Pathways to Possibility--Dr. Mark Milliron, WGU

Anette visits with her friend and fellow Hope Center Board member, Dr. Mark Milliron, Senior Vice President and Executive Dean of the Teachers College at Western Governors University They discuss different pathways to success for all students. Dr. Mark David Milliron is an award-winning leader, author, speaker, and consultant who works with universities, community colleges, K-12 schools, foundations, corporations, associations, and government agencies across the country and around the world. He serves as Senior Vice President and Executive Dean of the Teachers College at Western Governors University (WGU), a nonprofit university founded by 19 U.S. governors more than 25 years ago. WGU has since become a beacon of instructional innovation, affordable access, competency-based education, and workforce connection, serving over 130,000 full-time students nationwide. Founded with support from the U.S. Department of Education, WGU’s Teachers College is now the largest college of education in the U.S., serving more than 30,000 teachers, leaders, and other education innovators in all 50 states. In addition to his work with WGU, Mark helps catalyze positive change in education through his service on the boards and advisory councils of leading-edge education organizations, including the Trellis Foundation;Bennett College; the Global Online Academy;Civitas Learning; the Mastery Transcript Consortium; the Hope Center for College, Community, & Justice; and ISKME/Open Education Resource Commons. He also holds an appointment as a Professor of Practice in the College of Education at The University of Texas at Austin. In 1999, The University of Texas at Austin’s College of Education named Mark a Distinguished Graduate for his service to the education field. In 2007, the American Association of Community Colleges (AACC) presented him with its prestigious National Leadership Award. In 2013 he was inducted into the United States Distance Learning Association’s Hall of Fame. In 2016 he was chosen by the Chronicle of Higher Education as one of the “Top Technology Innovators” in higher education; and in 2018, Mark was listed by EdTechDigest as one of the Top Influencers in the education technology field. Regardless of all of his activities and accomplishments, he will quickly tell you that the most important job and the greatest blessing in his life is serving as Julia’s husband, and as father to Alexandra, Richard, Marcus, and Max.