In collaboration with Indiana Wesleyan University, the Council for Christian Colleges & Universities is pleased to announce the appointment of Dr. Pamela Giles as the new executive director for the CCCU Center for Research in Adult Learning at IWU in Marion, Ind. Giles brings a wealth of experience to her new role, including service as a faculty member and academic administrator at two CCCU institutions.
The CCCU Center for Research in Adult Learning serves Christian institutions by facilitating and encouraging research that will enhance the quality of Christ-centered adult programs. It seeks to be a collaborative network of Christian institutions, where knowledge is shared in order to enhance the quality of Christian adult higher education. The CCCU and IWU are confident Giles is the person best prepared to lead this very important initiative.
Giles has worked in adult degree programs for 19 years, both as an administrator and as a faculty member. While serving at IWU she was a member of the team that launched the RN-BSN completion program. At Oklahoma Wesleyan University in Bartlesville, Okla., she also created and launched an RN-BSN completion program, as well as laying the foundation for OWU’s four-year nursing degree program.
Giles’ educational background includes study at the University of Oklahoma in the Adult and Higher Education program and a Ph.D. in Education from Walden University, with a focus in learning management. She has been a frequent participant and speaker on adult education issues at regional and national conferences.
In addition to her role as the CRAL executive director, Giles will continue to teach in the IWU School of Nursing. Her duties there include writing/teaching the first course in the new Doctor of Nursing Practice degree program and supervising and teaching a course on innovative teaching strategies.
Her primary research focus is studying the impact that adult degree completion programs have on the organizational behavior of faith-based colleges and universities. She also recently collaborated with two CCCU colleagues to examine faculty and administrator perceptions of organizational culture among four Christian universities with adult degree completion programs. Giles also contributed a chapter to In Transition: Adult Higher Education Governance in Private Institutions, a Jossey-Bass book slated to be released in October.
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About the CCCU: The Council for Christian Colleges & Universities is a higher education association of 172 intentionally Christ-centered institutions around the world. The 118 member campuses in North America are all fully-accredited, comprehensive colleges and universities with curricula rooted in the arts and sciences. In addition, 54 affiliate campuses from 19 countries are part of the CCCU. The Council’s mission is to advance the cause of Christ-centered higher education and to help our institutions transform lives by faithfully relating scholarship and service to biblical truth. Visit www.cccu.org.