Deborah Keyek-Franssen is the UO’s new Associate Vice Provost for UO Online and Continuing and Professional Education. She comes to Oregon from the University of Utah, where she served as associate vice president and dean of University Connected Learning. She previously worked at the University of Colorado as associate vice president for digital education and engagement and in academic technology.
Deb earned her bachelor’s degree in German from Dartmouth College and was awarded two master’s degrees — one in in Germanic Languages and Literatures, the other in Higher and Postsecondary Education — from the University of Michigan, where she also completed a Ph.D. in Germanic Languages and Literatures and received a graduate certificate in Women’s Studies.
Q. Welcome to the University of Oregon. How was the move and how do you like Eugene so far?
I've had such a warm welcome from the UO community and from friends who are connecting me to people in Eugene. I’m excited for this new chapter, and I love that it’s going to be a green and bike- and walk-friendly chapter. I moved into a new building in the River District, which means I can walk or bike to work. That slower pace has been a great way to get to know Eugene and the campus.
Q. Have you had a chance to do much exploring?
Yes! I’ve gotten to the coast a few times, in search of broad horizons and fish and chips. Next up on the exploration checklist will be the mountains and the Aviation & Space Museum in McMinnville. I’ve ridden the river trails by bike on a brilliant fall afternoon, and that was lovely. I’m especially grateful to the UO Online and CPE team, who have created a campus and Eugene scavenger hunt for me, which is helping me learn more about this wonderful place.
Q. How did you develop an interest in online and continuing education?
I've had a somewhat unusual career path. I started in the humanities and moved into IT. But even when I was in humanities and doing a master’s program in education, I was a power user of technology. I always loved teaching, learning design, and how to effectively use technology to support students and enhance their learning.
Then it just evolved from there. As I moved into education technology, I began learning how we use technology tools in higher education, including those in classrooms, to enhance learning or to make teaching easier and learning (and teaching!) more fun.
I'm especially impressed that UO has excellent teams of experts in learning design and continuing education that stand at the ready to help faculty take their content knowledge, and their care of students, and really transform what they have into something special that can increase access to UO.
Q. What would you like faculty members to know about UO Online and Continuing and Professional Education? How does it fit into the mission of the University of Oregon?
The UO is one of the best universities in the world. It has faculty who are the tops in their fields. What I'd like to do is expand access to the learning opportunities they create, because most people in the world can't make it to Eugene. But with intentional design, we can take our faculty to the regional community and to the world. That increased access to, that extension of the knowledge that the university is creating and curating is, for me, a creative and invigorating fulfillment of the mission of a great university.
I want to acknowledge that the pandemic was hard, and redesigning courses is hard, but we have experts in UO Online and Continuing and Professional Education who can redesign courses for degree-seeking students, as well as non-credit students. It’s all about providing access to the whole world to the wonderful faculty we have here.
Q. What goals do you have for your department?
The first few months are going to be listening and learning and understanding capabilities and capacity of the campus and of the UO Online and CPE teams. I envision increased access, growth in both online and continuing education, but that all starts with strengthening the partnerships that are already there, on- and off-campus, and creating new ones, and encouraging deans and chairs and faculty toexplore new audiences and methods of education. It is an inherent benefit to faculty’s on-campus teaching to gain a new audience for their teaching and their scholarship. There are a multitude of benefits to participating in and rethinking programs for different audiences, whether it’s degree-seeking students or non-credit students.
I hope I can get people as excited as I am about where we can go together.
If I were to write a tagline for what I envision, it would be along the lines of: Providing lifelong learning for Ducks around the world.
Q. How would you describe your leadership style?
I’m open – as transparent as I can be – collaborative, creative, quirky, a storyteller. Most importantly, I get stuff done. There is energy and passion behind everything I do, because I care so deeply about people, whether they’re on my team or not, whether they are students or faculty or community members. That care and that passion means I'm always driven to get things done, to provide benefit to the university.
Q: What do you like to do in your free time?
You might not see academic diplomas on my office wall, but you may spy my black belt certificate in Shotokan karate. It’s been 20 years since I got my black belt. Being a part of a dojo has been as much about establishing deep friendships as it has been about the practice of a martial art.
I like karate because it trains my body and my mind. When you are a karate student, you're always learning, your techniques are always corrected, and you have to commit to and embrace a learner’s mindset. That mindset has served me well my professional career.
UO Online can help translate your expertise in the classroom into expertise teaching online. We support all aspects of online teaching and course design: from assignment scaffolding and page design to video production and Canvas support.