SCS Dean Thomas Gibbons Elected President of UPCEA for 2012-13

Thomas Gibbons, UPCEA president-elect

Gibbons will serve as president-elect for 2011–12 and as president for 2012–13. He has been a member of the UPCEA board of directors for the past three years and recently served as chair of the association’s Presidential Knowledge Network Task Force.

The association, which is based in Washington, represents private and public colleges, and works to advance research and support educators who serve the fast-growing number of adults who are continuing their schooling.

Gibbons will serve as president-elect for 2011–12 and as president for 2012–13.

“Today, the new ‘traditional’ student is not the 18- to 21-year-old,” said Dean Gibbons, “but instead adult learners who comprise the majority of students in higher education.”

Recent statistics from the Department of Education show that adult students are the fastest growing demographic in institutions of higher learning. Between 2006 and 2017, the number of students over 25 is projected to increase nearly 20 percent, a growth rate almost double that among younger students, according to the National Center for Education Statistics.

“At a time when the nation’s economy demands a more educated and skilled workforce,” said Gibbons, the association’s role in research, community of practice, teaching and advocacy strongly underscores “the real value we as a society should place on adult learning.”

During his tenure at Northwestern, Gibbons has made his school a national leader in adult education. In that time, the School of Continuing Studies has more than tripled in size through new and innovative programs. He has developed many award-winning distance education initiatives. He also launched the university’s first online master’s degree. Gibbons, who has law degrees from Yale Law School and DePaul College of Law, has won three faculty awards at Northwestern for his teaching in negotiations and conflict resolution.

Taking the leadership role at UPCEA, Gibbons sees a bold challenge with a vital national imperative. He said the association pledges to help answer the call from President Obama and industry leaders to achieve rapid educational advances in a global economy that requires sharp-edged competitiveness.

In today’s knowledge-based economy, employment analysts say that continuing education is more important than ever. In the view of Gibbons, colleges must be prepared to enhance the talents of ambitious workers who are determined to keep pace and move ahead.

Gibbons, who lives in suburban River Forest with his wife, Marti, and children, has urged colleges to adapt to the busy lives of adults, as well as tailor programs to fit the real-world needs of employers.

Adult learners are “demanding greater access to quality education,” he noted, “whether through distance learning opportunities, innovative curriculum design and pedagogy, or professional master’s and doctoral degrees tied to specialized knowledge.”