Welcomes Inaugural Dean of Online and Digital Learning and City College
Dr. Paul Cesarini will expand educational access through online programs and City College, an incubator for workforce development
(NEW ORLEANS – August 16, 2021) welcomes Dr. Paul Cesarini as the inaugural Dean of Online and Digital Learning and City College. In this role, he will work to further establish Loyola as a regional leader in online education and expand the availability of creative hybrid programs, particularly in business and law.
He will also spearhead the launch and development of City College, a planned incubator program that will greatly expand educational access and opportunity for the region through workforce development partnerships, continuing education and certificate programs.
“As our region works its way through economic disruption incurred by the pandemic, the availability of online degree programs and continuing education opportunities is more essential than ever,” said Dr. Tanuja Singh, Ph.D., provost and vice president of academic affairs. “The future of work lies in leveraging resources, technology and creative learning opportunities to up-skill and re-skill our workforce, so that we can meet new needs and market demand.”
Dr. Cesarini comes to Loyola from Bowling Green State University where he serves as the Assistant Vice Provost of Summer and Online Programs. He began his academic career at Bowling Green and has held various academic and administrative positions in his 25 years there. As Assistant Vice Provost, Dr. Cesarini helped create Bowling Green’s eCampus, a unit designed specifically to recruit and retain post-traditional students in fully online degree programs.
Under his leadership, the eCampus grew to roughly 2,600 fully online students, with another 600-700 or so students enrolled in hybrid programs. He is a tenured full professor at Bowling Green and prior to his appointment as Assistant Vice Provost, he served as the Executive Director for the Center of Faculty Excellence and as Department Chair in the College of Technology.
A strong believer in ensuring pathways for career advancement for post-traditional students, Dr. Cesarini helped ensure that Bowling Green’s eCampus provided educational options for those students who are balancing work and personal responsibilities while looking to change or recharge their existing careers.
Dr. Cesarini is particularly proud of the fact that the eCampus recruited and graduated a high percentage of active-duty military and students from underrepresented groups.
Originally from the Boston area, Dr. Cesarini received his doctorate from Bowling Green and his Master’s and Bachelor’s degrees from University of Massachusetts, Dartmouth. His scholarly work includes numerous peer-reviewed journal articles, conference proceedings, invited presentations, and conference presentations. He has written for The Chronicle of Higher Education, Inside Higher Ed, EDUCAUSE Review, and the Encyclopedia of Education and Information Technologies. He will join Loyola in mid-September.