SLN → SUNY Online Historical Archive
Historical Documentation & Records
This archive preserves the detailed historical record of system-wide online education at the State University of New York, documenting the evolution of the SUNY Learning Network (SLN) to Open SUNY and ultimately to SUNY Online and SUNY Online Teaching.
The materials collected here provide institutional memory, scholarly context, and administrative provenance for the models, practices, leadership structures, and research agendas that shaped online teaching and learning across SUNY over more than three decades.
This archive complements—but is distinct from—the narrative history and overview pages elsewhere on the site. It is intended as an authoritative reference for researchers, faculty, instructional designers, administrators, and partners.
Phases of System-Wide Online Education at SUNY
The evolution of SLN to SUNY Online can be understood through four overlapping phases, each shaped by distinct system-level objectives and conditions:
- 1994–2006 — Innovation → Proof of Concept → Operations
Primary objective: Understanding what works in large-scale online teaching and learning. - 2006–2014 — Institutionalization
Primary objective: Embedding effective practices, roles, and processes across the SUNY system. - 2014–2018 — Scalability
Primary objective: Expanding capacity and coordination across institutions. - 2018–Present — Sustainability
Primary objective: Ensuring long-term quality, resilience, and continuous improvement.
These phases provide essential context for interpreting organizational changes, leadership transitions, funding decisions, and platform migrations over time.
Founding Context and Early Funding
The SUNY Learning Network was originally housed at Empire State College (ESC) and emerged from a collaboration between campus leadership and SUNY System Administration. ESC President Jim Hall and ESC Center for Learning and Technology Director Lowell Roberts held dual roles at the campus and system levels, enabling early system-wide coordination.
The initial SLN initiative was supported through multiple grants from the Alfred P. Sloan Foundation, totaling approximately $4.1 million, representing one of the Foundation’s largest cumulative investments in online higher education at the time. Frank Mayadas and Ralph Gomory were key supporters and long-standing allies of the SLN effort.
The first Sloan-funded year (1994–1995) focused on research and development and operated briefly under the name Mid Hudson Regional Learning Network (MHRLN).
Expanded Chronological Timeline
1994–1995 — Research & Development
Objective: Understanding what works
- Initial Sloan-funded research and development period
- First participating campuses: Empire State College and SUNY New Paltz
- Early faculty teams included members from Dutchess, Ulster, Rockland, and Sullivan counties
- Initial leadership, instructional design, and technical teams established
1995–1999 — Model Synthesis and Early Scale
Objective: Assessing scalability
- Fall 1995: First SLN courses offered using Lotus Notes groupware.
- Initial enrollments: 58 students (Fall 1995); 119 students during the 1995–1996 academic year.
- Transition to web-based student access via Notes/Domino and Netscape browsers.
- Fall 1996: First online course template implemented.
- 1996: Faculty development and course design processes formalized, published, and implemented for large-scale consistency and quality.
-
1996: The Multimedia Instructional Designer (MID) role formally defined (later evolving into the Instructional Designer role).
1999–2006 — Full-Scale Production
Objective: Institutionalization
- Expansion to thousands of faculty and hundreds of instructional designers across SUNY.
- Establishment of a systematic longitudinal research agenda using the Community of Inquiry (CoI) framework.
- 1998: Launch of the annual SLN SOLSummit, continuing to the present
- 2000–2001: Hosting of Sloan-funded ALN Summer Workshops at Sagamore, Lake George.
2006–2014 — Migration and Maturity
Objective: Sustainability
- Migration from Lotus Notes to the ANGEL learning management system. (2006-2009)
- Approximately 5,000 faculty trained; an estimated 10% of SUNY faculty participated in SLN faculty development.
- Continued research, professional development, and system-wide coordination.
- Conclusion of SLN-branded operations in 2014.
2014–2018 — Open SUNY
Objective: Scalability
- Establishment of Open SUNY under Chancellor Nancy Zimpher. (2013/14)
- Formation of the Open SUNY Center for Online Teaching Excellence (COTE). (2013/14)
- Continued emphasis on online faculty development, instructional design, and quality.
- Migration planning and transition to Blackboard. (2013-2018)
2018–Present — SUNY Online
Objective: Sustainability
- Formation of SUNY Online and SUNY Online Teaching.
- Continued evolution of system-wide online teaching support.
- Migration to the D2L/Brightspace Digital Learning Environment. (2022)
- Ongoing alignment with SUNY academic and strategic priorities.
