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The new F word:
MEET THE FACULTY
The power of potential
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FORWARD THINKING
The Adaptive Learning
Environment in action
52
Matters
THE HR COLUMN
Faculty Engagement
Survey
72
Summer 2012

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Letter from the executive editor
Summer Edition, 2012
CHIEF MARKETING OFFICER
Arra Yerganian
VICE PRESIDENT
Kathleen Fern
EDITORIAL DIRECTOR
Jenifer King
SENIOR EDITOR
Tracy Nita Pender
DIRECTOR, FACuLTy RELATIONS
Jason Pochert
COMMuNICATIONS MANAGER
Bridget Gutierrez
SENIOR WRITER
Julie Wilson
LINKEDIN COMMuNITy MANAGER
Amy Wilson
FACuLTy ADVISORy BOARD
Alan Drimmer, Adam Honea,
Russ Paden, Dawn Iwamoto,
Doug Klingenberg, Marla Kelsey,
Barbara Taylor
CONTRIBuTING WRITERS
Lori Baker, Paula Boon, Carlye Malchuk
Dash, Mark Dillon, Keely Grasser,
Heather Holliday, Lee Rasizer
DESIGN
P.S. Studios, Inc.
SENIOR PHOTOGRAPHER
Bruce Racine
CONTRIBuTING PHOTOGRAPHERS
Niall David, Marco Garcia, Jenny Gorman
Faculty Matters is produced quarterly
by the University of Phoenix Faculty
Relations Department
CONTACT
University of Phoenix
Faculty Matters magazine
4025 S. Riverpoint Parkway, CF-K410
Phoenix, AZ 85040
FacultyMatters@phoenix.edu
P 877-773-0195
F 480-366-7503
FacultyMatters.com
©2012 University of Phoenix, Inc.
All rights reserved.
FpO
Fear of failure
That’s the crux of the problem, isn’t
it? How far are you willing to go?
How bold can you be before you get your
hand slapped?
We’ve all been there. We were there just
before this issue went to press. We knew
we wanted to talk about attitudes toward
failure—every parent, teacher, coach
and employer can certainly relate. But
suddenly we worried. Was our title going
too far? Was failure too taboo to discuss?
Something I’ve mentioned before is that
I’m surrounded by an amazing group of
people who have strong opinions and who
are great at their jobs. We talked about
toning down our title to be more positive.
We thought about saying “success” instead
of “failure.” But then we realized we were
falling prey to the same trend we were
addressing.
So we all agreed to be brave.
Enjoy the issue.
Kathleen M. Fern, MBA
Executive Editor
Kathleen.Fern@phoenix.edu
Kathleen M. Fern
Executive Editor
facultymatters.com
2012 Copper Quill Awards
2012 ADDY Awards
Faculty Matters magazine has received a Copper Quill
Award in the 2012 Copper Quill Awards competition.
Faculty Matters has also won a 2012 ADDY award. Visit
FacultyMatters.com to read more about our award wins.
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Faculty Matters Summer 2012
Faculty Matters | Summer 2012
contents
28
34
38
74
6
10
14
18
22
24
64
42
48
50
70
Features
The new F word: failure
Your voice
Turning failure to success
By the numbers
Meet The Faculty
Your opinions
Andre Watson
Radostina peteva
Reynaldo Dinulong
Your space
Faculty faces
Noteworthy
University News
College news
From the deans
Historic day in African education
You’ve got mail
Cover Story
28
10
When was the last time you failed at something
important? More and more, our culture appears
to revere success at all costs, while failure has
become taboo—it’s almost a dirty word, for some.
What are the true lessons of failure? Feature artist:
P.S. Studios.

38
34
50
Scholarship Spotlight
Adversity and scholarship
Faculty honoraria
Event calendar
Columns
Forward thinking
Just ask
The HR column
From The Desk Of
The president
The provost
The SVp of Academic Operations
The Executive Editor
14
facultymatters.com
18
56
58
63
52
68
72
8
26
66
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Faculty Matters Summer 2012
your
opinions
“ We’ve launched a
whole new online
experience at
FacultyMatters.com.
