Meet Our Staff
Michele Gribbins
Director
Michele joined COLRS in 2012 after teaching for seven years as a faculty member for the Department of Management Information Systems at UIS, where she continues to teach online classes. She provides direct consultation, development training, and support to faculty to enhance their instruction in online and blended courses. She coordinates and supports the COLRS Faculty Research Fellows Program and the Open Education Resources Fellows Program. Additionally, she designs, develops, and analyzes data reports related to online enrollments, admissions, and applications to guide COLRS when consulting and advising across campus.
Michele advances research through presentation and publication on a variety of online learning topics including pedagogy, best practices, emerging technologies, and academic integrity. Her research has been published in the Online Learning Journal, the Journal of Information Technology, the Communications of the Association for Information Systems, Electronic Markets, and the International Journal of Management Theory and Practices. She also has co-authored two book chapters and has delivered more than sixty presentations at international, national, and regional conferences. She serves as the Vice Chair for the Online Administration Network of the University Professional & Continuing Education Association (UPCEA), and serves on the Conference Planning Committee for the UPCEA Central Region. She is also the Treasurer of the Illinois Council on Continuing Higher Education. She is a Certified Online Learning Administrator and has been on the project team for two Massive-Open Online Courses (MOOCs) offered by UIS.
Email: mgribbin@uis.edu
Phone: 217-206-8251
Michele’s Homepage
Carrie Levin
eLearning Specialist
Carrie joined COLRS in July 2005. She earned her B.F.A. degree in Theatre at the University of Illinois at Urbana/Champaign and her Masters in Dance-Movement Therapy/Counseling at Columbia College Chicago. She spent several years as a professional actress in Chicago and as a movement therapist/counselor in Madison, Wisconsin working with institutionalized older adults, developmentally disabled adults, teens, and children. At COLRS, Carrie works with online faculty development, MOOC development, and support for COLRS research activities. She has authored and co-authored proceedings papers and book chapters on a variety of topics related to online learning and has presented at numerous national and regional conferences. In addition to her work with COLRS, Carrie is an adjunct instructor at UIS in the Educational Leadership department. Carrie holds the Professional Certificate in Online Education from the University of Wisconsin-Madison.
Email: levin.carrie@uis.edu
Phone: 217-206-8499
Emily Boles
eLearning Specialist
Emily joined COLRS in September 2006. At COLRS, Emily works to promote pedagogical and instructional design best practices for online, blended, and remote learning. She is a skilled LMS administrator on the Canvas, Moodle, and Blackboard platforms. Emily has been on the project team for three Massive Open Online Classes (MOOCs).
She served as Interim Director for the Illinois Online Network (2017-2018) and oversaw the transition of the program to UIS, as well the development and implementation of a new registration, CMS, and payment system, as well as a new badging platform. She also oversaw the development of a new ION certificate, Digital Accessibility for Educators.
Emily has authored and co-authored articles in Evolllution and Educause Quarterly, co-authored book chapters and proceedings papers, and presented conference presentations and pre-conference workshops on topics related to online learning, pedagogy, educational technologies, accessibility, and instructional design.
She earned her Bachelor of Arts degree in English from Illinois College, has completed 36 hours of graduate course work in English, and is pursuing a Master’s in Library and Information Science at the University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign. Emily is a graduate of the University of Illinois System Professional Staff Leadership Academy (2020), as well as Institute for Emerging Leadership in Online Learning from Penn State/Online Learning Consortium (2011), and the Master Online Teacher certification from the Illinois Online Network (2015). At UIS, Emily has been awarded Employee of the Month (February 2009 and July 2021) and the Chancellor’s Award for Professional Excellence (2013). She is also actively involved in the AP Professional Development Committee, the Academic Professional Advisory Committee, and the University of Illinois System’s University Professional Personnel Advisory Committee.
Email: boles.emily@uis.edu
Phone: 217-206-8311
Scott Moomaw
Multimedia Communications Specialist
Scott joined COLRS in 2021. Originally from Pennsylvania, he came to Springfield in 2014 via Boston and Charlottesville, Virginia, with his wife, three kids, and the dog.
Scott holds a Master’s degree in Broadcast Journalism from Boston University and specializes in video production for web, broadcast, and social media. He has previously worked at the University of Virginia, producing video content promoting the school’s successful $3 billion capital campaign, and at Harvard University’s Graduate School of Education where he worked closely with faculty in operating classroom recording technology for sharing lectures in a virtual environment.
Email: smoom2@uis.edu
Phone: 217-206-7317
Affiliated Leadership
Vickie S. Cook
Vice Chancellor for Enrollment & Retention Management
Research Professor, Education
Dr. Vickie Cook served as the Executive Director, COLRS from 2013-19. In 2019, she became the founding Executive Director of Online, Professional, and Engaged Learning (OPEL) and was named Associate Vice Chancellor for OPEL in 2021. OPEL was established to unite the efforts of COLRS, Continuing and Professional Education, the Office of Engaged Learning, and the Center of Faculty Excellence (formerly FDRO). Dr. Cook is also a Research Professor in the College of Education. Learn more about Dr. Cook on the OPEL website.
Ray Schroeder
Professor Emeritus and Founding Director
Ray is Professor Emeritus at the University of Illinois Springfield (UIS) and Senior Fellow at the University Professional and Continuing Education Association (UPCEA). Each year, Schroeder publishes articles / book chapters and presents nationally on emerging topics in online and technology-enhanced learning. He is the 2010 inaugural recipient of the A. Frank Mayadas Online Leadership Award, 2011 recipient of the University of Illinois Distinguished Service Award, the United States Distance Learning Association Hall of Fame Award 2016, and the American Journal of Distance Education/University of Wisconsin Wedemeyer Excellence in Distance Education Award 2016.
Email: Schroeder.Ray@uis.edu
Phone: 217-206-7531
Ray’s Homepage