Highlighted Qualifications

• Proven skills in relationship building across constituencies as both faculty and administrator.
• Innovative, dynamic communicator with significant public speaking experience and social media expertise.
• Highly creative and innovative educator committed to interdisciplinarity and multi-media expression.
• Pioneering thought leader with 20 years experience in educational technology.
• Strategic and adaptable in the face of emergent opportunities and crises.

Student Engagement Coordinator, Poverty Solutions, University of Michigan
September 2018-

• Develop the student facing program for innovative research center focused on understanding, preventing and alleviating poverty. 
• Manage undergraduate certificate program, graduate and undergraduate course on poverty, and university wide speaker series
• Supervise 20 graduate and undergraduate research assistants working on multiple projects. Develop systems for tracking projects, RA contributions, needs and capacities. 

Dean, Associate Professor of Religious Studies and Theological Studies, Conrad Grebel University College, University of Waterloo
July 2014 –June 2016

• Responsible for graduate and undergraduate academic program of small residential college affiliated with the University of Waterloo including managing an academic budget of $7M and direct supervision of 13 faculty and 2 staff.
• Planned lectures, conference and other continuing education events for diverse constituencies and represented Grebel at these events.
• Lead development of comprehensive strategic plan (2015-2020) focused on people, program, facilities and constituencies and collaborated with key college administrators, faculty, and external consultants in developing the plan and initiating implementation.
• Advocated for and communicated institutional mission to internal and external constituencies through speaking engagements, arranging participation in national and international conferences, and in leadership committees.
• Collaborated with the university across six faculties and three other affiliated colleges on academic and operational questions.
• Oversaw the creation and development of a new theological certificate program to reach New Canadians in collaboration with Mennonite Church Eastern Canada.
• Reinvigorated integration efforts between the academic and residential programs through personal engagement with students and encouraging faculty participation in new programs.
• Initiated and oversaw the development of two new online courses to pilot a more comprehensive and cutting edge approach to modafinil online education at the college.
• Chaired searches for new faculty positions in Global Music and Peace and Conflict Studies.
• Reorganized Dean’s office to increase administrative support and capacity.

Associate Professor of Religion, Bluffton University
September 2004 – June 2014

• Taught a broad variety of undergraduate courses in the university’s general education program, adult education program, honors program and religion major, including courses on sustainability, ethics and digital culture.
• Taught courses in MBA program, including courses on ethics and information technology.
• Served as Interim Director of MBA program and participated in team that developed a collaborative MBA program across three universities.
• Provided university-wide leadership for honors education as Honors Program Director and increased and stabilized honors student recruitment and increased the academic presence of the program across campus.
• Created the Bluffton Centre for Academic Excellence to consolidate and house honors programming resulting in greater efficiencies in and opportunities for effective honors education.
• Founded and directed The Anabaptist Bestiary Project, a contemporary music ensemble, to engage students and audiences in learning about the natural world through music.
• Served as Faculty Vice-President, Liberal Studies Task Force Chair, and as representative on many university committees including Graduate Academic Program Council, Special Studies and Honors Committee and New Technology Committee.
• Piloted new educational technology (Moodle, Adobe Connect, blogs) at both graduate and undergraduate level.

Visiting Instructor of Theology, Seabury-Western Theological Seminary
September 2002 – August 2004

• Taught a wide variety of courses including courses on ethics and leadership.
• Served on a variety of seminary committees including one quarter as interim academic dean.
• Awarded $18K from The Wabash Centre for Teaching in Theology and Religion for pilot open source theological education website, The Disseminary.
• Piloted the use of blogs in classes at Seabury.

Assistant Dean of Information and Communication, The Graduate School, Loyola University Chicago
July 1998 – August 2002

• Responsible for graduate registration process and thesis and dissertation submission.
• Coordinated graduate program review process in collaboration with academic departments, other administrators and external reviewers.
• Created new Graduate Student Health Plan in collaboration with representatives across the university.
• Represented The Graduate School on university committees including the Distance Education Committee, Project Evoke, Graduate Student Health Insurance committee.
• Consulted with Program Directors and Chairs across three campuses to develop, design, code and populate departmental websites and special project websites.
• Initiated a variety of technological firsts in collaboration with Loyola University Centre for Instructional Design including first streamed conference and first set of online forms.

McCormick Graduate Fellow, Centre for Urban Research and Learning, Loyola University Chicago
August 1995 – September 1997

• Provided technological support to all aspects of newly created centre bridging university and community based research.
• Collaborated with the United Way of Chicago to create a new volunteer database call ChicagoServes. Negotiated design and functionality with multiple stakeholders. Built interfaces to extract data from United Way systems and make the data compatible with Loyola systems. Design and published hardcopy version of the database. This project was recognized by the Mayor’s office in Chicago.

Education

Ph.D. Loyola University Chicago, Discipline: Constructive Theology
B.A. University of Manitoba, Major: Religious Studies