Be sure to visit!”
— Tracy Nita Pender
Senior Editor,
Faculty Matters
comments, critiques and kudos
I
’m part of the psychology online faculty, teaching
undergrad through Ph.D., and have been with
University of Phoenix since 2006. I’m a psychologist
in my own private practice but have also been an
award-winning faculty member previously at another
university. I prefaced my statement with that
information because I wanted you to know that I mean
it when I say thank you for the University’s Faculty
Matters magazine.
Particularly, I’m happy to see my colleagues get the
well-deserved feature profiles showing their hard
work in and out of the classroom. I have been a public
person for many years as an author and television oncamera
expert, so I get plenty of exposure. But I have
seen so many talented colleagues work and toil with no
recognition at so many schools. Many universities give
lip service to words such as “value of faculty, respect
for faculty, etc., etc.,” but no actual follow-through.
University of Phoenix’s magazine, the honoraria
spotlight and featuring publications and books by
faculty is refreshing and inspiring to see.
— Dr. William July, University of Phoenix faculty
Houston, TX
The letters below were received in response to our Spring 2012
edition feature “Can faculty influence right and wrong?”
I
believe our behavior, ethical or not, is a function of
our own belief and value system. These could be
based on religious beliefs, education in philosophy,
a sense of fair play, or at the simplest level a sense
of what is right or wrong. These factors combine to
produce our observable behaviors which are usually
habitual. Since the behaviors are habitual we will
usually display then if watched or not watched.
— Thomas A. Graham, University of Phoenix faculty
Moore, OK
Iwas disappointed that the discussion of ethics
in the Spring 2012 issue of Faculty Matters was
so shallow and uninformed and that the article
reporting the recent poll [Your Voice, pages 34-37]
on ethics careened from one fallacy to another.
To start, take the word “ethics”—nobody seems to
have noted that the word does not refer to a pre-set,
prescribed system of guidelines for behavior—“right
and wrong”—but rather to any system of concepts,
sometimes explicit rules, about what is “right and
wrong.” As such, different cultures and different people
may have (and do have) different ideas about right
and wrong—and very often conflicting ideas of what
is right or wrong, which is not to say that one person is
ethical and another not—simply that their ethics differ.
A gross example (by which I mean exceedingly
unsubtle): honor killings. In the West, to kill a female
relative because she transgressed an ethical code
(perhaps went out on a date with a young man, was
caught holding hands with a boyfriend) is considered
vastly unethical; we in the West can hardly conceive
anything more unethical. Yet, in some parts of the
world, such is the ethical duty of males in a family.
I was just reading this morning about a 16-year-old
Moroccan girl, having been forced by the local court to
marry the man who had raped her, committed suicide.
Again, we in the West consider this a tremendous
travesty and the depth of barbarism. Evidently, in
some codes of Moroccan justice, forcing a woman to
marry her rapist is considered the height of ethics.
And, as much as I agree with and am imbued in the
Western system, I have to acknowledge that the
other system does constitute a system of ethics.
So, to ask the questions, “Do you feel that ethics are on
the decline in the U.S.?” or “Do you feel that students
today are more or less ethical,” really is to ask the
wrong questions—or to ask questions with mistaken
presuppositions: the presupposition that there is a set
standard of ethics to which everyone agrees and by
which all behavior may be judged, and by this standard,
ethics can be said to “rise” or “decline.” This is simply
not true, and to ask the question does little more
than to prompt a rousing chorus of the song from
the musical Bye, Bye, Birdie: “Kids! What’s the matter
with kids today?” (Which, I have read, is very similar
to a complaint found on an ancient Egyptian tomb.)
