Debra has piloted a staff iPad project in an effort to provide library staff a Mac experience in an enterprise environment. She presented on staff iPad use at ALA Annual in Anaheim in June 2012. Her work on this project has inspired her to research other computer form factors for staff use. Prior to Duke, she was the Web Development Coordinator for the UNC-Chapel Hill University Libraries. She has a B.A. In English from Arizona State University and an M.S.L.S. from UNC-Chapel Hill. Her professional interests include interface design and usability.
Karen Thurmond’s responsibilities include advocacy for academic advising initiatives and for academic advisors serving in a faculty, peer, or professional role. She also coordinates the day-to-day operations of the general education program (core curriculum), degree audit system (DegreeWorks), and an 24/7 system for academic advising appointments (AppointmentPlus) at the University of Memphis, and is a staff member of the Center for Academic Transition, where transfer students are advised in their first semester. Ms. Thurmond has written for the NACADA monograph on advising transfer students (on four year to four year transfer), and for the NACADA New Advisor Guidebook (on the environment of higher education). She chaired the NACADA Webinar Advisory Board, served on the Administrator’s Institute Advisory Board, and served as a member of NACADA’s Emerging Leaders Development team, and served as NACADA Region 3 (TN, KY, WV, NC, SC) Chair. Ms. Thurmond most recently completed work with a team to automate the graduation process at The University of Memphis. Ms. Thurmond manages the six-year graduation project at the University of Memphis, where intrusive advising initiatives increased a cohort’s six-year graduation rate by 8%.
Rich works with other student support units around the university to provide the same services to online World Campus Students. Currently, he is developing a transitions program to prepare prospective students with the basic skills they will need to be successful in the online, college classroom. He is also working to create videos for an online advisor training program and “how-to” videos for students. Previously, Mr. Brungard was the advising coordinator for World Campus Advising and still advises a roster of students. He has presented on online advising and orientation as well as transitioning to college at the Association for Continuing Higher Education 2012 Annual Conference, the Annual Sloan-C International Conference on Online Learning (2012, 2013), the 97th annual conference for the University Professional and Continuing Education Association (2012), 2013 CAEL International Conference, HighEdWeb 2013 annual conference, National Academic Advising Association Annual Conference (2006, 2008, 2011), and the 2013 National Academic Advising Association Region 2 Conference.
Jim G. Short is responsible for providing public/private solutions to colleges and universities nationwide. In this role, Mr. Short presents capital and structuring expertise to the higher education market for a variety of on-campus development projects including student housing, parking facilities, classroom and administrative buildings, and other infrastructure needs. Prior to joining Balfour Beatty Campus Solutions, Mr. Short served as the US division president and board chairman for Campus Living Villages, a national leader in the privatized management and development of on-campus student housing, part of a global student housing network spanning the United States, Australia, the United Kingdom, and New Zealand. In this role, he was responsible for company integration following mergers, assembly of business development teams, overseeing two new developments and six acquisitions, and growth of the company from $36 million in revenue from fiscal 2006 to $81 million in revenue for fiscal 2011.
With nearly 20 years of experience with professional development in and out of education, Michaelle has extensive experience working with adjunct faculty – including those new to teaching – as manager of employee and organizational learning at Paradise Valley Community Colege. Over the past five years, Michaelle has developed an award-winning program to orient new adjunct faculty to the college and to the classroom utilizing a learning-centered college perspective. Michaelle also teaches as an adjunct professor in communication.
A seasoned leader in liberal arts college advancement, Mark recently joined Hollins University after leading advancement programs and directing campaigns at three other distinguished small colleges, including a $48 million effort at Goucher, a $136 million campaign at Wabash, and an $80 million initiative at St. Norbert. He also served previously at the University of Virginia as director of corporate relations and later as executive director of the Virginia Engineering Foundation. Mark has offered assessment, planning, and training services to many nonprofit groups, as well as interim leadership for organizations such as Muhlenberg College and the Green Bay Botanical Garden. He has authored several articles for publication in professional journals and magazines.
Dr. Gore is responsible for negotiating and coordinated efforts to leverage institutional data to inform strategic planning, institutional operations, student success, and growth. In his faculty role, he serves as the Director of graduate programs in School and Clinical Mental Health Counseling. Dr. Gore’s professional interests focus on high school and college student transition and academic and career success. He is currently writing a student success textbook, Connections: Empowerment for College and Career Success. He is interested in how institutions use data to align resources and services to meet the particular needs (or capitalize on the strengths) of their students. Dr. Gore has consulted with over 3 dozen high school districts and colleges and universities in the U.S. and abroad. Dr. Gore earned his Ph.D. in 1996 from Loyola University in Chicago IL in the field of Counseling Psychology. He is a Fellow of the American Psychological Association, serves as the editor of the Journal of the First-Year Experience and Students in Transition and has published over 50 articles and book chapters. Dr. Gore was named as a 2013-2014 American Council on Education Fellow and spent this academic year working with the President and Executive Leadership team at Montana State […]
Mike McCready has more than 11 years of experience as a web professional and has spent the past four years focusing on web strategy and digital marketing, including social media. He has been blogging about social media and marketing for four years at www.mikemccready.ca. Mike is the web and social media strategist at Lethbridge College, where he engages and trains the campus community on effective social media use and strategy, while also providing strategic direction on technology and trends related to marketing and communications. Additionally, Mike provides social media consulting, training, and presentations to businesses, individuals, and nonprofit agencies.
Prior to joining ACT, Wes served as an academic advisor and later as the director of the academic advisement center at Illinois State University. He also served as the director of academic and career advising at the University of Wisconsin-Eau Claire. Habley has more than 50 published works on academic advising and student retention. His most recent publications include Academic Advising: A Comprehensive Handbook (2008), The Status of Academic Advising: Findings from the ACT Sixth National Survey (2004) and What Works in Student Retention? in 2004 and 2009. Habley is a founding board member of NACADA and has served as president and treasurer. He is the founding director of the NACADA Summer Institute on Academic Advising and the recipient of NACADA’s awards for service and for outstanding contributions to the field of advising. He has delivered more than 200 presentations at professional meetings and has served as a consultant or workshop leader at more than 125 colleges in the US, Canada, and the Middle East.
Tom served as an educator in academic and student affairs for 27 years, most recently as the dean of advising services and special programs at Saint Mary’s College of California. There he developed and administered Saint Mary’s nationally recognized academic advising program. He also developed the High Potential Program, which provided access and support to first-generation students from economically and educationally disadvantaged backgrounds. Graduation rates for High Potential students exceeded those for all other cohorts at Saint Mary’s. Tom has served as a consultant to more than 350 colleges and universities in the US and abroad, and he is regularly invited to deliver keynote addresses at national conferences, campus colloquia, and workshops for faculty and staff. He is known for his ability to engage, inspire, and motivate students. He has published and presented extensively in areas related to student retention, academic advising, international education, and promoting the achievement and success of multicultural, international, and at-risk students. He recently co-edited and wrote for the 2011 monograph, Fulfilling the Promise of the Community College: Increasing First-Year Student Engagement and Success, which was co-sponsored by the American Association of Community Colleges and the National Resource Center for the First-Year Experience and Students in […]
