William Pelz
William Pelz is Professor of Psychology at the Herkimer County Community College (HCCC) of the State University of New York (SUNY). During his more than 40 years at HCCC he has served as Chair of the Humanities and Social Science Division, Director of Distance Learning, and Coordinator of the HCCC Internet Academy. Throughout his career he has practiced his first love – teaching. In 1994 Dr. Pelz received the SUNY Chancellor’s Award for Excellence in Teaching, in 2003 he won the Alfred P. Sloan International Award for Excellence in Online Teaching, and in 2006 the Chancellor’s Award for Excellence in Scholarship and Creative Activities.
Bill has published a number of scholarly articles, primarily in the areas of student and faculty satisfaction with asynchronous teaching and learning. His recent research interests are in isolating the heutagogical factors that influence learner-directed achievement in virtual learning environments and applying the results to innovative blended learning environments. Bill has developed and taught numerous asynchronous credit and non-credit bearing courses. From 1999 through 2009 he was the Lead Faculty Trainer for the SUNY Learning Network. In that role he provided pedagogical and technical training and support to more than 2500 SUNY faculty. Bill is an outspoken advocate for Asynchronous Learning Networks (ALNs) and has presented his views and research findings at numerous national and international conferences. He received an MS degree in Learning Systems Technology and a Certificate of Advanced Studies in School Psychology.