Directors Support Learning Through Innovative Strategies

October 11, 2017

Borough of Manhattan Community College (BMCC/CUNY) welcomes Sara E. Crosby as Director of the BMCC Learning Academy (BLA) and Christopher Oscar Medellin as BMCC’s Director of E-Learning.

Sara E. Crosby, Director of the BMCC Learning Academy

Sara E. Crosby served most recently as Director of First College Year, out of the Office of the Associate Provost for Academic Programs at Brooklyn College, CUNY. Before that, she was Assistant Director of Academic Affairs at Kingsborough Community College. She also held the position of Program Coordinator for the Self-Regulated Learning Program at New York City College of Technology, CUNY, where she started as an Adjunct Lecturer, teaching developmental writing in the Percy Ellis Sutton SEEK Program.

Sara Crosby

“I’ve spent fifteen years helping students transition to college and become more successful learners,” says Crosby. “I’m very excited to join the BMCC community, and I’m honored to be a part of the Learning Academy’s efforts to support students all the way to graduation and transfer.”

Crosby has published widely on issues affecting student success. Recent articles—on the impact of formative assessment and self-regulated learning on developmental mathematics students—have appeared in the Journal of Excellence in College Teaching and Journal of Developmental Education. She has also written articles examining the connection between self-regulated learning and academic success for community college students.

After earning a Bachelor of Arts in English at the University of Iowa, Crosby completed a Master of Fine Arts (MFA) at The New School in New York. She has published creative nonfiction in venues including The Believer and Fourth Genre. She also serves as a volunteer for New York City Audubon.

Christopher Oscar Medellin, Director of E-Learning

Christopher Oscar Medellin joins BMCC as Director of E-Learning, bringing more than 15 years experience leading online learning and educational technology projects in companies such as Amplify, Barnes and Noble, the University of Texas System, LeapFrog and Random House. He has guided digital product development on platforms including Blackboard, Canvas and EdX, as well as having developed educational apps, interactive games, language-learning textbooks, interactive sites and multimedia programs.

“I plan on applying my professional experience to design and implement future models of online education and to work with instructors in creating dynamic and engaging student-centered learning,” Medellin says. “We will do this through research and evidence-based methodologies that are scalable, affordable and effective.”

Christopher Oscar Medellin

For the past year, he has served as Director of Online Learning Design and Production at the Institute for Transformational Learning within the University of Texas System. “In this role, I led a department of instructional designers, learning architects, producers, technologists and curriculum experts,” Medellin says. “Together, we created educational models that inspire students, increase engagement, and support post-program success.”

Earlier roles include having served as Director of Online Learning and Digital Product Development in the Assessment and Consulting Division at Amplify, Inc. and Editorial Director at Random House. He was also Program Manager for Digital Publishing in the NOOK Program at Barnes & Nobel, Inc.

Medellin started his career teaching Spanish as a graduate student at the University of New Mexico, then teaching Kindergarten through grade three in the Los Angeles Unified School District. He earned a Bachelor of Arts in History and Education at the University of California, Los Angeles, and a Master of Arts in Spanish Philology at the University of New Mexico in Albuquerque.

share this story »

STORY HIGHLIGHTS

  • Sara E. Crosby, Director of BMCC Learning Academy, brings experience in self-regulated learning and other strategies to build student success
  • Christopher Oscar Medellin has led online learning and educational technology projects in companies such as Amplify, Barnes and Noble and the University of Texas System
  • Using innovative strategies, they each seek to enhance the learning environment at BMCC

share this story »