Templeton’s leadership, passion for collaboration enabled OSU Ecampus to become a national model for developing high-quality learning experiences online
The year is 2000. The internet is still relatively new, and many people question the value it provides. In fact, the general public is so leery of the increasingly digital world that, just a few months earlier, millions expected an unprecedented global meltdown due to a simple software glitch: the Y2K bug.
It’s in this climate that Lisa L. Templeton begins her job as marketing director for Oregon State University Distance and Continuing Education. Her job, essentially, is to convince people that it’s possible — and even a good idea — to earn a college degree online.
It’s not exactly an easy pitch.
“I have vivid memories of going to department meetings and having conversations with some faculty who sat with their arms crossed, with the body language of ‘I’m not going to do this,’ ” Templeton recalls now. “They couldn’t fathom how they would teach classes online. The thinking was that there’s no other way for students to learn if they’re not engaging face to face — and that learners needed to come to campus if they wanted an OSU education.”
More than a quarter of a century has passed since then. Naturally, perspectives and technologies have evolved.
When Templeton retires as the vice provost of Oregon State’s Division of Educational Ventures this June 1, she will leave a trailblazing university that helped set the standard for high-quality online course design, online teaching innovation, original research in online education, and alternative educational pathways.
Those early 2000s meetings with faculty who were hesitant to embrace online education eventually gave way to enthusiastic collaborations. Since being elevated to executive director of OSU Ecampus in 2008, Templeton has led an era defined by partnerships and a singular mission: to provide learners across Oregon and around the world with access to an authentic OSU education.
Now, as she prepares to step down, that transformative work has become a defining strength of the university.
“For more than two decades, Lisa Templeton’s visionary leadership has served OSU’s land-grant mission, meeting students where they are, both geographically — in all 50 states and more than 50 countries — and in their lives, creating as many paths to opportunity as possible,” said Oregon State President Jayathi Murthy. “She has played a vital role in fostering innovation, access and student-centered service, all foundational to OSU’s success. I am filled with gratitude for her amazing work and will appreciate her legacy for years to come.”
Oregon State Vice Provost Lisa L. Templeton, right, says the best part of her job was meeting and interacting with OSU online students like Kaitlin Lee, middle. They are pictured here with Oregon State President Jayathi Murthy at an OSU football game in fall 2025.
Under Templeton’s leadership, the Division of Educational Ventures undertakes a variety of initiatives, from research and alternative credentials to open educational resources and workforce education.
The driving force, however, has been Ecampus, the unit that partners with faculty to develop and deliver Oregon State degrees and programs online. Ecampus is widely viewed as a model of how to build and operate an online education enterprise from the ground up. For 12 consecutive years, OSU has earned a top-10 national ranking from U.S. News & World Report — a claim no other institution can make.
Much of this success can be traced to the fact that every Oregon State online course is taught by OSU faculty and developed in collaboration with Ecampus instructional designers and multimedia developers. This stands in stark contrast to institutions that purchase curriculum and hire instructors through third-party means in order to build a catalog of online programs.
“There are many models of online education out there, and I think the OSU community takes great pride in the fact that all of our online courses have been developed and are being delivered by our own academic colleges,” Templeton said. “We’ve gone maybe the more laborious and meticulous route. But the benefit is that our students are truly earning an OSU degree, and we’ve always really been proud of that.”
Templeton was instrumental in laying the groundwork for this model. This forward-thinking helped Oregon State redefine what is possible with online education. OSU’s innovations over the years include offering the nation’s first online degrees in fields such as zoology, German, and fisheries, wildlife and conservation sciences.
“The success of OSU online is legendary, and that takes an amazing team. But I think it’s fair to say that success was never guaranteed, and that it was far less likely under any other leader. Lisa is special.”
Oregon State has also won national awards for developing groundbreaking, online science lab experiences including a 3D virtual microscope used in online biology courses. (How technological times change: When Templeton first started, Ecampus used to mail recorded faculty lectures to students on VHS tapes.)
Many people and factors are responsible for Oregon State’s long-standing success as an online education provider. More than 1,300 OSU faculty members teach online, and Ecampus partners with all 11 OSU academic colleges. Those numbers have increased exponentially in Templeton’s tenure. Oregon State leadership, including President Murthy, have helped to nurture a university-wide commitment to online education and learning innovation.
“Lisa is a creative soul at her core, and she knows a good idea when she sees it. And when that happens, she pursues the idea with humility and care, with positivity and thoughtfulness, and with dogged determination,” said Tuba Özkan-Haller, the dean of OSU’s College of Earth, Ocean, and Atmospheric Sciences. “She brings positive energy to her work, and she inspires others to come along and have fun along the way. How so very lucky OSU has been to have Lisa in our midst.”
As much as Templeton made her mark on the culture at Oregon State, she also became a respected voice in the industry of online higher education. She is a longtime member and former board president of UPCEA, one of the nation’s leading online and professional education organizations. In 2025, she was also honored by the Online Learning Consortium as an OLC Fellow for her “significant contributions to the field of online, blended, and digital learning.”
Under Lisa L. Templeton’s leadership, Oregon State Ecampus has formed close collaborations with faculty and administrators. Ecampus partners with more than 1,300 OSU faculty members to develop and teach courses online.
“It’s easy to see why Lisa was such a great leader over the decades, both at Oregon State and UPCEA. Her attitude inspired others to care, to do better, to be clear about desired outcomes, measuring those outcomes, and next steps,” said UPCEA CEO Bob Hansen.
“The success of OSU online is legendary, and that takes an amazing team. But I think it’s fair to say that success was never guaranteed, and that it was far less likely under any other leader. Lisa is special. She brought that specialness to her role as board president of UPCEA.”
Including this year’s graduating class, more than 19,000 students have earned their Oregon State degrees online since 2002. That’s the data point Templeton references most as evidence of the achievement and continuous efforts to make an OSU education more accessible.
Those efforts have extended well beyond enrollment growth, shaping how support systems for online learners were created and sustained.
“Lisa enthusiastically prioritized student success and access to quality online education in the 25 years I worked with her,” said Jessica DuPont, who will serve as interim vice provost of OSU’s Division of Educational Ventures beginning June 1. “This included building a student success team and investing in initiatives such as success coaching, 24/7 tutoring and library services to support the growing number of OSU online learners.
“I will always remember how Lisa’s favorite day of the year was commencement — a day she could engage and celebrate Ecampus graduates and their families in person, many of whom were visiting the Corvallis campus for the first time.”
Lisa L. Templeton, posing next to a statue of Oregon State’s mascot Benny Beaver, earned her OSU master’s degree in adult education as a hybrid (online/in-person) student.
Much like when she was hired in 2000, Templeton is retiring as higher education faces a technological upheaval. The questions surrounding artificial intelligence echo those that defined the early days of online education, as institutions must rethink fundamental aspects of teaching and learning.
For Templeton, the parallels offer both context and confidence — a sense that the work of the past has prepared Oregon State for whatever comes next.
“OSU already has a culture of collaboration, a culture of innovation, and we’re well-positioned to handle change,” she said. “Yes, there will be obstacles, but we’ve weathered them in the past. I feel strongly that Oregon State will continue to lead in the delivery of education.
“That’s what we do best. We’re built to lead.”
