciences, National Magazine Award-winning publication of The New York Academy of Sciences; and founding publisher of the premier journal, Nature Biotechnology. Earlier, he was editor-in-chief of Plenum Publishing Corporation.

Quoted frequently in the press, Ubell is the author of nearly 50 articles, including three recently on online education in IEEE Spectrum, ALN Magazine, and Educause Quarterly. He is the author or editor of more than 10 books and series for such noted publishers as Oxford and Cambridge University Presses, Macmillan, and John Wiley & Sons.

As an Internet executive, Ubell was president of the giant website BioMedNet and head of new media for the technical publisher Marcel Dekker. In the 1980s, he ran his own print and electronic consulting firm.

About Stevens Institute of Technology

Founded in 1870, Stevens Institute of Technology is one of the leading technological universities in the world dedicated to learning and research. Through its broad-based curricula, nurturing of creative inventiveness, and cross disciplinary research, the Institute is at the forefront of global challenges in engineering, science, and technology management. Partnerships and collaboration between, and among, business, industry, government and other universities contribute to the enriched environment of the Institute. A new model for technology commercialization in academe, known as Technogenesis®, involves external partners in launching business enterprises to create broad opportunities and shared value.

Stevens offers baccalaureates, master’s and doctoral degrees in engineering, science, computer science and management, in addition to a baccalaureate degree in the humanities and liberal arts, and in business and technology. The university has a total enrollment of 2,150 undergraduate and 3,500 graduate students, with about 250 full-time faculty. Stevens’ graduate programs have attracted international participation from China, India, Southeast Asia, Europe and Latin America. Additional information may be obtained from its web page at www.stevens.edu.  

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