Tom Penniston selected for prestigious Fulbright Award to advance learning analytics

Tom Penniston, Ph.D., has received a Fulbright U.S. Scholar award to advance learning-analytics projects in Croatia during the 2025–26 academic year. As UMBC DoIT’s Coordinator of Learning Analytics, he helps faculty translate data into inclusive, effective teaching practices. On September 1, he will take that expertise with him as he begins a six-month residency with the University of Zagreb’s Learning Analytics Laboratory at the Faculty of Organization and Informatics in Varaždin, and will remain working remotely in Croatia until August 2026.

During the fellowship, Penniston will test ways to scale course redesign around national and institutional competencies, map how analytics tools are adopted within and between universities, and embed empirically-based approaches in a new international setting. Working alongside Croatian colleagues, he also hopes to deepen his understanding of European Union education policy and seed partnerships that will ultimately benefit UMBC students and faculty.

“I’m humbled, excited, and admittedly a bit anxious,” he says, “but being part of a campus that prizes data-informed teaching makes the leap easier.” He credits CIO Jack Suess, AVP John Fritz, Director Mariann Hawken, and an “exceptionally talented” DoIT team for making this opportunity possible, and notes that his hosts have already “gone out of their way” to welcome his family, which is a kindness that has eased much of his initial anxiety.

“We’re all pleased for and proud of Tom’s selection to serve as a Fulbright Fellow,” says John Fritz, Associate Vice President for Instructional Technology. “He truly is a global citizen with an impressive, eclectic skill set and mindset focused on the value of education to change the trajectory of people’s lives. He will make a wonderful ambassador for what’s best about UMBC and the United States.” 

Penniston and his wife, Erin, previously served together in the Peace Corps in Moldova, yet the Fulbright will give their three children their first extended taste of life abroad. “I can’t wait to dive into the data, share what I learn, and bring fresh insights home,” he says, aiming to turn analysis into action on both sides of the Atlantic.