Instructional Design and Campus-Based Roles
To support scale and sustainability, SLN intentionally developed campus-based administrative and instructional design roles. Campus administrators served as liaisons for scheduling, communications, and logistics, while campus-based instructional designers were trained by SLN and functioned as extended members of the system-wide instructional design community.
Once campuses reached approximately 20 online courses, they were encouraged to assign or hire dedicated instructional designers to co-train and support faculty locally. Weekly coordination meetings, monthly professional development sessions, and term-based cycles supported alignment across campuses.
Early campus-based instructional designers included:
- Bill Pelz (Herkimer County Community College) – 1999-2014 – Lead New Online Faculty Trainer
- Bob Yavitz (Tompkins Cortland Community College)
- Terry Keys (Monroe Community College)
SLN Leadership and Key Personnel (Selected)
Program Leadership
- Lowell Roberts – Founding Director
- Greg Benson – Director (1995)
- Eric E. Fredericksen – Director (1996–2002)
- Peter J. Shea – Interim Director (2002); Director (2003–2005)
- David Porush – Executive Director (2003–2005)
- Ken Udas – Director (2005–2006)
- Carey Hatch – Interim Director (2006–2015)
Online Faculty Development/Instructional Design Leadership
- Alexandra M. Pickett – Assistant Director (1998–2006); Associate Director (2006–2015)
- Rob Piorkowski – MID/ID (1996–2004); Assistant Director roles (2008–2025)
(Additional instructional designers and staff are preserved as part of the archival record.)
Research, Scholarship, and Longitudinal Inquiry
Beginning in 1998, SLN launched a systematic research agenda grounded in the Community of Inquiry framework to examine teaching presence, learning experience, and instructional effectiveness in online environments. This work informed faculty development, course design, and policy and continues through collaboration with researchers at the University at Albany, including Dr. Peter Shea.
Awards and National Recognition
SLN, Open SUNY, and SUNY Online received extensive national recognition for excellence in online teaching, faculty development, research, and system-wide innovation, including:
- Sloan-C Awards for Excellence in Faculty Development and Institution-Wide Programming.
- EDUCAUSE Award for Systemic Progress in Teaching and Learning (2001).
- USDLA 21st Century Best Practice Award (2006).
- NUTN Distance Education Innovation Award (2009).
- Sloan-C Effective Practice Award (2010).
A complete list of awards and recognitions is maintained as part of this archive.
Purpose of This Archive
This archive exists to ensure that:
- Institutional knowledge is preserved and accessible.
- Contributions of faculty, instructional designers, and leaders are documented.
- Research and innovation lineage is visible and citable.
- Future initiatives are informed by historical context.
This archive will continue to evolve as new milestones are documented.
Personnel, Roles, and Dates (Comprehensive Record)
1. Founding Leadership & Grant Principal Investigators
| Name | Role(s) | Affiliation | Dates / Notes |
|---|---|---|---|
| Jim Hall | President | Empire State College (ESC); SUNY System Administration (Vice Chancellor role) | Early 1990s; dual campus/system leadership |
| Lowell Roberts | Founding Director; Co-PI (Sloan Grant) | ESC/ SUNY System Administration (Vice Provost role) | 1994–1995; first Director of SLN |
| Richard Dressner | Co-PI (Sloan Grant) | SUNY System Administration Office of the System Provost | 1994–1995 |
| Evelyn Ting | Assistant Director | ESC/CLT & SUNY Learning Network | 1994-1998 Mid-1990s |
| Bob Pirelli | Network Administrator; Enterprise LMS Architect | ESC/CLT & SUNY Learning Network | 1994-1998 Mid-1990s |
| Larry Greenberg | Lotus Notes Applications Developer (and Online instructional Designer) | ESC/CLT & SUNY Learning Network | 1994-1998 Mid-1990s |
| Frank Mayadas | Program Officer | Alfred P. Sloan Foundation | Long-term supporter and ally of SLN |
| Ralph Gomory | Leadership / Advisor | Alfred P. Sloan Foundation | Long-term supporter and ally of SLN |
2. SLN / Open SUNY / SUNY Online Program Leadership
