Ian Allen Elected President of the Canadian Association for University Continuing Education
Author: Belinda Elliott-Bielecki
Posted on Nov 25, 2020
Category: News and Events
UNB CEL's very own Executive Director, Ian Allen, was elected president of the Canadian Association for University Continuing Education (CAUCE) during its virtual Annual General Meeting held in June.
CAUCE is a professional association of academics, administrators, and practitioners at 54 institutions who have made university continuing education the basis of their careers and life's work.
Ian's goal as president is to continue the hard work of the previous executive committee to advance the goals of the association. Among other action items, his priorities will be to evolve the Communities of Practice, provide relevant and timely webinars to the membership, develop a Committee on Inclusiveness, and explore the development of a Mentoring Program for newcomers to continuing education. His role will involve collaboration with Universities Canada and Future Skills Canada, as well as collaborative work on national data collection and data benchmarks.
Ian attests much of UNB CEL's success is a result of dedicated staff getting involved with the association.
"CAUCE provides an opportunity for development and a chance to network with other like-minded professionals in the field of continuing education," he explains.
"Involvement helps us to stay current on trends, like new programming, marketing, and it allows us to work together to find solutions to the problems of our profession, which couldn't be more relevant today as we learn to cope during a global pandemic."
During Ian's term, the association will host its first virtual conference from May 25–27, 2021.
UNB CEL has been a member of CAUCE for many years and currently has representatives actively involved on various committees and working groups.
This year, Belinda Elliott-Bielecki chairs the Communications Committee, Michelle Jones is a member of the Professional Development Committee, and Shawna Kirkbride is on the Design and Marketing Awards committee.
In 2022, UNB CEL is scheduled to host the annual conference in Fredericton. The annual conference was last hosted by UNB CEL in 2010.
"Participation in CAUCE has solidified our position as a leader in university continuing education in Canada, and I encourage our folks to get involved."
Ian previously served as President-Elect, Secretary-Treasurer and the Eastern Canada Representative of CAUCE.