Brian Salerno and I overlapped at Quinnipiac University from 2002 to 2006, when we worked at the intersection of learning, technology and online education. From those early days at Quinnipiac, Brian has held leadership roles at the University of New Haven, Kaplan Education, Brandeis and now Boston College. Along the way, Brian earned his Ed.D. in higher education administration from Northeastern. Today, Brian is the executive director at Boston College’s Center for Digital Innovation in Learning. I wanted to catch up with my old friend and colleague about his current work and career progression, and Brian generously agreed.
Q: This is a challenging time for higher education. Where does the Center for Digital Innovation in Learning fit into Boston College’s institutional priorities and strategy?
A: It definitely feels, comparatively, like a uniquely challenging time in higher education. Although I recall weathering some complex storms throughout my 23 years working in a higher education setting, so I feel confident we will collectively find our way in this changing landscape.
At Boston College, the Center for Digital Innovation in Learning operates at the intersection of mission and strategy, and it’s a unique position where we get to advocate for and support academic innovation while preserving the unique set of values that BC espouses. Our work supports both the immediate and long-term goals of the university by helping faculty think creatively and critically about how digital design can enhance the students’ learning experience.
We’ve never really been about chasing trends, which is why you never saw a big push toward MOOCs, for example, at Boston College. Instead, we’re rooted in the belief that thoughtful, intentional integration of digital innovation and online learning design can expand access, deepen student engagement and embody the quality of whole-person education.
CDIL serves as a hub of exploration and collaboration in digital learning design. We support faculty in the design of online courses and programs and in multimodal digital redesign of face-to-face courses for active digitally enhanced and hybrid modalities, and we help academic units extend their programs into online and low-residency formats for new audiences. Whether we’re collaborating on an online summer undergraduate course, launching a faculty learning community on AI or supporting the growth of online graduate programs, our team works to ensure that innovation aligns with BC’s Jesuit mission and pedagogical values.
At the same time, we see ourselves as stewards of a culture of curiosity in learning technology and design. That means helping instructors navigate the teaching and learning design implications of emerging technologies like generative AI, not just from a technical standpoint, but from an ethical design one. In this particular moment, when higher education is grappling with questions about the value of the degree and the future of the classroom, we’ve found that faculty are eager to collaborate on how to make their online teaching more human, not less. CDIL’s role is to help them do that through intentional design and through support of the development of technology-enabled learning experiences.
Q: What advice do you have for other colleges and universities for developing the organizational capabilities to grow their online learning portfolios?
A: One of the most important lessons I’ve learned is that growing an online learning portfolio requires more than just investment in technology or tools. It requires an intentional design approach and building the culture, capacity and credibility necessary for faculty to make online learning unique to their own design and teaching sensibilities.
At Boston College, we’ve focused on creating an environment where innovation is supported structurally, not just rhetorically. That begins with assembling cross-functional teams of learning designers, faculty developers, media producers, technologists and project managers who collaborate closely with academic departments, program directors and faculty. This work thrives when it’s relational, not transactional.
It’s also important, at BC, to move deliberately and to be discerning about the student experience we’re collectively trying to foster. Expanding online offerings doesn’t mean rushing to market for the sake of having a particular program. It means working closely with faculty, understanding departmental goals and aligning with institutional values and honoring signature pedagogies that make BC’s programs special, regardless of modality. That takes time and planning, especially at institutions with strong residential traditions. But when you approach the work with a spirit of collaboration, partnership and service to our students, you can build something enduring.
We’ve also found that piloting new initiatives and new technologies at a manageable scale allows us to experiment thoughtfully, gather data and adjust. Whether it’s testing new models for low-residency programs or integrating AI tools into teaching, we focus on learning from the process, not just producing something flashy. And when things work, we scale up. When they don’t, we adapt. That approach has been critical to building a digital learning ecosystem at BC that really fits our culture, community and values.
I believe it also helps to remember that online learning is not a separate enterprise from the rest of the academic mission. It’s a mode of delivery, but also a catalyst for reflection and reinvention. When done well, it can inform and reinvigorate pedagogy across modalities, and we have seen countless BC faculty take their innovations from the online classroom to the in-person classroom, quite seamlessly. Personally, I believe that the institutions that thrive in this space are the ones that understand online learning as part of a broader commitment to inclusive, accessible and whole person–focused education.
Q: You earned your Ed.D. while also working full-time. How did you decide to pursue a doctorate while working? Why did you choose the Northeastern program? And what advice might you have for other academic working professionals contemplating a similar path?
A: Pursuing my doctorate while working full-time was both a professional aspiration and a personal goal. I had reached a point in my career where I felt that I had been fortunate to experience a number of professional milestones that, in actuality, would most likely have required a terminal degree had my career not taken the organic trajectory it had. I was lucky to have great mentorship experiences that afforded me opportunities for which a doctorate would have otherwise been a requirement for entry.
I also wanted to deepen my understanding of higher education as a system, its policies, its history and its operational complexities. I had already been working at the intersection of digital learning and institutional change for over a decade by the time I started my program, but I wanted the opportunity to deepen my knowledge of tools and frameworks to think more critically and act more strategically while also embedding myself in the world of academic research. The doctoral program offered me a chance to step back, deeply study the field I was part of and bring new insights into the work I was doing.
I chose my program at the time because it was one of only a few primarily online programs designed for working professionals like me. The structure allowed for flexibility without sacrificing rigor, and the curriculum was grounded in practical application. This is why I was really excited to have the opportunity, in my capacity as executive director of CDIL, to assist Boston College’s Lynch School of Education and Human Development in launching BC’s own executive Ed.D. program, because there is such a need for doctoral programs in higher education that allow professionals to develop not just as scholars but as practitioners who can apply research to improving higher education for the benefit of our students.
For anyone considering this path while midcareer, my advice is to be honest about your motivations. If you’re doing it for a title or the letters after your name alone, it might not sustain you through the long nights and tight deadlines. But if you’re doing it to grow your professional practice, to stretch your critical thinking and analytical skills, and to make a deeper impact in your work, then it can absolutely be one of the most rewarding investments you’ll ever make.
I also recommend choosing a program that sees you as a whole person, not just a student, but a professional, a human (whether that’s as a parent, spouse, caregiver, etc.) and as a leader in your field of work. And give yourself permission to slow down when needed. There were times I had to pause and recalibrate, and I’m grateful I did, because I took my time but I never really felt totally burned out.
Ultimately, the doctorate wasn’t a detour from my work; it became a mechanism to reflect on the impact of my role in a way that can often be lost in balancing the day-to-day. In that way, it was a professional development experience as much as it was an academic achievement. And it continues to shape the way I approach my role, the way I think about the field, and reinforces my reverence for the pursuit of higher learning every single day. I’m so grateful that I get to play some role in helping others to have a similar formative experience for themselves.
