Pepicello Interview Analysis

Analysis of Interviews with Dr. William Pepicello and Dr. Alan Tait

Dr. William Pepicello and Dr. Alan Tait are leaders of large distance education universities spanning two continents. Assigned the task of interviewing a distance education leader, Group 1 initially sought an interview with Pepicello, president of the University of Phoenix (UoP), the largest private university in the United States, based on the group’s interest in Pepicello’s leadership ideas related to accreditation, the size of the university, and the fact that UoP has been in the media spotlight recently. Learning Pepicello was retiring the week of the requested interview and, being proactive, Group 1 sought an additional interview with Tait, the Pro Vice-Chancellor (Academic) for the Open University, United Kingdom (OUUK), Executive Committee member of the International Council for Open and Distance Education, and president of the European Distance Education and e-Learning Network, based on the team’s interest in this global scholar and familiarity with the leader’s works. In the end, both agreed to interviews and Group 1 interviewed the two leaders on the same day. This paper provides a summary and analysis of the interviews with Pepicello and Tait.

The interviews were conducted through phone and Skype, each focusing on six leadership themes from a distance education perspective: current challenges facing distance education organizations, the leader’s vision for his organization, the leader’s leadership style, strategies for creating organizational change, strategies for surviving in a dynamic environment, and advice to aspiring distance education professionals.

Current challenges facing distance education organizations

Both Tait and Pepicello ide...

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