— Dr. Michael McIntyre, University of Phoenix faculty
Crestline, CA
Corrections
In the article “Keeping it real,” in our spring edition, Maryse Nazon was
incorrectly listed as holding her Ph.D. Dr. Nazon holds her Psy.D.
In the same edition, Dr. Barb Turner, DAA of the Asia Military Campus in
Okinawa, Japan, was incorrectly listed as Barbara Taylor. Dr. Turner wrote
the letter alerting us to the need to change our tagline for Faculty Faces.
Faculty Matters apologizes for the errors.

social media
snippets
From the Deans
DISCUSSION pOST: Our deans have scaled
mountains, volunteered with the Peace Corps
and raised burros. What would your fellow faculty
be surprised to learn about your life?
—Kathleen Fern, Executive Editor
MEMBER COMMENT: I love these fun facts
about the deans. Life is not all business and no
fun. This shows them in a new light. I am not a
dean, but a CCC, and I personally rode a camel
from the outskirts of Cairo, the Pyramids of
Giza—an amazing experience. I use that in classes
at the local campus for an introductions activity
of two truths and a lie—always a fun way to start
a class.
—Dr. Shari Muench
MEMBER COMMENT: I am not a dean, either,
but a faculty member. I served in the Peace Corps
in Mpumalanga, South Africa (2002-4), where I
was an educational resource specialist. Leading a
team of faculty there, I started the first library in
the village.
—January Riddle
MEMBER COMMENT: It is a rather interesting
item I will share. Back in 1984 at my days at the
UW-Madison, I was part of a contemporary dance
troupe. It was during this era of my life, I was
offered a job as a Chippendale’s Dancer in Texas. I
turned it down, of course.
Several years later I injured my rotator cuff in a
dancing accident and injured my lower back in a
car accident. I had to give up my dancing shoes
and get into my professional shoes. In the late
1980’s, I mentioned to Chris Farley, one of my
high school friends, that I should have taken
that job as a Chippendale Dancer because now
I realized no one wanted to see an overweight
Chippendale Dancer.
Our Faculty Matters LinkedIn Group is hosting great
conversations, such as those listed below. Join us at
www.facultymatters.com/linkedin/
Well, I guess I was wrong because shortly
thereafter, Chris made the Chippendale’s skit
one of the most revered skits on SNL (Saturday
Night Live).
—Montgomery Beyer
your classroom emphasis
DISCUSSION pOST: Faculty member Maryse
Nazon, Psy.D., emphasizes to her students the
need to be self-aware. What do you emphasize in
your classroom?
—Tracy Nita Pender, Senior Editor
MEMBER COMMENT: View learning as a full
spectrum of observations and application.
—Steve Brannon
MEMBER COMMENT: Learning as a process,
critical thinking and inquiry, research skills and
mutual respect and appreciation for differing
viewpoints and experiences.
—Lindsay Armstrong
MEMBER COMMENT: Use the classroom
learning environment as a laboratory to practice
the skills needed in their workplace.
—Charlotte Johnson
Like an article? Share it!
We’ve improved our sharing capabilities at
FacultyMatters.com. Look for these icons to help
you easily share articles with your colleagues and
social networks.
What was the most-shared article in our
Spring 2012 edition? It was a tie between
“Can faculty influence right and wrong” and
“An ocean of experience.”
your editorial team
Arra yerganian
Chief Marketing
Officer
Jenifer King
Editorial Director
Jason Pochert
Director, Faculty
Relations
Amy Wilson
LinkedIn Community
Manager
facultymatters.com
Kathleen Fern
Executive Editor
Tracy Nita Pender
Senior Editor
Bridget Gutierrez
Communications
Manager
Julie Wilson
Senior Writer
7

BILL TALKS
FAILURE
WHAT IS FAILURE?
A lack of persistence to
succeed.
HAVE YOU EVER
TWEETED OR
SEARCHED #FAIL?
Nope.
