Dr. Lewis Perinbam, O.C., Chairman of the Board of Governors of the Commonwealth of Learning has announced the appointment of Sir John Daniel, a world-renowned authority in open and distance learning and currently Assistant Director-General for Education at UNESCO, as President and Chief Executive Officer of COL. He succeeds Dato' Professor Gajaraj (Raj) Dhanarajan who retires in May.
A graduate of the universities of Oxford and Paris, Sir John began his academic career at École Polytechnique in Montreal. The "revelation" of a three-month internship at the new U.K. Open University in 1972 led him to refocus his career on expanding educational opportunity. After helping to establish the Télé-université (Quebec) and Athabasca University (Alberta) in the 1970s, he gained leadership experience in campus universities during the 1980's as Vice-Rector, Academic of Concordia University (Montreal) and as President of Laurentian University, a bilingual Ontario university that operates in both classroom and distance modes.
Sir John was Vice-Chancellor of the U.K. Open University (UKOU) from 1990-2001, a period when student numbers almost doubled, to 200,000, while the UKOU rose to fifth place in national rankings of teaching quality. Since 2001 he has been Assistant Director-General for Education at UNESCO where he is responsible, in particular, for co-ordinating the global drive to achieve Education for All. He has also held various non-executive posts in education, notably the presidency of the International Council for Distance Education and the vice-presidency of the International Baccalaureate Organisation.
Knighted by Queen Elizabeth for services to higher education in 1994, the honour recognised the leading role Sir John has played internationally, over three decades, in the development of distance learning in universities.
Commenting on his appointment, Sir John said, "Having chaired COL's original planning committee in 1988, I am delighted by the strong reputation it has so quickly established. Governments now realise that open and distance learning, using appropriate technology, can transform education by extending access, raising quality and cutting costs - all at the same time. COL is there to help the developing countries of the Commonwealth make this possibility a reality. I greatly look forward to seeing COL achieve even greater impact."
Sir John has been active as a scholar and student throughout his career. The success of his book, Mega-Universities and Knowledge Media: Technology Strategies for Higher Education (Kogan Page, 1996), established his reputation in international university circles as a leading thinker about the role of technology in academic communities. He has been awarded 20 honorary degrees from universities in 12 countries and was named an Honorary Fellow of COL in 2002 for his contribution to the development of open and distance education world-wide. He is a citizen of Canada and the U.K.
In making the announcement, Perinbam said, "Sir John Daniel will bring to the Commonwealth of Learning impressive credentials as a world leader in distance and open learning. He is a person of international stature who will take COL to new heights of achievement. COL is fortunate to be assured of his bold and imaginative leadership in the years ahead."
Professor Dhanarajan has been COL's President and Chief Executive Officer since September 1995. Although originally engaged on a three-year contract, COL's Board of Governors asked him to stay for additional terms. At a Board meeting in Durban in July 2002, Professor Dhanarajan agreed to stay on for the transition period as the organisation's Chair was changing. Dr. Perinbam, the new Chair of COL's Board of Governors appointed in April 2003, struck a search committee and engaged an executive search consulting firm to identify a successor.
Commenting on the appointment of a new President, Dhanarajan said, "Sir John commands world-wide respect for his contribution to contemporary thoughts on education. The Commonwealth of Learning is most fortunate to have attracted him to succeed me. I am thrilled. His impeccable credentials, experience and knowledge of open and distance learning and an abiding commitment to the mission of the Commonwealth will all help to make COL an even greater global asset to education than it currently is."
COL is an intergovernmental organisation that was created by Commonwealth Heads of Government to encourage the development and sharing of open learning and distance education knowledge, resources and technologies.
Sir John will take up his new post in Vancouver in June.
The 15th triennial Conference of Commonwealth Education Ministers (15CCEM) and parallel conference were held at the end of October in Edinburgh, Scotland, followed shortly afterwards by the 2003 Commonwealth Heads of Government Meeting (CHOGM) held in early December in Abuja, Nigeria. Commonwealth of Learning representatives reported to both meetings.
At their meeting in Abuja, Commonwealth Heads of Government "received with appreciation the Report of the Commonwealth of Learning (COL) and accepted its recommendations, in particular, the proposal of the Commonwealth Conference of Education Ministers for a Commonwealth Virtual University for Small States. They noted COL's request for resources to finance its three-year Strategic Plan." Also, through their Aso Rock Commonwealth Declaration on Development and Democracy: Partnership for Peace and Prosperity, Heads of Government stated that: "We affirm that education, whether formal or informal, is central to development in any society and is of the highest priority to the Commonwealth."
In Edinburgh, Ministers of Education complimented COL on its work and accomplishments of the past three years, approved its Three-Year Plan, 2003-2006 and pledged financial support for its target of CDN$9 million in annual core funding. Ministers also endorsed the concept of a Virtual University for Small States of the Commonwealth, as presented by COL in response to their request to study the feasibility of a virtual university to help improve access to education and training opportunities across the Commonwealth.
COL was encouraged by the many supportive statements of Education Ministers and their senior officials. COL's funding continues to be assured through not only major donors - Australia, Canada, Britain, India, New Zealand and Nigeria - but also through the many smaller (but often larger on a per-capita basis) contributions from other member states.
The Edinburgh conference was a success, integrating more than ever before virtual conferences, the parallel conference, the exposition and a youth summit with the Ministers' meeting itself. Ministers also received input from the other connected events, which were integrated into the Action Plan that they developed. COL was pleased to join with the Commonwealth Secretariat, the British Council and the Association of Commonwealth Universities in organising the parallel symposium.
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| JOSHUA C. MALLET |
Mr. Joshua Caleb Mallet will join COL's staff on 15 March 2004 as Education Specialist, Literacy and Livelihoods, on secondment from the University of Education, Winneba, where he has been Administrator for Distance Learning for the past nine years.
Mr. Mallet has been involved in distance education since 1994 and was a pioneer in the development of Ghana's distance education system. He is a writer, editor and trainer of trainers in distance education and has served as an educational consultant for French education and distance learning. Recently, he has been associated with projects involving the Carnegie Corporation of New York, Simon Fraser University, UNESCO, the World Federation of French Teachers and COL.
Joshua has been closely associated with livelihood training in Ghana and other countries and has assisted NGOs and national institutions working with low-income populations to help them create employment opportunities, especially for young women.
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