Shino George John is the Associate Vice President for Strategic Growth and International Development at Rutgers University Division of Continuing Studies (DoCS). In this role, he oversees continuing education for over 10,000 students and the Rutgers Makerspace, a dynamic, collaborative lab environment designed for prototyping, creating academic-entrepreneurial projects, and new intellectual property, leading a team of over 300 staff members, including full-time and part-time employees, non-credit instructors, curriculum developers, and co-adjutants. Overseeing the coordination of four geographically distant departments, employing a comprehensive leadership approach that combines effective personnel management, strategic departmental alignment, collaboration across diverse teams, and geographic locations.
A transformational leader with nearly 25 years of experience in higher education. His journey includes 17 years of leadership at one of the nation's largest public, land-grant research universities and a decade of leadership as a professional, continuing, and online education (PCO) executive. Shino has demonstrated proficiency in a broad range of higher education leadership and challenges throughout his career. He has excelled in collaborating with academic administration and faculty, shaping diverse financial models, and innovative public-private partnerships that have successfully launched new ventures and initiatives. His passion lies in managing and nurturing units of all sizes, fostering diverse teams, steering mission-centered revenue growth, launching revenue-generating enterprises, and crafting impactful programs.
An advocate for university-wide collaboration and interdisciplinary approaches to educational innovation. Shino works closely with DoCS colleagues responsible for fully online degree program administration and centralized instructional design support at the university. Together, they find innovative ways to incorporate online pedagogical best practices into PCO education. DoCS expertise encompasses regulatory compliance, fostering inclusive access, and providing scalable course offerings while elevating student engagement, nurturing vibrant learning communities, delivering robust faculty support, and consistently ensuring high course quality. Shino actively collaborates with units across the university to enhance experiential learning and transform the learner experience.
Having received recognition as an award-winning national leader in advancing inclusive excellence, Shino is a passionate proponent of DEIA in PCO education and recruiting candidates from historically underrepresented communities to personally fulfilling careers in higher education. He serves on Rutgers chief academic officer's strategic DEIA planning council and is responsible for DEIA efforts in Continuing Studies. Beyond his university responsibilities, Shino serves on the Board of Trustees of Pillar College, a Hispanic-Serving Institution (HSI) in Newark, NJ, and the Board of Directors of UPCEA, one of the world's largest professional organizations in higher education. His involvement with UPCEA includes contributions to its DEI committee and collaborative efforts on the 2020 DEI task force aimed at promoting inclusive excellence across North American institutions. Shino also serves on the Board of Directors for the Franklin Township Softball and Baseball League, an organization committed to making baseball and softball programs accessible to 500-750 youth each year.