Victoria Lowell
Purdue University

I am Victoria Lynn Lowell and I have over two decades of experience in education, leadership, educational technologies, and distance learning. As an active member of AECT and the Division of Distance Learning (DDL), I have been involved in many aspects of AECT and DDL including assisting at and planning for conferences, reviewing proposals for and presenting at conferences, attending Summer Leadership, and organizing and leading the awards for the Division of Distance Learning as an elected DDL Board member.

My position on the DDL Board as the Awards Manager provided me with tremendous experience and insight into our division’s needs. In this 3-year position, I have been heavily involved in the implementation of the AECT strategic plan within our division as well as rewriting division policies and procedures pertaining to the roles of DDL officers. As the Awards Manager, I streamlined the award processes, improved the award communications, and built the infrastructure for the award processes and for historical purposes.

AECT and the Division of Distance Learning are experiencing tremendous growth. With this growth, comes new needs for our Division; I have a strong desire to be a leader supporting our member’s needs and making a difference in our field.  I plan to facilitate communication about and between AECT programs, increase AECT membership specifically within the Division of Distance Learning, and continue the Division of Distance Learning’s and AECT’s mission for excellence in scholarship. I will bring energy, dedication, and many years of experience to this role.

I am very conscious of the need to continue to increase AECT membership and to continue providing excellent programs for the Division of Distance Learning’s current and new members. It is my desire to help further the existing work of the DDL Board by increasing professional development opportunities for students and professionals through mentoring and collaborations. Working closely with AECT leadership, I will assist in increasing the visibility and promotion of AECT, encouraging participation in AECT events and scholarship to meet the changing needs of distance learning and instruction using technology. As an example, I am serving currently as one of the three editors of ‘What the e-Learning Leader Needs to Know: Leading and Managing E-Learning’, a book project between the AECT Division of Distance Learning and Springer Publishing, which will help administrators make distance learning programmatic decisions based on the research and best practices conducted by our members.

My education will be an asset to this position. I earned a Ph.D. in Education, with a dual concentration in Distance Education and Higher Education Research & Institutional Planning and Masters of Education in Educational Technology. I also hold various education and technology certifications and certificates. In my current position, I serve as the convener and as a faculty member for Purdue University’s fully online Master’s program in Learning Design and Technology.  

My current and past roles as a professor, program convener, instructional designer, curriculum specialist, and middle school and high school educator combined with various leadership positions including a university Director of Professional Licensure programs, Director of Instructional Technologies and Continuing Education Programs and Editor and Chief of a journal have helped me prepare for this AECT leadership position. I plan to use my experience and skills to assist the Division of Distance Learning in meeting our mission and I'm eager to leverage my involvement with the planning, development, implementation, administration, and evaluation of a wide variety of programs serving AECT members and the Division of Distance Learning.

I would sincerely appreciate your support of my election to this position with the AECT Division of Distance Learning.

Victoria L. Lowell, Ph.D.
Purdue University