In the Fall of 2010, the Center for Online Learning Research and Service began a new Faculty Research Fellows Program. In Fall 2022, the COLRS fellows program expanded to become the Online, Professional, and Engaged Learning Fellows program.
Previous COLRS Faculty Fellows
2021-2023 COLRS Faculty Fellows
Dr. Serkan Karadas
Accounting, Economics & FinanceDr. Beth Ribarsky
CommunicationDr. Junfeng Wang
Public Administration
2020-2022 COLRS Faculty Fellows
Dr. Lan Dong
English & Modern LanguagesDr. Yanhui Guo
Computer ScienceDr. Yona Stamatis
Art, Music, & Theatre
Senior Faculty Fellow (2010-2021)

Karen Swan
UIS James J. Stukel Presidential Professor of Educational Leadership
Dr. Swan served as a senior fellow mentoring the faculty fellows until her passing in 2021. Her research was in the area of media/technology and learning on which she had published and presented extensively. She had authored over 100 publications as well as several hypermedia programs, and co-edited two books on educational technology topics. Dr. Swan was involved with online teaching and learning for over a decade, both as an instructor and as a researcher. She helped develop one of the first fully online masters degrees while she was at the University of Albany, was active in the online learning community, and is well known for her research on learning effectiveness in online environments. In 2006, Dr. Swan received the Sloan-C award for Outstanding Achievement in Online Learning by an Individual for her work in this area, and she was a part of the 2010 inaugural class of Sloan-C Fellows.
Learn more about the Karen Swan Memorial Fund that has been established to support causes that Karen cared for — especially student research support. To make a donation in Karen’s honor, please visit the fund page, managed by the University of Illinois Foundation.
2019-2020 Faculty Fellows
Dr. Jennifer Martin
Teacher EducationDr. Sudeep Sharma
ManagementDr. Junu Shrestha
Public Health
2018-2020 Faculty Fellows
Dr. Josiah Alamu
Public HealthDr. Donna Bussell
EnglishDr. Youngjin Kang
Human ServicesDr. Mohammed Uddin
Accounting
2017-2019 Faculty Fellows
Dr. Egbe Egiebor
Public HealthDr. Carol Jessup
AccountingDr. Layne Morsch
Senior Fellow, ChemistryDr. Laurel Newman
Senior Fellow, ManagementDr. Kimberly Wiley
Public Administration
2016-2018 Faculty Fellows
Dr. Cheng-Chia (Brian) Chen
Public HealthDr. Scott Day
Educational LeadershipDr. Kristin Osiecki
Public HealthDr. Carolee Rigsbee
Management
2015-2017 Faculty Fellows
Dr. Harshavardhan Bapat
ChemistryDr. Anne-Marie Hanson
Environmental StudiesDr. Ranjan Karri
Economics
2014-2016 Faculty Fellows
Dr. T. Price Dooley
Public AdministrationDr. Layne Morsch
ChemistryDr. Elissa Thomann Mitchell
Human ServicesDr. Traci Van Prooyen
Teacher Education
2012-2014 Faculty Fellows
Dr. Len Bogle
Educational LeadershipDr. Sara Cordell
EnglishDr. Mike Lemke
BiologyDr. Brian Kahn
Teacher Education
2011-2013 Faculty Fellows
Dr. James Hall
Management Information SystemsDr. Sharron LaFollette
Public HealthDr. Keith Miller
Computer Science
2010-2012 Faculty Fellows
Dr. Josiah Alamu
Public HealthDr. Peter Boltuc
PhilosophyDr. Michael Lane
Educational LeadershipDr. Dan Matthews, Educational Leadership Dr. Will Miller
Public AdministrationDr. Laurel Newman
Management