Maggie Jesse, a longtime contributor to instructional technology at the University of Iowa and executive director of the ITS Office of Teaching, Learning, and Technology (OTLT), has announced her plans to retire Dec. 5. Dave Long, director of Instructional Services, will serve as interim leader of OTLT from December 2025 to December 2026. When the new chief information officer is in place, they will determine the next steps for identifying permanent leadership of OTLT. 

In early 2026, Jesse will return part-time in a special project management role to complete her work as co-chair of the Accessibility Task Force. We appreciate her willingness to see this critical initiative to its completion in April 2026. 

Jesse has been in her position as executive director of OTLT for 15 years, and prior to that spent four years as manager of ITS Instructional Services. Before ITS, Maggie spent 17 years at the Tippie College of Business in various roles, including six years as director of the Stead Technology Services Group.  

Jesse’s accomplishments are numerous. She was recognized with the IT Leadership Award in 2017, and David J. Skorton Staff Excellence Award for Public Service in 2006. In 2005, she served as a member of the campus task force that identified the need for a single, campus-wide learning management system, ICON. In 2006, she assumed leadership of teams that built the processes and community that continue to support ICON today. That effort paved the way for the rapid transition to online learning during the pandemic. Her teams were foundational to other key efforts such as TILE classrooms and the Learning Commons in Van Allen and the Main Library; ICON Direct, an etext program that has saved students more than $15M since its inception; new opportunities to leverage student learning data for learning science research; and dashboards for tracking and supporting student learning. 

She has helped shape national discussions on teaching and learning technologies through engagement with EDUCAUSE and the Big Ten Academic Alliance Learning Technologies Group. She has been an active, strategic leader in the founding and growth of Unizin, a digital learning ecosystem that encompasses data, analytics, tools, course materials, technology vendors and strategic partnerships. 

Jesse and Associate Vice President and Chief Information Officer Steve Fleagle expressed their confidence in Long's leadership of OTLT through this transition and gratitude to him and the OTLT team for stepping up during this time. They noted that he brings deep institutional knowledge, a strong track record of leadership, and a focus on centering instructor and student needs when navigating IT changes, making him well prepared to take on this challenge.  

“Please join me in congratulating our friend and respected colleague Maggie on this forthcoming milestone,” Fleagle says. “We are thankful for all she has contributed to the university and for the leadership she has provided throughout her 36 years of service.”