American Distance Education Consortium (ADEC) Names University of Florida's Ian Tebbett, Ph.D., as President and CEO

GAINESVILLE, Fla., July 11, 2013 /PRNewswire/ -- The American Distance Education Consortium (ADEC) has appointed Ian Tebbett, Ph.D., director of University of Florida's world-renowned online Forensic Science program, as its new president and CEO.

UF's Forensic Science program won ADEC's Award for Excellence in 2006. Four years later, Ian Tebbett, a professor with the UF College of Pharmacy, was recognized by the U.S. Distance Learning Association for his outstanding leadership in the advancement of distance learning through online technology. In 2011, he received the Irving Award, ADEC's highest honor for innovators within distance education.

With Tebbett's direction and passion for online learning, UF's online Forensic Science program has graduated more than 1,000 students from 33 different countries since 2000. "Stepping into this position is a great opportunity to share the growth and success we've had not only at the University of Florida, but also with many institutions across the consortium," said Tebbett.

"Distance learning programs often face heavy scrutiny from the public, but the academic leaders represented by this consortium are making strides to establish best practices to ensure that the learning outcomes in online education today are the same or superior to those in face-to-face classes," said Tebbett, who has grown the online program from two courses in 2000 to five master's degrees and six certificates today.

Tebbett succeeded Jan Poley, professor emeritus at University of Nebraska-Lincoln, who retired as president and CEO on July 1, 2013. Tebbett has served on ADEC's Board of Directors since 2009. He is also the director of University of Florida's Pharmaceutical Chemistry program and a professor in the College of Veterinary Medicine. He has previously held faculty positions at the University of Strathclyde in Scotland and the University of Illinois at Chicago. Throughout his career, Tebbett has worked as a consultant for many international law enforcement agencies, and his research has been widely recognized within the field of forensic science. 

"I am honored to take on this leadership role with ADEC. I look forward to working with all of our members in the consortium to preserve the integrity of the association and expand the reach of our mission," said Tebbett. "I hope to continue the outstanding work of Jan Poley in distance education by expanding the reach and collaboration of ADEC members nationally and internationally. We will be the same higher education consortium for distance learning with a collective commitment to achieve our growing aspirations."

About ADEC

ADEC is a nonprofit distance education consortium with members from state universities and land-grant colleges. The consortium's members collaborate to gather research; identify developments, initiatives and trends; as well as share worldwide best practices for online learning. ADEC also provides teaching and learning models that are designed for active and effective learning through high-quality distance education.

For more information about ADEC, please visit the website at www.adec.edu.

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SOURCE ADEC