Current Position and Past Experience
Dr. Carmin Chan is currently Vice Provost of NAU Online at Northern Arizona University and has been in the position since January 2024. Her team orchestrates asynchronous and competency-based online learning, instructional design and online pedagogy, online student success initiatives, and academic program operations designed to support NAU’s strategic goals.
Before joining NAU, she served as the senior director of Online Student Success Initiatives at the University of Arizona, where she led the centralized team who spearheaded online student engagement and retention efforts, managed academic advising partnerships, and developed tailored support services for students within the Arizona Online campus.
Education, Honors and Achievements
Dr. Chan earned her Ph.D. in Higher Education from the University of Arizona. Her research focuses on the Funds of Knowledge brought by military-connected students and the impact that these populations have on increasing college access as change agents within the higher education landscape. She also earned her M.Ed. in Special Education from Arizona State University, in partnership with Teach for America, and her bachelor’s degree from New York University with a double-major in Sociology and History.
Dr. Chan serves as a subject matter expert for online education initiatives including serving on the 2024-25 Council of Chief Online Learning Officers (C-COLO) and 2023-24 Chair of the Online Administration network and within UPCEA, an invited guest speaker on several higher education-focused podcasts, and a frequent presenter with professional organizations including the Online Learning Consortium, UPCEA, NACADA, and NABCA. She is a nationally recognized administrator including recognition as the 2023 Edith Sayre Auslander Established Visionary Award from the UArizona Council on the Status of Women, nominee for the 2024 NACADA Region 10 Administrator Award, and recipient of 2018 UPCEA Western Region Outstanding Service Award.
Personal Details and Community Involvement
Outside of work, Carmin and her family are avid travelers and outdoor enthusiasts. She loves to recharge by hiking in the beautiful alpine terrain near her home in Flagstaff, exploring nearby National Parks and monuments, and spending time with loved ones.
