Vesna Beck is a professor and one of the founders of the Organizational Leadership Program at the Fischler School of Education and Human Services at Nova Southeastern University. In the past 10 years, she has been involved in teaching Web-based and multimedia distance education courses in the master’s and doctoral programs. Beck has also taught and developed courses in curriculum development, research, and assessment. She is an author in the area of early childhood education.
Bill Chernish is an associate professor at the University of Houston’s Conrad N. Hilton College of Hotel and Restaurant Management, where he teaches courses in management and human resource management, both in the traditional classroom and through distance education. Prior to coming to Houston, he was an assistant dean at Cornell’s hotel school. He has an extensive hands-on background in industry, the federal government, and as an entrepreneur. He earned his undergraduate degree in mechanical engineering at Duke, an MBA at Wharton, and a PhD at the University of Pennsylvania.
Agnes L. DeFranco is an associate professor at the Conrad N. Hilton College of Hotel and Restaurant Management, University of Houston. Her interests in teaching excellence and improvements are evident in her early research work and she has won teaching excellence awards at both the college and university level. As a certified hospitality accountant executive and a certified hospitality educator cadre member she also works and consults with the Educational Institute of the American Hotel and Lodging Association to foster the importance of teaching excellence. DeFranco is active in a number of local, state, and national organizations. She currently serves as the president of the Phi Beta Delta-Delta Iota chapter, secretary of the Hospitality Financial and Technology Professionals, and a member of the Finance Committee and Future Fund Committee of International Council on Hotel, Restaurant, and Institutional Education. In addition, she serves on the Human Resources and the Multicultural and Diversity Advisory Council of the American Hotel and Lodging Association. She has been a board member of various advisory boards of community colleges, school districts, and local and state lodging associations.
Kim E. Dooley is an associate professor in the Department of Agricultural Education at Texas A&M University. She received her PhD in human resource development from Texas A&M University in 1995 with a specialization in distance education. She has conducted over 70 conference presentations and training programs around the globe. Her scholarship is communicated through 100 publications including a book coming out in 2005, Advanced Methods in Distance Education: Applications and Practices for Educators, Trainers, and Learners. She has served on many university committees and advisory boards, including the American Distance Education Consortium International Taskforce.
Jianxia Du earned her BA from Southwest Normal University in China, where she later served as an assistant professor. After coming to the United States, she completed an MA in educational policy and technology and a PhD in educational technology at the University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign. She is an assistant professor in the Department of Instructional Systems, Leadership, and Workforce Development at Mississippi State University. Her research interests include race and gender issues in instructional technology, online discussion, and collaborative learning. Du’s professional accomplishments include over 20 articles and professional presentations.
Veronica M. (Ronnie) Godshalk is an associate professor in the Department of Management and Organization at The Pennsylvania State University, Great Valley. Godshalk’s research interests include career management, mentoring, stress, the intersection of work and nonwork domains and developing communities of learners in the distance education environment.
Douglas Harvey is an associate professor of instructional technology at the Richard Stockton College of New Jersey. His research focus is on the use of hypermedia as a tool for achieving higher-order learning goals.
Byron Havard’s interest in education began very early, growing up in a family of educators. He earned his BS at Auburn University, an MS in instructional design and development from the University of South Alabama, and his PhD in instructional technology from Georgia State University. Havard has roughly nine years of corporate experience in instructional design, needs assessment, and evaluation. He served 3 years as assistant professor in instructional systems at Mississippi State University. He is currently an assistant professor of instructional technology at the University of West Florida. His research interests include collaborative online learning, social and cultural dimensions in instructional technology, and instructional strategies. Havard’s professional accomplishments include over 25 articles and professional presentations.
Jason Huett is a teaching fellow for the Department of Technology and Cognition in the College of Education at the University of North Texas. He is interested in developing distance education programs at the university level.
David Holder is an instructor for the Department of Technology and Cognition in the College of Education at the University of North Texas. He is interested in the study of cognitive load and its impact on the learning process.
Scott L. Howell is the assistant to the dean for the Division of Continuing Education at Brigham Young University (BYU). He assisted BYU in launching its online learning and assessment initiative as the inaugural director of the Center of Instructional Design and also served as director of BYU’s external degree program, bachelor of general studies, and assistant director of the Department of Independent Study. He received his PhD in instructional science, MS in community education, and BS in business management; he is widely published and respected for his work in distance education and online assessment.
Tracy Irani is an associate professor in the Department of Agricultural Education and Communication at the University of Florida. Irani researches and teaches on topics related to agricultural communication, media relations, biotechnology education, and distance education.
Carla Johnson is a doctoral student in the Graduate Division of Education Research at the University of Calgary. She partnered with Hetty Roessingh in instructing the pilot version of Designing ESL Curricula online. Johnson is a leader in teacher professional development for ESL in her school.
