Deborah Keyek-Franssen

Watch Deborah Keyek-Franssen’s Summit interview here

Deborah Keyek-Franssen, Ph.D. is a creative educator and thought leader with over two decades of professional experience in information technology and higher education. She began her career at the University of Colorado in 1998, where she served in a variety of positions, including director of academic technology, oversaw strategy for the use, implementation, and evaluation of educational technologies, and managed a team of consultants and technologists. With NCWIT (the National Center for Women & IT), Deborah led research and program development, in part with community colleges, to help increase the number of girls, women, and underrepresented minorities in IT education and work.

In her current position as associate vice president for digital education and engagement for the University of Colorado System, Deborah works on initiatives in teaching and learning with technology, online education, open educational resources, and student success. She has furthered CU campuses’ implementation of digital and online education solutions, including MOOCs, which enroll close to 2 million learners around the globe. She serves as the director of the Colorado Learning and Teaching with Technology (COLTT) Conference and oversees the dynamic team responsible for CU’s state authorization compliance.

Since her first EDUCAUSE Annual in 1999, Deborah has actively served the organization on several committees and founded the Women in IT Constituent Group. She currently serves on EDUCAUSE’s DEI Task Force. Deborah is a proud member of the Frye Leadership Institute (Leading Change Institute’s) class of 2008. She is the current faculty director of the EDUCAUSE Institute’s Management Program. Deborah sits on the Coursera Advisory Council and the steering committee for the National Association for System Heads’ (NASH) Taking Student Success to Scale initiative.

Deborah is a graduate of Dartmouth College and completed her Ph.D. in German Literature at the University of Michigan, where she also earned a master’s degree in Higher Education Administration and a graduate certificate in Women’s Studies.

A higher education enthusiast for as long as she can remember, Deborah has experience with a wide range of postsecondary institutions, including private and public institutions, state systems, community colleges, and international universities. She has taught at the University of Michigan, the University of Colorado, and the University of Denver. She is a proud wife of a Canadian engineer and adoring mother of two sons. Deborah received her black belt in karate in 2005 and achieved the rank of sensei in 2014. She loves traveling and improvisational comedy.