Dr. Jeff King Named Assistant Vice President for Transformative Learning

Dr. Jeff King Named Assistant Vice President for Transformative Learning
Please join me in congratulating Jeff King, Ed.D., on his appointment as assistant vice president for transformative learning, effective Jan. 1, 2023.

Dr. King holds an Ed.D. in higher education, cognate in adult and continuing education, from the University of North Texas, as well as graduate and undergraduate degrees in music from North Texas State University and the University of Georgia. The recent departure of Bucky Dodd, Ph.D., assistant vice president, created a vacancy on the Academic Affairs leadership team that will be filled by Dr. King. Meanwhile, Dr. Dodd’s former position as chief learning innovation officer has been posted.

In this expanded role, Dr. King will continue his work leading the Student Transformative Learning Record (STLR) initiative at UCO along with leadership responsibilities for all units in the Center for Excellence in Transformative Teaching and Learning (CETTL), which includes the 21st Century Pedagogy Institute and the Educators’ Leadership Academy. A reorganization of responsibilities within the division will also bring Broncho Blueprint and its associated functions under the CETTL umbrella given the multiple synergies between this initiative and CETTL’s existing operations.

Dr. King’s work advocating for transformative learning (TL) at UCO began as a lead architect for STLR when he arrived in January 2012. He has remained a TL mentor and colleague ever since. In this new position, he will bring additional energies and focus to TL at UCO in service to student, faculty, staff and institutional success. His work with TL and with STLR over the years has brought recognition, grants and accolades to UCO as a leader in transformative learning, with institutions globally adopting and adapting STLR into their operations.

“Speaking from the AVP level for TL will emphasize its importance, both at UCO and around the world, as UCO leverages even greater successes with TL. It’s an exciting honor to be able to work with Broncho Blueprint, as well, benefitting from the wonderful work done with this initiative,” said Dr. King.

Dr. King has been, or is, principal investigator (PI) or co-PI on grants from the National Science Foundation, the U.S. Department of Education, the Lumina Foundation, the U.S. State Department, NASPA, the International Research and Exchange (IREX) Program and the Gates Foundation. He has published numerous articles and a book chapter about TL and has reached invited author status on the subject for multiple publications. Current research work in TL has him leading an investigation of the use of artificial intelligence to mine for linguistic signifiers that correlate with transformation in learners’ narratives, collaborating with a world-class team of researchers headed by Dr. Hemal Patel at the University of California – San Diego. A frequent speaker about TL at national and international conferences and webinars, Dr. King networks with TL and student success leaders around the world.

I look forward to working with Dr. King in this new role that supports the growth and development of the University of Central Oklahoma as a premier transformative learning, metropolitan-serving higher education institution.

Charlotte K. Simmons, Ph.D.
Provost and Vice President for Academic Affairs