Biography

Dr. Ronald J Costello is the Associate Vice Chancellor of Distance Education at the University of North Carolina Wilmington.  Appointed in this role in February of 2016, Dr. Costello is deeply committed to expanding distance education offerings and opportunities at UNCW and through the Onslow Extension.  Dr. Costello believes in a student centered approach to distance education that can provide flexibility to working adults, especially our veterans, and our brave men and women in uniform.

Prior to arriving at UNCW, Dr. Costello was at the Pennsylvania State University as the the director of the Abington College's Center for Teaching and Learning. There he led a team that oversaw online learning, faculty development, classroom IT, testing services, tutoring services, and disability services. He has authored faculty development programs for online teaching, online course development, and several instructional technology training seminars. Dr. Costello has published articles on instructional technology and faculty development in e-learning including, "Voicethread as a Cognitive Tool" and "Perspectives of E-Learning: Faculty Development in Online Learning and E-Learning Engagement". He has spoken at regional, national, and international conferences including the Educause: MARC, The Online Learning Consortium International Conference in Online Learning, and the Society for Information Technology & Teacher Education International Conference.

Dr. Costello earned his Ed.D. from Pepperdine University in Learning Technologies in 2015.  His research interests center upon the effects of online and hybrid course offerings on student persistence and satisfaction, as well as the role of student identity in online and hybrid learning environments.  He also has a Master of Education degree from Widener University in Instructional Technology, and a BA in communication from Hofstra University.