| Name | Title(s) | Organization | Dates |
|---|---|---|---|
| Lowell Roberts | Director | SUNY Learning Network | 1994–1995 |
| Greg Benson | Director | SUNY Learning Network | 1995 |
| Eric E. Fredericksen | Director | SUNY Learning Network | 1996–2002 |
| Peter J. Shea | Interim Director; Director | SUNY Learning Network | Interim 2002; Director 2003–2005 |
| David Porush | Executive Director | SUNY Learning Network | 2003–2005 |
| Tammy Mooney | Interim Co-Associate Director; Office Manager | SUNY Learning Network | Interim Director 2005; Office Manager throughout SLN 1998-2005 |
| Alexandra M. Pickett | Assistant Director; Associate Director | SUNY Learning Network | Assistant Director 1998–2006; Associate Director 2006–2015 |
| Ken Udas | Director | SUNY Learning Network | 2005–2006 |
| Michael Feldstein | Assistant Director, Blended Learning | SUNY Learning Network | 2004 – 2006 |
| Carey Hatch | Interim Director | SUNY Learning Network | 2006–2015 |
| Kim Scalzo | Executive Director | Open SUNY; SUNY Online | 2015–2022 |
| Alexandra M. Pickett | Director | Open SUNY Center for Online Teaching Excellence | 2015–2018 |
| Alexandra M. Pickett | Director | SUNY Online Teaching | 2018–Present (2026) |
| Dan Feinberg | Interim Director | SUNY Online | December 2022–Present (2026) |
3. Instructional Designers (Central SLN / COTE / SUNY Online Teaching)
| Name | Title(s) | Organization | Dates |
|---|---|---|---|
| Alexandra M. Pickett | Faculty Developer; Multimedia Instructional Designer; First SUNY Online Instructional Designer | ESC/CLT & SUNY Learning Network | 1994–1998 |
| Ruffin Pauzak | Multimedia Instructional Designer | SUNY Learning Network | 1996–1998 |
| Mingming Jiang | Multimedia Instructional Designer | SUNY Learning Network | 1996–1998 |
| Bill Jones | Multimedia Instructional Designer | SUNY Learning Network | Jan 1998 –Jan 1999 |
| Peter Shea | Multimedia Instructional Designer | SUNY Learning Network | 1997–1998 |
| Tisha Bender | Instructional Designer | SUNY Learning Network | 1997–2000 |
| Steve Mann | Multimedia Instructional Designer | SUNY Learning Network | 1996–2018 |
| Rob Piorkowski | Multimedia Instructional Designer; Assistant Director roles | SLN; SUNY COTE; SUNY Online | 1996–2025 |
| John Prusch | Multimedia Instructional Designer | SUNY Learning Network | 2000–2006 |
| Rick Costanza | Multimedia Instructional Designer | SUNY Learning Network | 1999–2006 |
| Paul McLean | Instructional Designer | SUNY Learning Network | 2006–2009 |
| Caroline Manssino | Instructional Designer | SUNY Learning Network | 2006–2009 |
| Phylise Banner | Senior Instructional Designer | SUNY Learning Network | Sep 2008 –Jan 2010 |
| Dave Ghidiu | Senior Instructional Designer | Open SUNY COTE | Jun 2014 –Aug 2016 |
4. Campus-Based Instructional Designers (Early Model)
| Name | Role | Institution | Dates / Notes |
|---|---|---|---|
| Bill Pelz | Campus-Based Online Instructional Designer; Lead New Faculty Trainer | Herkimer County Community College | Trained 1998; Lead trainer 1999–2015 |
| Bob Yavitz | Campus-Based Online Instructional Designer | Tompkins Cortland Community College | Late 1990s |
| Terry Keys | Campus-Based Online Instructional Designer | Monroe Community College | Late 1990s |
5. Research, Scholarship, and Professional Recognition
| Name | Recognition / Role | Organization | Year(s) |
|---|---|---|---|
| Meg Benke | OLC Fellow (Inaugural Class) | ESC/Online Learning Consortium (OLC) | 2010 |
| Peter J. Shea | SLN Researcher | SLN | 1999- 2005 |
| OLC Fellow | OLC | 2011 | |
| Sr. Researcher | SLN & Open SUNY | 2005- 2019 | |
| Alexandra M. Pickett | Co-Author | SLN | 1999-2013 |
| OLC Fellow | OLC | 2012 | |
| Eric E. Fredericksen | Co-Author | SLN | 1999-2004 |
| OLC Fellow | OLC | 2013 | |
| Bill Pelz | Co-Author | SLN | 1999-2004 |
| OLC Fellow | OLC | 2013 |
Purpose of This Archive
This archive exists to ensure that:
- Institutional knowledge is preserved and accessible.
- Contributions of faculty, instructional designers, and leaders are documented.
- Research and innovation lineage is visible and citable.
- Future initiatives are informed by historical context.
This archive will continue to evolve as new milestones are documented.