Ali named executive director of the Biggio Center for the Enhancement of Teaching and Learning

Following a national search, Asim Ali, director of Auburn Online, has been named executive director of the Biggio Center for the Enhancement of Teaching and Learning, or Biggio Center, effective Jan. 1.

As executive director, Ali will advance the Biggio Center’s mission of providing professional development programs, services and resources to enhance instructional innovation and support scholarly and creative activities. Ali will oversee a team of more than 60 professionals, graduate students and staff members across the center’s units, to include Biggio Teaching, Biggio Technology, Auburn Online, Testing and Test Scoring Services and Engaged and Active Student Learning, or EASL, classrooms and classroom buildings. 

“Auburn’s strategic plan calls for continued advancement in teaching and learning by broadening faculty engagement in pedagogical innovation,” said Associate Provost for Faculty Affairs Emmett Winn. “Dr. Ali brings a unique vision to the Biggio Center that blends programmatic knowledge with new and existing resources to support professional excellence and create meaningful student learning. I look forward to working with him in this capacity.”

In 2014, Ali joined the Provost’s Office where he established Auburn Online, a unit designed to strengthen the university’s role in eLearning by providing central resources to support faculty in the development and instruction of online education. Since its creation, Auburn Online has collaborated with all academic units to increase the number of faculty teaching online courses to nearly 400 and expanded the university’s online course offerings by more than 300 percent.

Under Ali’s leadership, Auburn Online launched the institution’s first fully online degree completion programs in 2018. The unit continues to provide faculty with resources and services to design and teach online courses, support adult learners and review program design to respond to the needs of student and employer markets. Most recently, Ali and his staff worked with faculty to develop support services and a course development schedule for Auburn First, the university’s revised dual enrollment program.

“The Biggio Center’s units are poised to work toward the university’s strategic goal to invest in our faculty through recruiting, developing, and retaining talented faculty and staff,” said Ali. “I look forward to partnering with them to deliver an elevated Auburn experience for our students.”

Ali joined Auburn in 2004 as an Information Technology Specialist in the College of Education, where he served as a project manager and led several strategic initiatives, including program assessment, data collection for accreditation, and the development of multiple reporting systems. While in the college, Ali worked with faculty to develop innovative approaches to evidence-based, student-centered teaching and learning practices and technologies.

In addition to a BS in software engineering and an MS in information systems management, Ali holds a doctorate in adult education from Auburn University.