Event

The Centre for Excellence in Teaching and Learning at The University of the West Indies (UWI), St. Augustine Campus, invites educators and stakeholders to the UWI/Guardian Life Premium Open Lecture 2025 on Friday, 26th September 2025 at 5:30 PM. This event will be held in Auditorium A of the Teaching and Learning Complex (TLC) and marks the 25-year partnership between UWI and Guardian Life of The Caribbean Limited, celebrating their shared commitment to advancing education and fostering excellence in teaching and learning across the Caribbean.

This year’s lecture, themed “From Barriers to Bridges: Teaching and Learning for All,” will feature renowned educational accessibility expert Dr. Thomas J. Tobin, who will present on transformative approaches to inclusive education.

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ABOUT THE SPEAKER, DR. THOMAS J. TOBIN

Thomas J. Tobin is a founding member of the Center for Teaching, Learning, and Mentoring (CTLM) at the University of Wisconsin-Madison, as well as an internationally recognized scholar, author, and speaker on quality in technology-mediated education—especially copyright, evaluation of teaching practices, academic integrity, accessibility, and universal design for learning.

 

He holds a master's and Ph.D. in English literature, an information science master’s, a professional project management certification, a master online teacher certification, the Quality Matters reviewer certification, the Professional in Accessibility Core Competencies (CPACC) certification, and the Penn State Academic Leadership certification (he tells his nieces and nephews he is in 47th Grade).

 

Tobin’s career has focused on extending higher education beyond traditional audiences. He advocates for the educational rights of people with disabilities and from disadvantaged backgrounds. He served five years as the Coordinator of Learning Technologies at Northeastern Illinois University, seven years on the Learning, Talent, and Communication team for Blue Cross and Blue Shield, and four years as the Program Area Director for Distance Teaching and Learning at UW-Madison.

 

As a 2018 Fulbright Scholar, Tom helped Eötvös Loránd University in Budapest to develop its first faculty-development program and provided workshops and training to twelve other Hungarian colleges, universities, and military programs.  He was named to Ed Tech Magazine’s 2020 “Dean’s List” of Educational Technology Influencers, was honoured with the 2022 Wagner Award for Outstanding Leadership in Distance Learning Administration, and Eduflow named him in 2023 among the world’s Top 100 Learning Influencers. Tom serves on the editorial boards of Advances in Online Education, InSight: A Journal of Scholarly Teaching, the Online Journal of Distance Learning Administration, and the Oklahoma University Press Teaching, Engaging, and Thriving in Higher Ed series.

 

His books include:

·         Evaluating Online Teaching: Implementing Best Practices (2015) with Jean Mandernach and Ann H. Taylor.

·         The Copyright Ninja (2017).

·         Reach Everyone, Teach Everyone: Universal Design for Learning in Higher Education (2018) with Kirsten Behling.

·         Going Alt-Ac: A Guide to Alternative Academic Careers (2020) with Katie Linder and Kevin Kelly.

·         UDL for FET Practitioners: Guidance for Implementing Universal Design for Learning in Irish Further Education and Training (2021) with Ann Heelan and Dara Ryder.

·         UDL at Scale: A Guide to Adopting Universal Design for Learning for Higher Education Leaders (forthcoming 2025).

·         Evaluating Teaching in the Digital Era (forthcoming 2026) with Jean Mandernach and Ann H. Taylor.

·         Peer Observation Made Practical: A Guide to Developing Programs, Instruments, and Institutional Cultures that Foster Teaching Excellence (forthcoming 2027) with Lauren Barbeau and Claudia Cornejo Happel.

For more information, please contact STA-premiumeventcetl@sta.uwi.edu. Registration details will be announced shortly.