Janet Ross Kendall is director of Distance Degree Programs (DDP) at Washington State University (WSU). She coordinates WSU’s various distance learning degree-completion programs and works with departments and colleges to develop additional distance learning programs and courses. DDP also provides logistical support for all credit courses and programs offered by WSU outside of its four campuses. The unit provides a complete set of services to students enrolled in the programs, and WSU is known as a national leader in providing comprehensive, quality student services to distance learning students.
James R. Lindner is an associate professor in the Department of Agricultural Education at Texas A&M University. He has established a national reputation as a rigorous scholar and prolific author focusing on planning and needs assessment, and research, measurement, and analysis in the context of distance education. Within the department, Lindner is helping to develop and deliver the masters of agriculture at a distance program and the Doc@Distance program. He has received numerous honors and awards for presentations of research findings at international and national conferences. He has authored or coauthored over 60 refereed journal articles, two books, several chapters, and 75 research papers presented at local, national, and international conferences. He has been principal investigator, coprincipal investigator, or collaborator for over 50 projects totaling over $5 million in funding.
Nathan K. Lindsay received his master’s degree in instructional systems technology from Indiana University, where he taught three courses and worked at the Center of Instructional Consulting. He is currently a doctoral student studying higher education at the University of Michigan and is interested in learning and teaching issues, student development, and the use of technology in higher education.
Manuel Martinez-Pons came to Brooklyn College in 1986 after serving in various academic capacities within the CUNY system. He received a PhD in adult education from the University of Nebraska and a PhD in educational psychology from the Graduate School and University Center, CUNY. He has taught undergraduate courses on the urban child and graduate courses on research at the Brooklyn College School of Education, and doctoral courses on motivation, cultural issues, and instructional theory at the PhD program in educational psychology of the Graduate School and University Center, CUNY. His areas of specialty include emotional and cognitive intelligence, self-regulated behavior, educational research, applied statistics, and adult educational psychology.
Leslie Moller, PhD, is an associate professor of Technology and Cognition at University of North Texas. Moller is chair of the AECT Distance Education Standards committee. He has authored approximately three dozen articles and book chapters related to distance education and instructional systems design.
Anthony Olinzock is professor and head of the Department of Instructional Systems, Leadership, & Workforce Development at Mississippi State University.
Madeline Ortiz-Rodriguez is a doctoral student in the University of Florida’s College of Education’s School of Teaching and Learning.
Emily Rhoades is a doctoral student in the Department of Agricultural Education and Communication at the University of Florida.
T. Grady Roberts, an assistant professor in Texas A&M University’s Department of Agricultural Education, researches distance education and agricultural education.
Hetty Roessingh is a long-time ESL classroom practitioner. In 2000, she joined the Faculty of Education at the University of Calgary, where she teaches in the MEd TESL program. In 2003, she began developing courses for distance delivery. A graduate certificate in TESL is available online.
Tammy Ronsisvalle is a consultant in distance education for K-12 and higher education. She specializes in strategies to improve online and distance learner success. She works with faculty and administration in assessing existing programs and implementing new strategies for distance learners. Her 14 years in education includes experience in research, grant administration, educational television, and serving atrisk student populations through distance education. Recently, she earned her master of arts degree in educational technology from George Washington University.
Barbara Rosenfeld received her PhD in curriculum and instruction with a concentration in educational technology from the University of Missouri. She is an assistant professor at Brooklyn College–City University of New York, where she teaches graduate courses in educational technology and mathematics education. Her research focus is on the integration of technology in the classroom.
Marlene Rothermel is an education specialist with Technology & Innovations in Education, in Rapid City, South Dakota. A former classroom teacher, Rothermel served as a project leader for various state and national telecollaborative ventures, including Discover South Dakota (SD History), Tiger Tales (storytelling), and Balloonin’ USA (nationwide science project). She is currently working to advance the goals and objectives of the South Dakota EveryTeacher Teacher Quality grant specific to program design and candidate support in the areas of National Board Certification and New Teacher Mentoring.
Sharon Santilli has been a member of Nova Southeastern University’s Fischler School of Education faculty for 12 years. Her professional areas of interest include qualitative research methods, leadership and ethics, and distance education. She has been developing and teaching online doctoral courses in leadership, ethics, and communication for the past four years.
Ricky Telg is an associate professor in the Department of Agricultural Education and Communication at the University of Florida. Telg researches and teaches on topics related to agricultural communication, media relations, biotechnology education, and distance education.
Ryan Watkins is an associate professor at The George Washington University in Washington, DC and visiting scholar (IPA) with the National Science Foundation. He is an author/ coauthor of the best-selling books 75 E-learning Activities: Making Online Courses Interactive, and E-learning Companion: A Student's Guide to Online Success, as well as several other books and more than 60 articles on distance education, needs assessment, strategic planning, and student success performance improvement.
Jon I. Young is a professor and chair of the Department of Technology and Cognition, in the College of Education at the University of North Texas. He has made presentations at countries around the world on technology innovations in education. He is very interested in outcome-related educational philosophy as it enables students to understand educational expectations and helps them develop procedures for accomplishing their goals.
