2019 Leadership Award Recipient

Linda Jorn

Associate Vice Provost for Learning Technologies and Director of Academic Technology, Division of Information Technology, University of Wisconsin–Madison

For pioneering leadership and effectiveness in the area of academic and instructional technologies; for fostering collaborative environments among faculty, technologists, students, and other stakeholders to encourage innovation in academic instruction; for advancing the study and implementation of technology-enhanced learning spaces through her publications and presentations for the broader community of academic technologists.

The 2019 EDUCAUSE Leadership Award recognizes Linda Jorn, Associate Vice Provost for Learning Technologies and Director of Academic Technology, Division of Information Technology (DoIT), at the University of Wisconsin–Madison, in recognition of her visionary contributions to academic and instructional technology, her extraordinary collaborative skills, her dedication to scholarship and community service, and her personalized approach to teaching and mentoring colleagues at all levels. Linda’s thought leadership and exceptional strategic skills have helped to shape academic technology and instructional technologies as we know them today.

Linda has spent much of her career in increasingly significant leadership roles across two large and complex higher education institutions. She has been an innovator in academic technology since her days as a graduate student at the University of Minnesota, where she served as director of a team that established what would become the Digital Media Center—a crucial engine for instructional innovation at the University of Minnesota. Under her leadership, the Digital Media Center gained recognition as an essential partner within the Office of Information Technology for other offices, colleges, and campuses across the University of Minnesota system. She served as Director of the Digital Media Center for more than a decade. In 2006, she helped to bring the active learning classroom paradigm to the University of Minnesota. In 2010, Linda was named Director of Academic Technology Innovation, Office of Information Technology, at the University of Minnesota. Her work was pivotal in establishing the university as a global leader in innovative learning spaces.

In 2011, Linda assumed her current role at the University of Wisconsin–Madison. Here she has created a scholarly, evidence-based culture around digital technology and has played a pivotal role in implementing and promoting the educationally instructive use of information technology. She is adept at establishing partnerships with individual faculty members, academic department leaders, and other campus stakeholders to successfully implement and promote the use of information technology in academic instruction.

Linda’s leadership and influence extend far beyond her university positions. She has dedicated herself to the broader international community of academic technologists. Linda has served or held membership in more than 40 academic technology committees/councils. As a part of the Committee on Institutional Cooperation (now the Big Ten Academic Alliance), she has worked closely with colleagues to pursue interinstitutional collaborations.

She is the author or co-author of more than 30 papers and articles and has given more than 120 presentations on topics including institutional collaboration, leadership, work/life balance, the next-generation learning environment, digital ecosystems, learning analytics, and the impact of technology on teaching and learning. She was the principal investigator or co-investigator on 19 grants worth millions of dollars.

Her contributions to EDUCAUSE includes serving on the EDUCAUSE Nominations Committee, the EDUCAUSE Senior Leadership Roundtable (SLR) Council, the EDUCAUSE Advisory Committee for Teaching and Learning, and the EDUCAUSE Learning Initiative Advisory Board. She also has been an active member of the Council for Independent Colleges (CIC), serving as CIC Learning Technology chair-elect, chair, and chair emeritus. In addition, she has served on ten CIC and national conference and program planning committees. In 2017, Linda was one of only two Americans invited to be a faculty member for the Council of Australasian University Directors of Information Technology (CAUDIT) Leadership Institute, an appointment she will hold through 2021.

Linda’s impact on instructional technologies is profound and far-reaching. She is an insightful, uniquely gifted, and deeply modest leader who takes a personalized approach to coaching and mentoring at all levels. Linda Jorn personifies what it means to be a leader, visionary, innovator, scholar, and entrepreneur in higher education.

This EDUCAUSE Award is sponsored by Moran Technology Consulting, Gold Partner.