For Christopher Scully, Rowan College at Burlington County has been a lifelong connection. A third-generation RCBC employee, Scully’s grandmother worked at RCBC (then Burlington County College) in the late 80s and early 90s in registration, and his mother, Susan, was the Health Information Technology Director after that until her retirement in 2025. His mother’s job allowed him to attend college basically for free, where he landed a student worker job in what was then Distance Learning.
For fifteen years, Scully has kept up the good work tirelessly in RCBC’s Instructional Technology and Design (ITD) department and its various iterations, helping students earn an education off-campus and online and guiding faculty and staff with the tools they need to teach more effectively at a distance.
For his extensive efforts, Scully was recognized with the Barons Best award at RCBC’s fall collegewide gathering, an award given each semester to a staff member who exemplifies the ideals of being an RCBC Baron – hard work, loyalty, innovation, service to the community, and a student-first disposition.
“I had to do a double take when it was announced, I was not expecting it at all,” Scully said. “ I am honored to have been selected and look forward to continuing serving the college community.”
“During his time at RCBC, Chris has consistently exemplified the college's mission through his professionalism, collaborative spirit, and unwavering commitment to supporting others,” RCBC’s Director of ITD Aaron Anderson said. “What inspires me most is the way he approaches technical expertise, not as something to guard, but as something to share. Whether assisting vendors, colleagues, faculty, or students, Chris is patient, approachable, and genuinely invested in helping others succeed.”
Scully became a full-time worker in 2010. Since then, while his role hasn’t changed much, the tools for fulfilling his purpose have evolved with technology, and he’s had to adapt as well.
Back on BCC’s Pemberton campus, his headquarters were in the library, where students came in and went as they pleased, asking questions all day long. Now, with the ease of virtual calls, in-person visits have all but stopped, but offering help is easier than ever.
Additionally, telecourses were a prominent mode of teaching. In telecourse classes, students would have coursework mailed to them, with their lessons recorded on VHS tapes or DVDs. One part of Scully’s job was to convert the VHS tapes into DVDs himself.
“It was just a lot of back and forth. Now, we don’t have to do that,” Scully said. “We can just go on our phone, we can go onto an iPad anywhere you are.”
With Blackboard, RCBC’s preferred virtual learning platform, Scully, now a Learning Management System Specialist, helps faculty, students, and anyone who has issues with Blackboard. Any integrations with Blackboard, such as those with companies like McGraw-Hill and Pearson that issue textbooks, digital learning tools, and more, also fall under his direction.
What started out as a small team of three people, including RCBC’s Chief Information Officer, Dr. Martin Hoffman, has now blossomed into a robust team of designers, support specialists, and system specialists that work alongside Scully every day. The ITD team also welcomed a new director, Anderson, in July, who has arrived on campus swinging, learning, and ready to support and lead wherever he can.
Even after all this time, Scully is still improving himself. Once a shy student worker who hated answering the phones, he’s now an experienced leader ready to walk through any issues students and his peers may have navigating such a vital educational tool.
It comes in his role, solving problems for people who have nowhere else to turn.
“Every day, although it’s the same, it’s always different because you don’t know what issue may arise that you have to troubleshoot,” Scully said. “I like figuring out problems and ways to solve them. I’m always learning.”
