Following a national search, Jaci Lindburg, Ph.D., has been named the University of Nebraska’s associate vice president for digital education and director of University of Nebraska Online.
NU System President Ted Carter and Executive Vice President and Provost Jeffrey P. Gold, M.D., made the announcement Thursday.
Lindburg, who came to the University of Nebraska in 2012, most recently served as assistant vice president for IT strategy for NU’s Information Technology Services and director of digital learning at the University of Nebraska at Omaha. Her new role is effective July 1; Lindburg will retain some leadership duties within ITS going forward.
“Jaci has a gift for working collaboratively in a multi-campus, shared governance environment, and a deep appreciation for our fundamental mission to create access and opportunity for students and families in Nebraska and beyond,” Carter and Gold said. “Her energy and vision for creating the learning environment of the future makes her exactly the right person to lead NU Online into its next chapter.”
NU Online is the system-wide platform bringing together 150-plus online programs offered by the four campuses of the University of Nebraska. Students from all 50 states take online courses from the University of Nebraska today, with some 8,200 studying entirely online.
In ITS, Lindburg has been responsible for leading strategic planning and coordinating system-wide academic technology efforts, among other duties. At UNO, she has worked closely with deans, chairs and faculty to grow high-quality, sustainable online and hybrid courses and programs. From 2016, when she assumed her UNO role, to 2019, online student credit hour production at UNO grew 22 percent.
“Digital education is all about access and opportunity for students. Thanks to the work of so many across the University of Nebraska, we are well-positioned to shape the learning environment of the future – one where every student can access an outstanding University of Nebraska education, no matter where they are,” Lindburg said.
“I’m so honored to serve in this capacity, and I look forward to sitting down with faculty and leadership teams across our campuses, working together to build on their momentum and serve the next generation of learners.”
A sixth-generation Nebraskan, Lindburg earned her bachelor’s degree from Hastings College, a master’s from Doane College and her Ph.D. from St. Louis University in Missouri.
The NU Online search was guided by a system-wide committee chaired by Julie Sebastian, Ph.D., dean of the University of Nebraska Medical Center College of Nursing.
