M'hammed Abdous, director of the Center for Learning and Teaching, was awarded the 2015 John R. Bourne Outstanding Research Achievement Award in Online Education by the Online Learning Consortium.

The award recognizes "an individual who has demonstrated extraordinary achievements and research in the field of online education" and who is known for "scholarly research and writing, leadership activities, service, and/or contributions to advancing the field of higher education."

Abdous was chosen for his "preeminence and collaboration in online education, both nationally and internationally, by developing innovative frameworks, tools, and best practices that continue to foster and improve online education," according to the consortium.

"As ODU increases the number of entire programs that it offers in an online format, Dr. Abdous leads a team of instructional designers, multimedia specialists, and instructional technologists who work with faculty members to build new online courses and to reconfigure formerly face-to-face or televised courses into a new online format," said Andy Casiello, associate vice president for Distance Learning. "We are grateful to him and to his team for their part in strengthening ODU's online offerings."