WHAT’S YOUR
FAVORITE SAYING
ABOUT SUCCESS?
Success is what you make
happen. Failure is what
you let happen.
IS FAILURE THE
OppOSITE OF SUCCESS?
Not at all. See answer
above.
DO YOU HAVE A
SUBSTITUTE WORD OR
pHRASE FOR FAILURE?
Temporary setback.
Bill Pepicello, Ph.D.
President, University of Phoenix

From the desk of the president
Failure is a choice
S
ome say that failure is not an option,
but I believe failure is a personal choice.
A matter of perspective
Too often, people look at failure as a terminal thing.
They think, “I failed. That’s it. I need to quit.” But failure
is not in my way of thinking. I’ve never failed in the
sense that I’ve never given up, hung my head and
walked out on something. I’ve experienced criticism
like everyone else, but I never let it define where I go
from there. Instead, I view criticism as constructive
input I can use to get even better at whatever it is
I’m doing.
Learning curve
Dr. John Sperling has embodied this same spirit
since he founded University of Phoenix in 1976. He
didn’t worry about failure. He worried about success.
And when things didn’t work out perfectly, he just
worked harder.
When we first launched our digital library in 1996, it
was highly controversial, and even the accrediting
bodies were concerned. But we took every criticism
and roadblock as an opportunity to make things
better, and we used the things that didn’t work to
make us stronger.
It would have been easy for us to say, “You’re right.
This is too hard.” But we knew we’d figure it out
because we learned something from every setback.
I welcomed our critics then, as I still do today, because
they help us get even better. Now we have a state-ofthe-art
digital library that is an amazing success, and
it’s being replicated in schools across the country and
around the world.
A clear path
Today, students want to know what they are going to
get out of their degrees, and universities are struggling
with how to provide a path to success for their
students. This is something higher education wasn’t
accountable for previously. At University of Phoenix,
we considered this a high priority from the start. For
the past four decades, we have been on a mission to
reinvigorate the middle class in America by providing
our students with an education that will give them the
skills and knowledge they need to succeed.
Along the way, many will experience setbacks and
roadblocks, just as the University has. As faculty
members, you’re in a unique position to help instill in
our students a sense of the excitement of risk-taking
and innovation, despite the occasional obstacles.
With your guidance, students set their focus not on
failure, but rather on progress and achievement,
which is something we can all be proud of, whatever
the outcome.
facultymatters.com
“ I welcome our
critics because
they help us make
ourselves better.”
9

10
Faculty Matters Summer 2012
meet the faculty
By Carlye Malchuk Dash
Photography by Jenny Gorman
Andre Watson, Psy.D.
Andre Watson has always been a good listener.
In fact, the 35-year-old clinical psychologist
has built his career on conversations. “I am
from the school of thought that believes that
talking about everything helps people heal,”
he explains.
Born, raised and living in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania, Watson
counsels patients at his private practice in the Philadelphia
Consultation Center. He also brings his unique world view to the
local University of Phoenix campus where he teaches for the
College of Humanities.
The spider web of life
For Watson, teaching is about making learning authentic—
bringing theories to life by allowing students to make
connections to themselves and to the lives and ideas of their
classmates. “As a psychologist, I am able to apply scientific and
psychological theory to everyday life that students can identify
with and understand,” he says. “As a result, they are given not
only an intellectual education, but also an emotional one while
in my class. I use therapeutic principles to help students pull the
most out of themselves.”
Watson, who recently taught Psychology of Personality to
undergraduate students, feels his skills as a group therapist
best serve him as a teacher. “The goal in group therapy is not to
have people giving monologues … but instead to be interacting
with each other. That’s how our brain works—we make so many
different connections—and that’s how I like to run my class. It’s
like a spider web.”
A new reality
Born with full vision, Watson lost his sight before entering his
teens. “We really don’t totally understand how things happened,”
he explains of the multiple retina detachments that started in
his right eye at age six. By age 11 he was completely blind.
