SUNY Online Teaching Ambassador 2025: Rockland – Lynn Aaron

Lynn Aaron is a Resident Professor at Rockland Community College. She has been teaching online courses for over 20 years.  Over this time, she has seen the growth of many students and their progress along their chosen career paths as the result of the opportunities provided by online learning. People of all ages with busy work lives, people with heavy child- or elder-care responsibilities, people with physical obstacles to attending on-campus classes and more have all benefited from their experiences. At no time, though, was she more grateful for the training provided by SUNY Online than during the recent pandemic. Where would we have been then without online learning!

The many benefits of online learning carry with it a heightened need to keep students engaged. This has been a focus of her attention throughout her academic career.   In her role as Co-Director of the Center For Excellence in Teaching and Learning (CETL), Professor Aaron was able to help faculty be aware of online tools that enhance online interactivity. Under her direction, multiple workshops were offered giving faculty hands-on experience with new tools as they developed.

Her interest in encouraging successful online learning is not limited to her work at CETL or to her own teaching. She has made it her business to keep her eye on new developments. As a member of the Editorial Board of MERLOT‘s Information Technology discipline, she contributed to the quality of the resources accepted into their collection; in addition, she contributed original works to the community. She served as a fellow on the SUNY Tools Of Engagement Project (TOEP) and was active as well in its successor, the Exploring Emerging Technologies for Lifelong Learning and Success MOOC.  On campus, she served on the Faculty Senate for many years and was Chair of its Educational Technology Committee.

As Rockland’s FACT² campus representative for 20 years, Lynn Aaron has kept the campus informed of the support FACT² provides. Propelled by a strong interest in AI, and challenged by its potential benefits as well as its repercussions for academic integrity, she joined the FACT² AI Task Group serving as a subcommittee co-chair. Most recently she was co-editor of the resulting Optimizing AI in Higher Education SUNY FACT² Guide, available as an OER and published in 2024 by SUNY Press.