People 

Professor Vincent Ado Tenebe, Vice-Chancellor of the National Open University of Nigeria (NOUN), has been named a UNESCO-COL Chair in Open and Distance Learning. COL’s Honorary Chairs are a network of distinguished serving academics who represent the academic face of COL, complementing the political and administrative role of COL Focal Points and Honorary Advisors.

www.col.org/Chairs

Ms. Stamenka Uvalić-Trumbić has retired from her post as Chief of UNESCO’s Section Higher Education. She was a long-time member of the UNESCO Higher Education team and a valued COL partner. Earlier this year, COL President Sir John Daniel paid tribute to Ms. Uvalic´-Trumbic´ as “the highly respected face of UNESCO Higher Education in the outside world” and noted that her role as COL Focal Point at UNESCO has contributed to increased collaboration between the two organisations. Ms. Uvalic´-Trumbic´ will continue to collaborate with COL as a consultant on the new initiative “Fostering Governmental Support for Open Educational Resources Internationally” (see page 3 for details).

Dr. Daniel Rakgomo Tau, Executive Director of the Botswana College of Distance and Open Learning (BOCODOL), was awarded the Presidential Order of Meritorious Service as part of Independence Day celebrations last month. The founding CEO of BOCODOL, Dr. Tau was recognised for his contribution to the growth of the Education sector in Botswana, especially in open and distance learning.

Dr. Sugata Mitra has been appointed Visiting Professor at the Massachusetts Institute of Technology (MIT) Media Lab. Known for his “Hole in the Wall” experiment where he installed an Internet-connected computer in an urban slum in New Delhi, India, Dr. Mitra has made numerous contributions toward closing the digital divide.