Dale Pike promoted as part of Technology-enhanced Learning and Online Strategies reorganization
Dale Pike, executive director of Technology-enhanced Learning and Online Strategies (TLOS), has been promoted to the rank of associate vice provost and will now report to Executive Vice Provost Don Taylor.
Pike’s promotion comes as part of a strategic shift that moves TLOS from the Division of Information Technology to the Office of the Executive Vice President and Provost.
“As Virginia Tech continues to advance its land-grant mission and apply knowledge gained during the COVID-19 pandemic regarding delivery of instruction, it is essential that we continue to develop and employ our online learning capabilities across our undergraduate and graduate curricula,” said Taylor. “Through Dale’s steady leadership of TLOS and its alignment with the goals, priorities, and existing strengths within the academic enterprise, we will enhance teaching and learning opportunities for our faculty and students.”
As executive director of TLOS since 2014, Pike has overseen the adoption of digital learning platforms including Canvas and Zoom, the development of new models to support fully online graduate programs, and the elevation of accessibility and universal design for learning as core concepts that guide the organization’s work. TLOS played a pivotal role in the university’s successful transition to emergency remote teaching during the COVID-19 pandemic by establishing a Continuity Partners network and providing constant support for synchronous and asynchronous courses.
TLOS offers a broad range of services to support technology-enhanced learning, including course design consultations, program development partnerships, instructional design and media production, software selection and integration assistance, accessibility and universal design for learning services, and professional development offerings to strengthen faculty digital fluency. TLOS is also known for supporting innovative, technology-enhanced teaching through its “sandbox projects,” faculty grants, and the XCaliber Award.
“COVID taught us that carefully designed course flexibility requires significant support,” said Pike. “This reorganization will allow TLOS to serve as a more central resource to colleges and departments as they work to create the online and flexible learning experiences necessary to meet the needs of our current and future students.”
In early 2022, a Flexible/Online Learning Working Group, co-chaired by Pike and Vice Provost for Undergraduate Academic Affairs Rachel Holloway, was charged by Provost Cyril Clarke with assessing the current state of online and distance learning at Virginia Tech and recommending actions to advance the university’s strategic plans. The working group’s visioning process, which included a semester-long engagement with key stakeholders and an external consulting firm, produced a recommendation to situate TLOS as a unit in the provost’s office to facilitate an increased capacity to employ online and flexible learning strategies across the university.
“This reorganization will facilitate collaborations relating to pedagogical and technical needs with academic and information technology colleagues, respectively,” said Taylor.
Some of TLOS’s technical services and personnel will remain in the Division of IT. A unit that supports distance-learning classrooms will be transferred to the Office of the Associate Vice Provost and University Registrar to unify the university’s Classroom A/V Services.
“Our team members have developed strong relationships with our Division of IT and Classroom A/V colleagues,” said Pike. “Sustaining these relationships of trust through intentional communication and collaboration will ensure that faculty and students don’t experience any disruptions in their day-to-day activities. Senior leadership in both the Division of IT and the Office of the Executive Vice President and Provost are committed to this work.”
In his new role as associate vice provost, Pike will partner with academic leadership to plan for and support flexible and fully online courses in undergraduate and graduate programs as part of an overall strategy to support the needs of students.
Pike holds a bachelor’s degree in liberal arts and sciences and a master’s degree in instructional technology from Utah State University. He has led academic and information technology units at Snow College, the University of North Carolina Charlotte, and Boise State University. In addition to serving on the executive boards of Courseware in Context Framework and National University Technology Network, Pike currently is a board member and volunteer coordinator for Blacksburg Refugee Partnership, which supports refugee families resettling in the New River Valley.
