Steele, a nationally recognized leader in online education, brings nearly 20 years of experience to the role and has held online education leadership roles at the University of Tennessee, Knoxville, the University of Arizona and the University of Florida. He will start in his new role at Temple on Sept. 21.

Joshua Steele has been named Temple University's inaugural vice provost for online and digital learning (VPODL) and executive director of Temple Online, Provost and Senior Vice President Libby Wentz announced today. Currently the associate vice dean of digital learning at The University of Tennessee, Knoxville, Josh is a nationally recognized expert in online higher education, and he has spent the last 10 years working at large, public research universities like Temple. 
 
The new, universitywide role of VPODL will lead the development, growth and stewardship of Temple's online and digitally enabled academic portfolio. 
 
"I am delighted to welcome Josh to this critically important role during such a key time in Temple University's history," Temple President John Fry said. "During the past year, our Online Initiative Task Force has been working to assess the current landscape and develop recommendations for reenvisioning the model of online education at Temple. Through this process, it became very clear that we need a more coordinated approach to online education, like many of our peer institutions. Josh has spearheaded the launch of online programs at several other large, public research universities like Temple, making him the ideal individual to help guide us as we prepare to introduce Temple Online." 
 
Steele's appointment to this new role directly supports the university's strategic plan, Forward with Purpose, and its keystone priority of Student Success. One of the initiatives within the new plan is Redefining Access for the 21st Century, and the plan has specifically identified online education as area of opportunity for the university. 
 
Through the launch of Temple Online, the university will develop a dynamic, market-driven, online curriculum that dramatically expands offerings and meets students where they are. This is especially important in instances where traditional in-person learning is not an option for students. 
 
“Temple’s long-standing commitment to access, and its commitment to redefine access in the 21st century, make this an incredible opportunity to have a giant impact on the lives of people in Philadelphia and beyond," Steele said. "I am excited to collaborate with units across the campus as we support Forward with Purpose through the development of new programs and pathways that respond to the needs of adult, non-traditional learners.” 
 
At the University of Tennessee, Knoxville, Steele supported the growth of the university's online undergraduate program offerings from two to 25 in just five years' time. During that same period, he also helped more than triple the university's fully online student enrollment to its current total of more than 3,600. 
 
While at Tennessee, he also led the development of a new branded web presence for all the university's online programs and established a campuswide initiative to develop a shared quality online course rubric, which includes a peer review process and teaching observation tools. 
 
He also has extensive experience collaborating across large university systems. At Tennessee, he partnered with several central units, including Enrollment Management, Graduate School, Registrar, Financial Aid, and Institutional Research to improve application and onboarding processes for online students. He also helped put stronger data reporting protocols in place for the university's online student population. 
 
"As part of our strategic plan, we are working to refine our overall enrollment strategy, and online education has been identified as one of our greatest opportunities," Temple Provost and Senior Vice President Libby Wentz said. "At every step of his higher education career, Josh has either launched or strengthened online initiatives. I fully expect him to make that same kind of impact here at Temple." 
 
Prior to joining the University of Tennessee, Josh served as the senior director of Arizona Online at the University of Arizona and later as the Associate Director of Academic Strategies for UF Online at the University of Florida. While at the University of Arizona, he helped develop the student support and academic advising infrastructure to support their newly created online undergraduate program, which has now grown to more than 8,000 online students. 
 
Steele holds a bachelor’s degree in psychology from the University of Arizona and master’s degrees in history (University of Arizona) and adult learning and training (University of Phoenix). His PhD is in geography and also from the University of Arizona.