Dr. Naomi Boyer
Hall of Fame Class of 2015
Dr. Naomi Boyer has gained an international reputation through her promotion of self-directed learning in North America and beyond.
Since the completion of her ground-breaking dissertation, Building Online Learning: System Insights into Group Learning in an International Online Environment, Boyer has enjoyed solid footing in distance education. At Polk State College in Winter Haven, FL, she is associate vice president for strategic initiatives and innovation/chief information officer. In this capacity she has developed a cross-functional team to design, implement, and support the institutional technology in facilitation of student success. She also provides crucial leadership for the integration of instructional technology, the cultivation and improvement of distance education, and the implementation of technology-related professional development for faculty and staff. She works, too, with an International Committee that establishes and maintains an institutional infrastructure for supporting international online and other initiatives. Another of her key roles is cultivating and supervising education abroad as well as spearheading the institution’s global curriculum development activities.
She is tirelessly committed to ensuring the success of the annual International Self-Directed Learning Symposium. She is a board member and an officer in the International Society for Self-Directed Learning (ISSDL), the 2011 recipient of the Malcolm Knowles Memorial Self-Directed Learning Award, and serves on the Editorial Board of the International Journal of Self-Directed Learning. She takes considerable time throughout each year to ensure success not only of the symposium but also the ISSDL. She also serves a crucial role in the development and implementation of each year’s symposium program.
Boyer has authored and co-authored articles in numerous publications, including the International Journal of Self-Directed learning, Quarterly Review of Distance Education, Scholar-Practitioner Quarterly, and Transformative Education. She also has published several book chapters and papers in conference proceedings and regularly presents at national and international conferences. She also has taught college courses on various topics such as adult education in the United States, curriculum construction and technology for adult education, and working with adult learners. In addition, she has created key policy, programs, and procedures in her various higher education leadership roles, including developing multi-year strategic plans for distance education; drafting university guidelines and operating procedures for educational outreach, education abroad, and international partnerships; and creating a college governance structure that facilitates program approval, implementation, and improvement.
Prior to joining Polk State College, Boyer directed distance education programs and teaching and learning technology at the University of South Florida (Lakeland), where she managed the delivery of distance learning courses and programs and developed international partnerships for outreach efforts. In 2005, she became assistant vice president for USF’s External University.
In the field of higher education, Boyer is recognized as a visionary scholar, professor, administrator, and leader, in self-directed learning and distance education.