I am an Associate Professor in the Centre for Distance Education (CDE) at Athabasca University. I was the founding Director of CDE and served from 1986 until June 30, 2008. During this time, CDE developed Athabasca University’s first graduate program, a Master of Distance Education, and its first doctorate program, an EdD in Distance Education. Prior to the establishment of CDE, I worked as a research associate at AU from 1979-1980, and as an Instructional Designer and Instructional Evauluator from 1980-1986. Thus, I have been at Athabasca University for nearly 30 years and have seem many changes not only at Athabasca University but in distance and open education in general. In April 2008, I was awarded the first annual Leadership Award by the Canadian Network for Innovation in Education. My research interests are many and include such topics as:i nstructional design, program evaluation, student behavior in online environments measurements of “success” in distance education