Deborah Keyek-Franssen, Ph.D., Associate Vice President and Dean of University Connected Learning (UCL) at the University of Utah, is a creative educator and thought leader with over two decades of experience in IT and higher education. As a senior administrator at the University of Utah, Keyek-Franssen works with a talented team to provide digital technologies for teaching and learning on-campus and off; a full range of online education opportunities and services to support those programs including learning experience design, market analysis, marketing, and adult learner support; and a rich set of professional education, workforce alignment, and personal enrichment programs. She began her career at the University of Colorado, where she served as director of academic technology; oversaw strategy and research in the use, implementation, and evaluation of educational technologies; and managed a team of consultants and technologists. Keyek-Franssen graduated with a B.A. in German Literature from Dartmouth College. She earned her M.A. in German Literature, a graduate certificate in Women’s Studies, and her Ph.D. in Germanic Languages and Literatures from the University of Michigan. She also earned another M.A. in Higher Education Administration from the University of Michigan. She serves on the advisory boards for the NASH Institute for Systems Innovation and Improvement and the New Leadership Academy. Keyek-Franssen previously served as the vice-chair of the statewide Colorado Open Educational Resources (OER) Council, as faculty director of the EDUCAUSE Management Institute, as an inaugural member of the Coursera Advisory Council, and as faculty director of the EDUCAUSE Management Institute. She is incredibly proud to be the EDUCAUSE’s 2020 DEI Leadership Award recipient. She supported the National Center for Women & IT (NCWIT) for nearly two decades, participated in research and program development to increase the number of girls, women, and underrepresented minorities in IT education and work, and founded the EDUCAUSE Women in IT Community Group.