John W. Kelly, Vice President for Public Service and Agriculture at Clemson University, was elected to the ADEC Board of Directors in 1997.  He served as Treasurer and Vice-Chair from 2002 to 2005 and has served as Chair from 2005 through the present, his last year in office.

In his early involvement with ADEC, Clemson University hosted the W. K. Kellogg Foundation supported series of national videoconferences and web-based materials focused on the 21st Century Land Grant University.

During his time on the Executive Committee of the Board of Directors, Kelly placed particular emphasis on ADEC organizational health including financial sustainability and strategic planning.  He co-chaired the first ADEC Strategic Planning session in Atlanta, Georgia in 2000.  In 2005 he chaired a re-framing of the strategic plan resulting in the sign-off from all members on the five initiatives under which ADEC currently works. 

He provided strong leadership for ADEC's grant-funded activities with the National Science Foundation, particularly the technology and applications testing to serve small rural communities.  Working with the ADEC Board and staff, Kelly maintained and strengthened membership participation, reached out to form partnerships with organizations including the Alfred P. Sloan Foundation and the National Association of State Universities and Land Grant Colleges (NASULGC).  He encouraged support for members in need during Hurricanes Katrina and Rita and focused greater attention on environmental conservation activities.

Gary E. Miller
The Pennsylvania State University

Gary Miller has a decade of leadership within, and service to, The American Distance Education Consortium (ADEC).  While serving as Associate Vice President for Distance Education at Penn State and founding Executive Director of the World Campus, Miller fostered collaborative linkages between Penn State and ADEC that carried into his current position as Associate Vice President for Outreach.

Miller was responsible for organizing and coordinating executive leadership workshops for distance education administrators, offering ADEC the opportunity to participate in all aspects. He fostered the relationship between ADEC and the World Campus, the Sloan-C Consortium, the Canadian Association for Distance Education (CADE), and the International Council for Open and Distance Education (ICDE).

He served on the ADEC Board of Directors from 2000-2006, serving two full terms.  During that time, he chaired initiatives associated with the development of human capacity and the sharing of courses and programs among the state universities and land-grant colleges, as well as international institutions.  He developed policy papers and suggested models to pilot. 

In 2002, Miller and the Penn State World Campus team received the ADEC Barrier Buster Award.  This initiative worked within Penn State's instructional mission and academic community to change existing policies, approaches and structures to create new ones to ensure successful institutionalization of a virtual campus.  Miller is a strong advocate for adult and continuing education within a democratic context and is a member of the International Adult and Continuing Education Hall of Fame.