Randall Bass
From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia
Randall (Randy) J. Bass is an American professor of English and the Vice President for Strategic Education Initiatives at Georgetown University.[1] He is a prominent figure in the scholarship of teaching and learning (SoTL) and digital pedagogy, known for his work on the intersection of new media and university transformation.[2]
Bass earned a Bachelor of Arts in English and History from the University of the Pacific in 1981.[3][4]
He pursued graduate studies at Brown University, where he completed a Master of Arts in 1987 and a Ph.D. in English and American Literature in 1991.[5][4] His doctoral research focused on American literature and culture, which informed his later scholarship in digital humanities.[3]
Career and leadership
Bass has held multiple leadership positions at Georgetown University over three decades.[4] He was the founding executive director of the Center for New Designs in Learning and Scholarship (CNDLS) from 2000 to 2013.[6] He subsequently served as Vice Provost for Education for seven years before his appointment as Vice President for Strategic Education Initiatives in 2020.[1][4]
In 1994, he directed the American Studies Crossroads Project, the first web-based project funded by the FIPSE.[7] He also led the Visible Knowledge Project (2000–2005), a national initiative involving 21 campuses exploring technology's impact on learning.[8]
At Georgetown, he oversees the Designing the Future(s) of the University initiative and the Red House incubator.[1] Since 2024, he has served as a Senior Advisor to the President at the University of North Texas.[5]
Academic leadership and service
Bass holds several advisory and governance roles:
- Member, Board of Regents, University of the Pacific (2020–present)[9]
- Trustee, Hamad Bin Khalifa University (2017–2025)[10]
- External Advisory Board, Center for Project Based Learning, Worcester Polytechnic Institute (2024–present)[11]
- Project Working Group, Paradigm Project, Bringing Theory to Practice (2022–present)[12]
Scholarship
Bass is recognized for his 1999 essay, "The Scholarship of Teaching: What’s the Problem?", a foundational text in the scholarship of teaching and learning (SoTL).[4] He argued that instructional "problems" should be viewed as scholarly opportunities for investigation.[13] He published an updated reflection, "What's the Problem Now?", in 2020.[14]
Honors
In 1999, Bass received the EDUCAUSE Medal for Outstanding Achievement in Technology and Undergraduate Education.[7] He was a Pew Scholar and Carnegie Fellow at the Carnegie Foundation for the Advancement of Teaching (1998–1999).[15]
