A good friend of mine passed away recently. She was not only my friend, but also a colleague and a mentor.

Shauna provided my first real introduction to “Distance Education” as a field of study and practice. She was always willing to share whatever she had in terms of time, resources, and knowledge. Shauna recruited a number of us to do data collection related to her dissertation and professional research interests (synchronous virtual classrooms). It was a truly massive project that produced multiple papers and we were all included in the process, writing, and presentations. An incredible learning experience and not one many would be willing to share.

I was excitied to hear that she was presented the first “Virtual Apple Award for Teaching Excellence” a from the IT Student Association at USF, our alma mater. The Dean of the USF College of Education also renamed the e-Learning Initiative in the college, the Dr. Shauna Schullo e-Learning Initiative. Shauna had a huge impact there, as well as at the University of Alaska at Fairbanks, and the University of Wisconsin -Madison.

Shauna’s colleagues at the University of Wisconsin-Madison have set up a memorial fund to support a Shauna Schullo Best Teaching Practices presentation at their annual Conference on Distance Teaching and Learning. For more information on how you might contribute, check out their online information.

We miss you, Shauna!