Filippelli Institute for E-Education and Outreach
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Joe Weeks, a valued member of our team, passed away on October 23, 2025, in Vermillion, Ohio, where he had worked remotely since before the COVID shutdown. He cherished time with his family, two cats, and lifelong friends.
Before the era of dashboards, Joe was the creative force behind our data analysis ecosystem. He built custom solutions that supported key decision-making and helped shape the foundation of our work today. His contributions over the past 13-plus years were significant, and his expertise, dedication, and collaborative spirit will be deeply missed by all who had the privilege of working with him.
The Filippelli Institute started out as Ron Filippelli’s vision in the late 1990’s. Ron became one of the first active partners with what is now known as the World Campus. Under his stewardship, the College began offering general education courses through distance education. However, he recognized that distance education also had the opportunity to serve a greater purpose; that Penn State could deliver its full educational experience to students across the country and around the world.
Ron’s faith in the core elements of a Liberal Arts education, which include working knowledge in critical thinking, ethics, diversity, communication, global context, and understanding individuals and organizations and their roles in society, led him to organize the delivery of the first baccalaureate programs through the World Campus in the BA in Letters Arts and Sciences and the BS in Organizational Leadership. After the success of these programs, he brought together a dedicated team to work with faculty in the College’s departments to build high quality degree disciplinary programs and an enhanced general education portfolio that has brought the Penn State educational experience to students around the globe and has provided significant resources to the College.
