Blackboard has brought back co-founder Matthew Pittinsky as chief executive officer, the company announced on November 10, 2026. He co-founded the learning management system (LMS) maker in 1997 and previously served as its chief executive officer and executive chairman. Pittinsky wants to rebuild the LMS around three goals: organising technology around the learner, supporting learning, and recording what was learned. He sees AI as a chance to turn the LMS from a course management system into a true learning management system. Blackboard also named Jason Simpson chief technology officer and Beth Lebowitz chief legal officer. Simpson joined in September; Lebowitz comes from Unanet. The company says it is debt-free and focused solely on teaching and learning.

Matthew Pittinsky returns to the helm at Blackboard. Key takeaways. * Matthew Pittinsky has returned as CEO of Blackboard: The leadership change comes after Anthology emerged from Chapter 11, rebranded as Blackboard, and refocused on its core Teaching & Learning business. * AI is central to Pittinsky's vision for the LMS: He said AI technologies could help move learning management systems beyond course management toward a more fully realized learning experience for educators, students, and institutions. * Blackboard has also added new technology and legal leadership: Jason Simpson joined as CTO with a focus on performance, reliability, security, and innovation, while Beth Lebowitz joined as chief legal officer. Blackboard co-founder Matthew Pittinsky has returned to the company to serve as CEO. The leadership change was originally announced this past March, when Anthology emerged from its Chapter 11 bankruptcy process and rebranded as Blackboard to focus on its core Teaching & Learning business. At the time, Anthology CEO Bruce Dahlgren stayed on to lead the transition before passing the reins to Pittinsky this week. In a press release, Pittinsky emphasized the potential for technologies such as AI to reshape how learning management systems support educators, learners, and institutions. "The learning management system is still largely a course management system. AI technologies provide an opportunity to fulfill the promise of what a true learning management system can do," said Pittinsky. "Our mission is to help educators turn teaching into learning. Bringing that vision to life will take the collective expertise of Blackboard's talent, working closely with educators to drive innovation and deliver a different experience." Pittinksy is joined by two other recent executive hires: * Jason Simpson joined Blackboard as chief technology officer in September to technology strategy "with a focus on platform performance, reliability, security and the technical foundation needed to accelerate innovation," the company said. * Beth Lebowitz joined as chief legal officer, bringing 15 years of experience in technology law, corporate governance, privacy and commercial contracting. More information on Blackboard's leadership team and strategic vision is available here. Rhea Kelly is editor in chief for Campus Technology, THE Journal, and Spaces4Learning. She can be reached at [email protected].

Blackboard Ally innovations help institutions build a culture of Accessibility beyond Title II deadline. September 15, 2026 by helpdesk1 | New PDF remediation, AI-powered tools and reporting capabilities help institutions address accessibility challenges at scale and build more sustainable practices WASHINGTON, Sept. 15, 2026 /PRNewswire/ - Blackboard today announced new capabilities for Blackboard Ally(TM) that help institutions tackle one of the biggest challenges in digital accessibility: improving large volumes of existing content while making it easier for faculty to create more accessible materials in the future. The announcement comes as institutions prepare for the Americans with Disabilities Act (ADA) Title II web and mobile accessibility requirements. For institutions managing thousands of course materials, accessibility can be difficult to address at scale. PDFs, images, and other digital content may contain barriers that prevent students from accessing, navigating, or engaging with essential learning materials, while limited time and technical expertise can make remediation difficult for faculty. Ally helps address both sides of the challenge. New remediation and AI-powered capabilities make it easier to address accessibility issues in existing content, while new guidance and reporting help faculty and administrators understand where improvements are needed and build better practices into everyday teaching and learning. The announced Ally innovations include: Reporting and visibility: New reporting capabilities help faculty and administrators better understand accessibility and identify opportunities for improvement. * Enhanced Course Accessibility Report: Helps faculty understand accessibility within their courses and pinpoint where improvements are needed. * New Ally Usage Report for administrators: Provides interactive visualizations, filtering and drill-down capabilities to help institutions understand usage and identify opportunities for improvement. PDF remediation: New capabilities make it easier for faculty to identify and address common accessibility issues in PDF documents. AI-generated suggestions are subject to human review and approval before implementation, ensuring users retain ultimate oversight and control. * PDF Auto Tagging: Automates the tagging of untagged PDFs through a new PDF Quick Fix, helping faculty improve document structure while maintaining control over remediation. * PDF Decorative Image Workflows: Helps faculty identify and appropriately manage decorative images. * OCRed PDF Guidance: Helps identify accessibility issues that may remain after optical character recognition (OCR) processing. * AI Alt Text for PDFs: Extends Ally's AI Alt Text Assistant to images within PDFs, providing instructors with an inline remediation experience. Enhanced student experience: Ally gives students greater flexibility in how they access and engage with course content. * Enhanced Reader: Gives students a more personalized way to engage with course content through word emphasis and customizable fonts, text size and spacing. These capabilities are included, or will be included upon availability, as part of the standard Blackboard Ally license, enabling institutions to expand their accessibility efforts without additional investment. "When we give faculty the tools and confidence to create more accessible content, and give students more ways to engage with learning, we're doing more than addressing barriers. We're building a culture of accessibility that makes the learning experience better for everyone," said Dr. Amy Lomellini, Director of Accessibility at Blackboard. Ally works across all major learning management systems, and has been recognized with multiple industry honors, including the 2026 EdTech Breakthrough Award for Accessibility Learning Solution of the Year. About Blackboard Blackboard delivers the digital environment for transformational teaching and learning. Black Radio Network, Inc. serve thousands of institutions with the industry's most AI-advanced LMS (Blackboard LMS), Ally for digital content accessibility, and institutional effectiveness solutions that put educators and learners at the center. Black Radio Network, Inc. is an education company that builds technology. Learn more at blackboard.com. SOURCE Blackboard