Rob Kerr
Executive Director, Innovation and Opportunity
Rob Kerr serves as the Executive Director for UIS Innovation and Opportunity. His background includes over 20 years in higher education and economic development. His previous positions include Director of Continuing and Professional Education at UIS; Deputy Director for Entrepreneurship, Innovation and Technology at the Illinois Department of Commerce and Economic Opportunity; Dean of Enrollment and Career Programs and Registrar at Richland Community College; and Director of Career and Technical Education at the Illinois Community College Board. In addition, Rob served as an adjunct faculty member at Benedictine University Springfield for 18 years.
Contact: rkerr6@uis.edu
Emily Keener
Interim Director, Continuing and Professional Education
Emily has been developing instructional content for over a decade, working with diverse design teams to create courses, simulations, job aids, and other material to help learners reach their goals. She has also consulted with educators on the effective use of technology to improve learning outcomes. Emily holds a MSEd in Instructional Design and Performance Improvement and is certified in technical communication from the Society for Technical Communication.
Contact: emart2@uis.edu
Russ Stoup
Coordinator of Professional Programs, ION Professional eLearning Program
Russ serves as the Coordinator of Professional Programs at UIS. Previously he directed the Instructional Technology program at a community college for twenty-three years, where he trained instructors and facilitated the distance learning program as the Education Technology Administrator. He concurrently served as an adjunct instructor of Career Development and Career Decision-Making. During that time he earned a Master of Online Teaching (MOT), Master Online Leader & Administrator (MOLA) and Digital Accessibility for Educators Certificate (DAE) through the ION Professional eLearning Program.
Contact: wstou2@uis.edu
Deb Antoine
Instructional Development Specialist
Deb worked as a video producer at various studios and taught multimedia and radio/television at Capital Area Career Center for 15 years. While working for the Center for Online Learning, Research and Service (COLRS) at UIS, she earned her Master of Online Teaching (MOT) through the Illinois Online Network (ION). She taught media production and communication courses full time for five years in higher education. In addition, she taught as an online adjunct for UIS, ION eLearning and Benedictine University.
Contact: danto2@uis.edu
Dr. Jacob House
Instructional Development Specialist
Jacob has been developing instructional content and working to create courses and other materials to help learners reach their goals. Jacob has also been teaching in higher education for a decade. He received a Ph.D. in History from Kent State University, where he taught as an online adjunct.
Contact: jhous2@uis.edu
Carey Applegate
Associate Director
Contact: careya2@uis.edu
Lindsey Kurfman
IT Support
CAPE/ Innovation SPI
ION eLearning Programs
Contact: cape@uis.edu