---

University Information Technology Services News Room

Sakai awards fellowships to three with IU ties

FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE

May 22, 2012

BLOOMINGTON, Ind.—The Sakai Foundation recently selected its 2012 Sakai Fellows, and three of the six recipients have direct ties to Indiana University. IU's Chris Maurer and Lynn Ward received the honor along with former employee Lance Speelmon.

Each year, Sakai awards six fellowships to leaders in the teaching and learning community, software design and development, pedagogical and teaching practices, and community advocacy. Fellows receive a stipend to help defray the costs of Sakai-related activities such as travel, speaking engagements, and professional development.

"The Sakai Fellows program recognizes IT leaders who fully embrace the ideals of open collaboration and community within teaching, learning, and research," says Anastasia S. Morrone, IU associate vice president for learning technologies. "I'm proud to say that half of this year's Fellows either work within IU's IT community or are alumni. This recognition is a distinct honor for the university."

This isn't the first time the Sakai Foundation has recognized IU. David Goodrum received the honor in 2010, while Megan May and Brian Richwine were selected as Fellows in 2011. All three work within IU's University Information Technology Services (UITS).

About the Fellows

Chris Maurer is a principal systems analyst at IU, where he serves as the lead developer for Oncourse, the university's branded installation of Sakai. He has authored more than 900 software code changes in support of Sakai CLE development since joining the project in 2004. Maurer is also a member of the Sakai Community's Infrastructure Group, and is the lead systems administrator for several other Sakai programs.

Lynn Ward's involvement with Sakai and Open Source Portfolio Communities began in 2006 as an instructional design and technology consultant with the IUPUI Center for Teaching and Learning. Currently, Ward is a business analyst with UITS, where she provides leadership for Oncourse CLE and contributes to several Sakai working groups.

Lance Speelmon is a long-time Sakai contributor who worked at Indiana University for more than twenty years. While at IU, Speelmon collaborated with Stanford University and the University of Michigan on the Navigo project and was a member of the CLE architecture team. He now leads Sakai OAE and Collaboration and Learning Environment development efforts at rSmart.

About Sakai

Indiana University cofounded the Sakai Project in 2004 through a landmark $6.8 million endeavor to develop open collaboration and learning software. Today, the Sakai Foundation is made up of 81 member institutions and 22 commercial affiliates, and Sakai's Collaboration and Learning Environment is currently the enterprise system of choice at 340 institutions. At IU, Sakai provides the basis for the Oncourse course management system, which successfully serves roughly 150,000 current users. For more information, visit sakaiproject.org.

---

---