I joined the APU faculty in 2005 and until 2010 served as the Director of Distance Education with primary responsibility for the Rural Alaska Native Adult Distance Education Program.
Known as RANA, the online degree program attracted statewide rural learners who began or completed their education without having to leave home and family.
Directing the RANA Program at APU was among the most important roles I’ve taken on in a career that included 16 years at Ohio State University, where I served as a professor in the Theater Department and an administrator and in the College of the Arts.
Today, APU’s RANA program is merged with our e-learning platform, continuing to deliver quality education and making it easier than ever for working adults in Anchorage and beyond to earn degrees.
My first love is teaching, a passion shared by APU faculty and one of the things that distinguishes Alaska Pacific University from many other campuses. I teach a range of APU courses focused on arts appreciation, communications and cultural studies.
As a theater and communications associate professor and chairperson of APU’s Liberal Studies Department, I’m honored to teach and work with students and colleagues who treasure the humanities in a technological age. I agree with Apple computer founder Steve Jobs, who believed so strongly in the humanities’ contribution to Apple’s success that he had a sign made to mark the intersection of two streets – Technology and Liberal Arts.
I’m originally from Montana, from a family of teachers, and my first degree is in elementary education. After teaching seventh grade language arts for several years, I returned to school to earn a master’s and doctorate in theater studies. After graduate school, I joined the Theatre Department faculty at Ohio State, where arts and technology went hand in hand to develop amazing, creative projects.
From that huge research institution, I moved to Alaska and joined APU – a small school with a huge commitment to teaching and learning.
My academic research focuses on contemporary female playwrights, feminism and critical theory, and turn-of-the-20th-century women who were theater enthusiasts. I’ve also been fortunate to work on several large-scale grant projects developing educational outreach through distance learning in Alaska.
_Ph.D., Theatre Studies, University of Washington
_M.A., Theatre Studies, Washington State University
_B.A., Elementary Education, Rocky Mountain College
