On June 9th, the Womxn’s Hub at the University of California, Irvine (UCI) named the winners of their seventh annual Dynamic Womxn of UCI Awards. The Office of the Vice Provost for Teaching and Learning (OVPTL) is proud to announce that two of its valued team members, Megan Linos and Andrea Aebersold, were among this year’s award winners.

In his congratulatory message to Megan, Vice Provost for Teaching and Learning Michael Dennin explains,

We nominated Megan Linos for the Spotlight Award because she epitomizes strength and resilience by offering much-needed clarity and resources in this time of great confusion. She truly is one of the strongest, most humble, positive, hardworking, inspirational women we know.

As the Director of Learning Experience Design and Online Education at the Division of Teaching Excellence and Innovation (DTEI), Megan works hard to support faculty and enhance online learning experiences by providing strategies for course development, teaching consultations, and technology training. Despite her commitment to helping UCI’s campus remain on the cutting edge of technological and pedagogical innovation, Megan keeps a low profile, content to operate behind the scenes.

As the Dynamic Womxn of UCI’s Spotlight Award recognizes individuals who have demonstrated a significant contribution to the UCI community and whose role on campus may often go unnoticed, it is the perfect award to highlight all of Megan’s efforts.

Megan manages a team that works with faculty to create online and hybrid courses. She also helps faculty integrate new technology into their teaching with workshops, one-on-one support, and Open Lab office hours. Megan is also responsible for assisting faculty with grant proposals fo the Innovative Learning Technology Initiative that provides funding for the development of online courses. Thanks to her efforts, UCI faculty were able to earn nearly $1 million in grants during the 2018-2019 academic year alone.

Additionally, Megan played an instrumental role in helping faculty, students, and staff transition to a remote setting at the outset of the COVID-19 pandemic. Her efforts resulted in the development of the OVPTL Planning for Remote Instruction Website that provides faculty with updated information and resources for teaching remotely. She also hosted a series of webinars and department-specific training to prepare faculty and staff for a remote Spring 2020 quarter. Megan also led the creation of an online faculty development program for remote instruction called the Digital Learning Institute, as well as a similar training program for graduate students and post-docs called the Summer Remote Teaching Institute for Grads and Postdocs. Finally, Megan served as the leading expert on the technologies that the campus adopted for online instruction.

With everything that she does to enact positive change, support faculty, and improve the student learning experience at UCI, the OVPTL is proud to celebrate Megan’s Dynamic Womxn of UCI Spotlight Award.

Due to the COVID-19 pandemic, this year’s Dynamic Womxn of UCI Awards were presented remotely via Zoom. In lieu of an in-person awards ceremony, the Womxn’s Hub has created a video to congratulate this year’s award winners. To show your support for all of the women who are making a difference at UCI, please view the video here.