About me

I am currently serving as the Director
of Distance Education at the University of Florida’s
College of Education, where I oversee
the planning, development, management, budgeting, and evaluation
of online learning courses and programs.

Prior to taking this position I served as the Director of Distance Learning
in the Office of Distance, Continuing and Executive Education.
This centralized office was established in 2001 to provide
resources and support to professors and administrators
interested in creating distance learning
courses and programs.

As Director of Distance Education
I assist staff, professors, department chairs, and deans
in co-authoring and coordinating business
and marketing plans, developing self-sustainable budgets,
and securing faculty and administrative buy-in
to insure the success of each program being launched.
My duties also include working closely with key
university personnel, familiarity with state and
university policies, familiarity with intellectual property laws
and guidelines, and advising clients and colleagues
on the variety of assessment modalities for measuring
both financial and academic endeavors.

In 1989 I graduated with a Bachelor of Arts degree in English
from the University of Florida's College of Liberal Arts and Sciences
with a specialization in poetry writing working
with Debora Greger and William Logan. I earned enough credits
to acquire a minor degree in philosophy and classical studies.

After graduation, I spent two years in the U.S. Army
as an infantryman in 1/16 1st Infantry Division (fwd)
(aka the Big Red One)
serving as a platoon radiotelephone operator
and unit armorer in Boblingen, Germany.

Upon completion of my Army hitch, I took a job
as a graphic artist in a local publishing company
in Gainesville, Florida where I worked for four years
utilizing the then latest desktop publishing software
including Adobe PageMaker, Aldus Freehand,
and Adobe Photoshop.

After much consideration, I decided to take on a new challenge
and enrolled in the ProTeach program in the University of Florida's
 College of Education in 1997 where I earned a master’s degree
 in Secondary English Education (6-12)
under the tutelage of Drs. Robert Wright, Ben Nelms, and Jane Townsend.

I took a job at the University’s Developmental Research School
P.K. Yonge where I taught twelfth grade English,
managed the school yearbook, and taught media studies.
After two years in the high school,
I applied for an opening in the middle school
where I taught seventh and eighth grade language arts.

Realizing that middle school was not for me,
I re-enrolled in a Ph.D. program at the University of Florida
in the School of Teaching and Learning. My interests
have since gelled around teacher professional development,
educational technology, social media, reflective thinking,
critical pedagogy, and inquiry-based learning.

I am currently honing my research agenda
and completed my qualifying examinations in the summer of 2006.
My doctoral committee chair is Dr. Tom Dana, director
of the School of Teaching & Learning.

Committee members include Dr. Rick Ferdig from
the Educational Technology,
Dr. Tracy Irani from the College of Agriculture and Life Sciences,
and Dr. Diane Yendol-Hoppey in the School of Teaching and Learning.
I receive valuable counsel from a number of professors including
 Dr. Greg Ulmer in the College of Liberal Arts and Sciences,
Dr. Nancy Dana, Director of the Center for School Improvement,
Drs. Dorene Ross, Kara Dawson from the School of Teaching and Learning,
Dr. David Miller from Research Evaluation Methodology group, and
hundreds of Edubloggers world-wide.

I am the father of three children and married
to my wife, Lynn, since 1989.
When I am not at work, in class, or studying,
I can be found playing guitar, drums, and bass,
playing disc golf, reading, writing, riding my Triumph Bonneville
around town, and drinking good wine with family and friends.

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