College Hires Instructional Technology/Distance Learning Director

Jennifer McLean began her duties recently as Pennsylvania College of Technology's director of instructional technology and distance learning.

McLean, who was raised in the Chicago suburbs, earned bachelor's degrees in English and biology from Augustana College, Rock Island, Ill., and a master's degree in public health from the University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign. Currently, she is completing a graduate degree in adult education at The Pennsylvania State University.

Previously, McLean developed multimedia and Web-supplemented instructor ancillaries and student study aids for academic publishers, worked as an editor and content expert for several publishers, and taught distance-learning courses in health education at two institutions.

"The integration of technology and the proliferation of distance education over the past several years is a direct indication of where the future of higher education is headed," McLean said. "This is a field where the rules are still being written and the potential is still being discovered. This is an exciting time in an emerging field, and Penn College has approached emerging technology as a tool not a phenomenon. This made Penn College the right place to be at the right time."

McLean succeeds Fred Gilmour, who retired this year after 20 years of service to the College.

McLean resides in Williamsport with her husband, James, and their three sons: Christopher, 10, Erich, 7, and Patrick, 2.