Dr. Richard Novak has been with the Division of Continuing Studies (formerly the Division of Continuous Education and Outreach) since its inception in July 1996. He has been engaged with online learning at Rutgers since 1998. He most recently served as Associate Vice President for Continuing Studies and Distance Learning and also Director of Special Projects for Academic Affairs at Rutgers.He is also an associate member of the graduate faculty in the Rutgers Graduate School of Education, teaching face-to-face, hybrid and fully online courses beginning in 1993. Dr. Novak is Past-President of the University Professional and Continuing Education Association (UPCEA), the principal US organization for professional and continuing higher education. At Rutgers, Dr. Novak directs RutgersOnline, the centralized home for Rutgers University online degree programs using the Instructure Canvas learning management system.Dr. Novak provides executive leadership for a large and diverse University-wide division at Rutgers University that includes over 125 employees in 14 distinct units at over a dozen locations, that coordinate hundreds of credit and non-credit programs, enrolling thousands of participants, reaching audiences from youth to retirees and providing various support services across the University.In 2004, Dr. Novak was presented the Walton S. Bittner Service Citation for Imaginative Leadership in the Advancement of Continuing Education and Distinguished Service to the Association by UPCEA. In April 2011 he was awarded the national Excellence in Online Administration award.