Monday, November 30, 2009

A product of nontraditional higher ed...



As mentioned in the “about me” section of this blog, I have spent the past 20 year, my whole career, in nontraditional higher ed. While I have dabbled in various forms of traditional higher ed, not only as a student but also as a faculty/teacher, my dedication remains true to nontraditional higher education. In many ways, I owe who I am and what I have to this industry and although I’m far from an industry expert, my time, experience and education lead me down this path.

In my professional experience I spent 16 years working full-time for the University of Phoenix, which laid the foundation for nontraditional higher ed in our country. My last full-time position with the university was as the Director of Operations and Student Services for the South Florida Campuses. Currently, I am an Adjunct Faculty member at the Phoenix Campus. I am proud to be a graduate, proponent, educator and product of the organization built by Dr. John Sperling. My detailed CV (an academic version of a resume) can be found here.

This university, run as a business and referred to as the “Company” by Dr. Sperling himself, would not only make its mark in the world of higher education and the business world, but it would also make its mark in my life. Spending the past 20 years of my life tied to this organization in a part-time, then full-time, and once again, part-time capacity, has been a dominant force in molding who I am as a person, employee and now, educator.

The purpose of this blog is to share my perspective, opinion (academically sound ones and personal ones), experiences and insight to the world of nontraditional higher ed.




Saturday, November 14, 2009

Your stories awaken me

Your eyes; brown, soft, loving.
Smiling heart exudes to the surface.
Warm hands hold mine; gently rubbing.

Waking up in a strange place; unfamiliar.
Lonely; unknown surrounds.
Stories upon stories. So many, all different.


Awaken; dreams disrupted through the night.
Reminded of the familiar; true love.
Your eyes; faithful, consistent, real.

Home; waking up next to me.
Known surroundings; fulfilled.
Chapter upon chapter; building together.

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