Meet the Staff
Sue Maes

Co-Directors of the IAA: Sue Maes (left) and Virginia Moxley (right)

Dr. Sue Maes, Co-Director of the Institute for Academic Alliances and Senior Development Officer for the Educational Communications Center at K-State, provides campus and state leadership in the development of distance learning program collaborations and training, development and evaluation for outreach efforts.
 
From 1998 to 1999, Maes served as President of the University Continuing Education Association (UCEA), a national organization made up of colleges and universities serving adults seeking continuous learning opportunities.  She was elected to the International Adult and Continuing Education Hall of Fame in 2000.  For the past several years she has facilitated the development of the Great Plains Interactive Distance Education Alliance. Dr. Maes is committed to improving access to higher education.  She is an expert in distance education, project development and management, and external funding acquisition.

Dr. Maes has championed rural access to education for over 35 years.  Dr. Maes founded and Co-Directed the Rural Clearinghouse for Lifelong Education and Development from 1984-1993.  Her duties included developing regional networks, establishing national and regional forums, organizing state and federal policy advocacy, designing educational model research and editing and disseminating publications.  From 1989-1992, Dr. Maes was also a Project Associate for the Kansas Center for Rural Initiatives.  The center created a rural community service program, a community college economic development leadership program, micro-enterprise development initiatives, strategic planning training for small communities, and promoted outreach services by academic faculty to rural areas.

Prior to her involvement with the Rural Clearinghouse and the Kansas Center for Rural Initiatives, Dr. Maes served as the Executive Director for the UFM Community Learning Center from 1969-1985.  During her time as Executive Director, she administered a local community education program involving 900 classes and 12,000 community participants in non-credit experimental courses, worked with expansion/program efforts with libraries, state extension and private colleges in a five-state area, and created Kansas legislation, “Community Resource Act,” which continues to fund rural communities in the development of community non-credit program.  

Dr Maes is also skilled in grant writing. In addition to teaching an annual distance fall course on grant writing at Kansas State University and presenting various seminars on grant writing tips and techniques, Dr. Maes has been awarded many grants for which she served as the Principal Investigator. Some of the more recent grants she has been awarded include: a $376, 812 USDA Higher Educational Challenge Grant (2005-2007), a $248,000 Congressionally Directed Grant (2005-2006), and a $528,608 US Department of Education Fund for the Improvement of Postsecondary Education Comprehensive Grant (2003-2006).