Introduction to OLJ Volume 28, Issue 1

Dr. Peter Shea is a professor at the University at Albany, State University of New York with joint appointments in the Department of Educational Theory and Practice and the Department of Informatics. His research focuses on the development of communities of learners in higher education online environments. Dr. Shea has a long history of publications on the topic of online learning in journals such as Online Learning, Computers and Education, The Internet and Higher Education, IRRODL, and is co-author of the book, The Successful Distance Learning Student. He directs a program of research on online learning that has attracted significant external funding from organizations such as the Alfred P. Sloan Foundation and the US Department of Education. He is the recipient or co-recipient of four national awards including the EDUCAUSE Award for Systemic Improvement in Teaching and Learning and awards from the Sloan Consortium for online and faculty development programs. He is a Sloan-C Fellow in research on online learning and a member of their board of directors. Prior to joining the University at Albany, he was Director of the SUNY Learning Network, one of the largest online higher education systems in the United States with annual student enrollments of more than 100,000.