Bio:
I was working as an Aircraft Engineer with a side hustle as a computer consultant. I was hired by A.T. Still University (known then as "Arizona School Of Health Sciences" (ASHS) and the "Kirksville College of Osteopathic Medicine" (KCOM)) in 1996 as a consultant to assist them in creating some of their very first online courses.
At first it was designing and teaching a basic computer skills course to practicing audiologists ("ear doctors") using a very early beta copy of WebCT (called "SCT" - I still have that CD-ROM install disk somewhere!). The goal was a new doctorate for audiologists called the "Au.D.", or "Doctor of Audiology", and a lot of these lifelong country ear doctors were eager to add "Doctor" to their professional honorific.
I consulted with them for almost 5 years as an independent contractor, then I left the glamourous world of aircraft engineering behind and they hired me direct in 2001.
Eventually the various colleges in association would transition into a true university, "A.T. Still University", named after the father of osteopathic medicine, Andrew Taylor Still, and based out of Kirksville, Missouri on one side of the country, and in Mesa, Arizona on the other side. We've added a few more "home bases" across the country since then, and ATSU continues to grow and teach using Canvas, which we transitioned to in 2016. Our student population hails from all over planet Earth.
I recently completed 20 years of service with ATSU. I am working and growing, still teaching and learning. I will be for many years to come. I live, breathe, and enjoy managing LMS'- and Canvas in particular. I am excited to be adding "Canvas Certified Technical Administrator" (CCTA) to my professional portfolio by completing the new CCTA courses in 2023.