Richard Irwin Executive Dean, UofM Global, Academic Innovation and the College of Professional & Liberal Studies (CPLS). Under Dr. Irwin's leadership, since 2017 UofM Global has become the top ranked online program in Tennessee with more than one-third of the academic programs ranked nationally. UofM Global serves almost 3,500 students from 39 states and several foreign countries who are completing their studies fully online. Since returning to CPLS, where Irwin served as Associate Dean from 2010 to 2014, enrollment has jumped almost 20%.The dramatic growth achieved by UofM Global and CPLS is partially attributable to the entrepreneurial spirit embodied within industry partnerships such as LiFE, or Learning Inspired by FedEx, launched in 2018. Qualifying employees benefit from no upfront costs and utilize several non-traditional methods of earning college credit including prior learning credit for FedEx training and competency-based coursework to accelerate time-to-degree.