Dr. Cindy Ives has a long history in the Canadian post-secondary world as an instructor, educational developer, researcher, distance educator and course developer, academic administrator and evaluation consultant. She began her university career at Laurentian University in 1988 and has since worked at Concordia University in Montreal, teaching graduate courses both online and in person. As well, she was a faculty developer in teaching and learning services and an administrator in instructional multi-media services at McGill University for a number of years. Cindy joined Athabasca University in 2007, and after positions in educational media development, learning design and development, also held the interim positions of Associate Vice President Academic and Vice President Academic.

During her career at AU, Dr. Ives has been a key player in many of the AU’s innovative online and open initiatives, including MOOCs, Open Education Resources, course and program development and evaluation, digital learning resources and learning analytics. She has been responsible for a variety of academic units responsible for student and academic services, including Faculties, Library and Scholarly Resources, web services, Learning Support Services and a range of learning and teaching projects designed to enhance the student experience. She is now full professor of Distance Education at Athabasca University, where she teaches courses at the masters and doctoral levels. Her current research projects focus on organizational change in Canadian universities adopting online learning, and in women and leadership in higher education.

Cindy’s educational background includes a PhD in Educational Technology from Concordia University and a Master of Arts in Canadian Studies and Bachelor of Arts in English from Carleton University. She is currently President of the Canadian Network for Innovation in Education (CNIE) and Vice President of the AMTEC Trust.