CTE Senior Instructional Designer Lydia Frass has been named the recipient of the 2016 Excellence in Support Service Award by the Association of Distance Education (ADEIL) and Independent Learning.  This national award recognizes one individual each year who has a record of outstanding contributions to online course development and service to faculty that have positively affected student learning at his or her institution. 

The award comes as no surprise to faculty and staff members whom Lydia has helped to develop online and blended courses as part of CTE’s Instructional Design team.  Clients describe her as “amazing,”  “patient, informative and extremely organized,” “incredibly helpful,” and “extraordinarily creative.”  CTE Director Christy Friend agrees. “Lydia is an invaluable member of our team.  She brings a high level of expertise and skill to every project she works on.  Just as important, her positive, collegial, and genuinely helpful demeanor make her a pleasure to work with.” 

Lydia joined CTE in 2014 after working for four years developing online professional education programs for USC’s Arnold School of Public Health. She holds a master’s degree in public health and a Ph.D. in adult education from the University of Southern Mississippi.  During her time at CTE, she has helped faculty to develop 99 online and blended courses in areas including history, dance, exercise science, Latin, biostatistics, and English. She traveled to Colorado Springs, CO, to accept the award at the annual ADEIL conference.