Alin Vrancila, Ph.D. Candidate Moody Bible Institute Distance Learning 820 N LaSalle Blvd, Chicago IL, 60614 Phone: 312.329.8911 (office) Email: alin.vrancila@moody.edu 925.482.5151 (cell) www.alinvrancila.com EDUCATION Ph.D. Oxford Center for Mission Studies, Oxford, UK Research Interest: Faculty Readiness Assessment for Online Teaching 2012 - Present Master of Arts, Union University Mill Valley, California 2010 Major: Intercultural Studies, Research Emphasis Bachelor of Science, Lucian Blaga University, Romania 2004 Major: Computer Science; Minor: Marketing & Economics. ACADEMIC EXPERIENCE Assistant Dean of Teaching and Learning and Professor, Moody Bible Institute Distance Learning 2013 present Adjunct Professor, Moody Distance Learning 2011-2013 RESEARCH AREAS Technology and Higher Education, Distance Education, Teaching Online, Immigration, War and Identity in developing countries. COURSES TAUGHT Undergraduate ED4424 Practices of Leadership 3 credits MS1103 Christian Missions 3 credits MS1103 Christian Missions Hybrid (On Ground/Online) 3 credits GSU1111 Global Culture 3 credits MS1100 Spiritual Life and Community 3 credits Ps4463 Cultural Dynamics of Congregational Ministry 3 credits GSU1110 College Writing 3 credits GSU1113 Intermediate Computer Skills 3 credits GSU2213 Introduction to Sociology 3 credits BI4404 Applying Scripture in the Contemporary World 4 credits
Alin Vrancila - Page 2 of 6 Graduate BI 7701 Case Study Development 3 credits BI 7700 Action Research and Biblical Interpretation 3 credits (COTY 2015) IS 5500 Theology and Practice of Intercultural Ministry 3 credits COURSES DEVELOPED Undergraduate Revised: MS1103 Christian Missions 3 credits In progress: CUL 3301 Analyzing Cultural Change 3 credits CUL 4403 Cultural Studies Project Research 3 credits CUL 4404 Cultural Studies Major Project 3 credits Graduate BI 7701 Case Study Development 3 credits BI 7700 Action Research and Biblical Interpretation 3 credits (COTY 2015) Co-written Methods of Biblical Interpretation HONORS and AWARDS Course of the Year Award ACCESS March 2015 http://www.accessed.org/coty-courses I was awarded the COTY Award (Course of the Year) scoring 120 points out of 120 for the BI7700 Action Research Graduate course I created for the Master of Arts in Applied Biblical Studies program. I worked with Mary Oprea as the Instructional Designer and this award was a great confirmation that our work made a significant contribution to the quality and innovation of Online Education. PRESENTATIONS and RESEARCH PAPERS Befriend the IT geeks, they might have some good ideas! Using online forms and social media tools for online faculty professional development. ACCESS Conference Presentation 2014 Building a Faculty One-Stop-Shop that centralizes student retention, course requests, incident reports, course content issues in one centralized location has proven to be very beneficial. Including a blog within that One-Stop-Shop for professional development is proving to be even better. Navigating Dualities: Current complexities of life in Zacatecas. A research paper. This research paper participated at the HERA Conference in El Paso Texas on March 11-13, 2010. Romericans, Four years among Romanian-Americans. A research paper. A case study of the intercultural phenomena that are taking place within the space of the Romanian-American church. The research findings were presented on July 2009 Mill Valley, California at the Golden Gate Baptist Theology Seminary.
Alin Vrancila - Page 3 of 6 The Sudan, The war behind the battle. A research paper Ethnography conducted in The Sudan with a focus on the conflict between the North Sudan and South Sudan. A brief history and reasons behind the conflict. Culture and identity, outside influences in South Sudan. PROFESSIONAL AFFILIATIONS AND ORGANIZATIONS ACCESS - The Association of Christian Distance Education Vice-President March 2015 to Present ACCESS provides leadership through resources, online community development, and promotion of various forms of distance education. www.accessed.org ARNA - Action Research Network of the Americas Founding Member The Action Research Network of the Americas (ARNA) unites college and university students and faculty conducting practitioner inquiry into teaching and learning with fellow action researchers in public schools, private schools, community settings and workplaces throughout the Americas. ARNA members are committed to taking action locally, regionally, nationally, and internationally to promote action research that is conducted with a commitment to honesty, integrity, inclusiveness, multi-vocality, engagement, and achievement within sustainable democratic societies. www.arnaconnect.org CDLDTE - Council for Distance Learning Directors in Theological Education Web Development Co-Chair CDLDTE aims to establish connections and share resources among people who are responsible for managing or directing distance learning programs in theological education around the world We also collaborate with others on the research, writing, and publishing of materials and explore new models of engagement and new approaches for successful distance education. And we serve as an advocate in the promotion of quality distance theological education among state boards of education and regional/vocational accrediting bodies. http://www.distancelearningdirectors.org The SLOAN Consortium MEMBER Individuals Institutions and Organizations Committed to Quality Online Education Royal African Society MEMBER A membership society that works to foster better understanding and strong relationships between Britain, Africa and the world.
