April 11, 2007
Re: Jeanne Azzopardi
To Whom it May Concern:
This letter is to provide my support and recommendation for Jeanne Azzopardi. I worked closely with Jeanne for a year and a half and witnessed her professionalism and dedication to her job.
At Southern Oregon University, Jeanne was hired to coordinate the online degree program in Criminology and Criminal Justice (CCJ). Since I was the coordinator in the School of Business, Jeanne and I worked closely together as a team to get the online programs off the ground. We experienced much frustration with the lack of experience and education in online learning among the administration. Instead of dwelling on the problems that existed, Jeanne continually searched for solutions to better address student needs. She seemed to have unlimited enthusiasm for instructional design and student support services. When crises occurred, Jeanne jumped in to fill any void so that students would not suffer. She did more to further the online program at SOU than the director herself. She truly understands what needs to be done to create a successful online program.
Not only does Jeanne have experience and education in the delivery of online courses, she has provided much support to other faculty in the development of courses. She became the Blackboard expert in her department and provided instructional design support even though that was not part of her job description. She saw a need and filled it. She also became the campus expert in accessibility for students with disabilities. She worked endlessly to bring awareness of accessibility to the campus community.
In Jeanne’s time at SOU, she developed articulations for CCJ coursework at all of the community colleges in Oregon, California, Nevada, and Washington. She developed positive working relationships with the community college department chairs who often referred students to her. Not only did she build relationships with community colleges, she developed internal relationships with people all over campus to gain support for online learning. She understood the big picture and her role in it.
It was such a pleasure working with Jeanne at SOU. She taught me much about online learning, and I admired her passion and dedication to her job. Before leaving SOU, she made sure all of her advisees were well taken care of. She continued with program development until her very last day. Most people would not show such dedication to the very end. I miss her greatly.
In summary, Jeanne has so much to offer an institution that wants to integrate technology into course delivery. SOU will suffer in her absence. Feel free to contact me if you would like to discuss Jeanne’s qualifications further.
Sincerely,
Joan McBee, Associate Professor
Business Degree Completion Program
541-552-8151
mcbeej@sou.edu
