Jason Rhode, Ph.D. is a champion for academic excellence and supports and promotes a student-centric and equity-minded approach in all facets of his position as Associate Vice Provost for Teaching, Learning, and Digital Education at Northern Illinois University (NIU). He provides direction for the Center for Innovative Teaching and Learning (CITL) and oversees university-wide digital learning. In his role he functions as the chief online learning officer and defines and implements processes to deliver high quality digital learning.