Alin Vrancila - Page 4 of 6 PROFESSIONAL EXPERIENCE Moody Distance Learning 2013 - Present Assistant Dean of Teaching & Learning and Professor - In addition to teaching six (6) hours per semester, as the Assistant Dean of Teaching and Learning I am responsible for developing and leading the MDL faculty community in professional development and classroom delivery that supports the ethos of Moody Standards for Instructors. I oversee and manage the largest expense budget in Moody Distance Learning and I have successfully implemented new initiatives that saved the Institute more than $300k in my first two years as an Assistant Dean. I am directly responsible for more than 140 Adjunct Faculty and lead a team of 5 people in the Instructional Quality department. I initiate leadership and development programs; lead, supervise, support; and evaluate the MDL faculty including retention/ promotion processes, compensation determination and course load/scheduling; enhance the faculty evaluation system; develop, implement and monitor the new faculty mentoring program; oversee the development of on-going training/professional development opportunities; create and maintain an online Faculty. Moody Bible Institute, Chicago IL 2011-2013 CRM Manager Under the supervision of the Division Manager, as the Customer Relationship Management (CRM) Manager I was responsible for the coordination and communication of marketing, recruitment, and student support processes for appropriate programming and configuration of CRM by Moody's Information Systems. As CRM Manager I served as education's primary interface with Oracle CRM and other CRM support software currently used by Moody. I successfully implemented digital marketing and student engagement strategies that generated close to 10, 000 prospective students for various venues in my first year. Analysis and reporting of analytics, as well as audience segmentation and management were also key responsibilities of this position. Another important component of my position was to Interview, hire, and train employees. Miak Wadang International 2009 - Present Founding Member and Vice President of Miak Wadang Romania, Miak Wadang USA This Non-Profit organization is focused on community development in South Sudan. As a founding member, I traveled to South Sudan and I organized events and projects in Europe and USA to raise awareness and support for the people of South Sudan. I have successfully organized two major fund raising campaigns to raise funds for the distribution of grain in the hunger stricken South Sudan and raised more than $250,000 more info www.grainforpain.com One House of Design (now Avangarde Global), Portland OR 2007 2011 Former Owner and Associate Co-owned a Web Design and Consulting start-up Built this company from scratch together with a partner. Websites, graphic design, corporate identity, programming and consulting. Also, we successfully created outsourcing partnerships. I was responsible for contract negotiation, consulting work as well as branding and graphic design work.
Alin Vrancila - Page 5 of 6 The Continentals International Urban Choir 2005-2010 Evangelist and Musician I was a member of The Continentals Urban Choir and toured most of Europe, Moldavia, Southern part of the Russian border and most of the United States of America. Performed evangelistic concerts in hospitals, maximum security prisons, churches, stadiums, various public events and venues. I was responsible with delivering multiple evangelistic messages a day for all the concerts. Gnosis Television Center Romania, Europe 2003 2005 Manager Managed and coordinated all filming projects. Developed several Christian documentaries. Created opportunities and partnerships with local TV Stations for broadcasting Christian materials. Distributed all material nationwide. Successfully managed a team of 3 people. CONSULTING Emmaus Bible College, Dubuque, Iowa: 2014 Faculty Readiness Assessment for launching an online program Oxford Center for Missions Studies, Oxford UK: 2012 2014 Web re-development The use of Evernote in Research Samvada Centre for Research Resources, New Delhi 2014 Web development and web strategy The use of Learning Management Systems in deploying content online AwakenToFollow, Kampala Uganda 2013-2015 Non-profit vision and mission Development strategy OTHER EXPERIENCE Ekklesia Theological Seminary, Nashville TN 2009 2010 Course: International Opportunities and Ministries. Designed the course and materials for the class. Assigned projects to provide students with a better understanding of developing new opportunities for ministry. Ningxia University, Ningxia China Summer 2007 Course: Introduction to World Cultures A course designed to equip local Undergraduate Instructors with a general introduction to World Cultures
Alin Vrancila - Page 6 of 6 Baptist Theological Seminary, Bucharest Romania Spring 2006 Course: Challenges in International Ministry Led discussions focused on the challenges of cross-cultural ministry, equipped students with a working knowledge of these challenges and how to overcome them. Xi an University, Xi an China Summer 2005 Conversational English Used creative teaching methods to lead discussions on various topics to create student engagement in conversational English.