UA Dean Robert Olin Appointed to Pearson Strategic Advisory Board

TUSCALOOSA, Ala. – Dr. Robert F. Olin, dean of the College of Arts and Sciences at The University of Alabama, has been appointed to a newly established strategic advisory board for Pearson Education, the world’s leading educational and professional publisher.

Pearson Education, a division of Prentice-Hall Publishing Inc., provides scientifically research-based print and digital programs to help students learn at their own pace, in their own way.

Pearson formed the Strategic Advisory Board to guide the company in changing its corporate focus from traditional texts to technology/content learning. As an adviser, Olin will help recommend policies and strategies that will enhance Pearson’s commitment to educational institutions to improve student learning.

At the first Strategic Advisory Board conference to be held in Boston Nov.15-16, Olin will discuss developments with UA’s Math Technology Learning Center. The 420-computer laboratory uses educational software to address the obstacles students face by replacing traditional lectures with interactive computer programs and personal tutoring, allowing students to learn math at their own pace.

The board consists of approximately 20 senior executives from two-year and four-year academic institutions. Advisers have a two-year commitment and will meet twice a year with other board members as well as conduct virtual conference meetings.

Olin has been nationally recognized for his achievements in the application of educational technology. During his 25-year career as a professor of mathematics at Virginia Tech, Olin founded the Math Emporium, the first computer-based student laboratory in the United States.

Pearson offers educational programs for K-12, higher education, and professional education. Pearson Education began in 1998 when Pearson plc, a global media company, purchased Simon & Schuster educational operations that include Prentice Hall, Allyn & Bacon and Macmillan Publishing USA. Pearson’s other operations include the Financial Times Group and the Penguin Group.