“After I lost my eyesight I received a different response from
the world,” he says. Watson recalls a change in comments from
family, neighbors and playmates; they were now hesitant to
include him in games, to let him help around the house, or to
walk around alone.
continued on page 12

facultymatters.com
The power
of potential
Born with full vision, by age 11 Andre Watson was completely blind. Throughout
his life, he has worked hard to exceed the expectations of those who saw his full
potential—and to change the opinions of those who saw him only as disabled.
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Faculty Matters Summer 2012
meet the faculty
Andre Watson, Psy.D.
continued from page 10
“I heard people talk differently to me, and that’s stayed
with me all these years,” he explains. “I was free to be
anything and then after I lost my sight I felt people
putting constraints on me—and I resent that, I really
do. It’s like having privileges and then having them
taken away.”
An active student
With encouragement—and with his own high
expectations—Watson began to move forward. He
notes he was fortunate to have the support of his
mother, a teacher, but also to be enrolled at Overbrook
Education Center from grades four to eight. The
school was hugely supportive of blind students,
allowing them to join mainstream classes.
In high school, Watson joined the wrestling team and
pursued the sport through college. He later played
goalball—a sport for blind athletes—and was on the
national team. In goalball, teams of three maneuver
similar to a soccer or hockey goalie, trying to prevent
the opposing team from scoring a ball embedded
with bells. Players with partial vision are blindfolded
to create a level playing field. Also a martial arts
practitioner, Watson was selected to the Paralympic
Judo Team and represented the U.S. at the Beijing
2008 Paralympic Games.
Research based on experience
Watson earned his bachelor’s degree in Psychology,
with a minor in Spanish and Africana Studies, at the
University of Pittsburgh. His master’s and doctorate
degree, both in Clinical Psychology, were completed
at Widener University. For his doctorate, Watson’s
dissertation focused on the development of blind
adolescents—a topic inspired by his own youth.
In social situations, fear of the unknown can result in a
person with a disability being totally excluded. “When
you’re disabled, people aren’t always sure what to do
so sometimes you’re sat in a corner, you’re forgotten
about or you’re not included,” explains Watson. “It can
create people who are stuck and unsure of themselves.”
One unique social tool Watson credits with helping
him elude such a fate: learning the electric slide. It’s a
move his eighth grade teacher taught him. “You don’t
know how much mileage I have gotten out of doing that
[dance],” he says with a laugh. Weddings, dances and
parties, Watson is on the dance floor.
“ I think one thing students enjoy
about my class is that I implicitly
stand for overcoming adversity.”
Combating discrimination
“I think one thing students enjoy about my class is that I implicitly
stand for overcoming adversity,” he explains. “Many times,
students are shocked to see a disabled man teaching the class.”
He’s actually been mistaken as a student a number of times.
“When they hear my story about how I understand difficulty, they
are given hope … I understand the power of encouragement,
motivation and expectation.”
Awareness of what the blind and visually impaired are capable of
needs more focus, says Watson. “Eighty percent of people who are
visually impaired are unemployed or underemployed,” he explains.
“Discrimination runs rampant and the [overall] conditions for the
visually impaired needs to be improved.”
A life-long learner
Today, along with actively counselling children, adults, families and
couples, Watson stays current in his area of study via professional

associations and his own research. He is a member of Division 51—The Society of the
Psychological Study of Men and Masculinity, of the American Psychological Association
and the Pennsylvania Psychological Association. President of a new audio dart club—a
special interest group of the Pennsylvania Council for the Blind—he is also working on an
article on masculinity and disability.
Inspired and inspiring
While those at the Philadelphia Campus point to Watson as inspiring for his use of
adaptive technology to prepare for class, evaluate assignments and post feedback,
he is quick to turn the attention to his students. “They inspire me because so many of
them deal with real life issues. Many of my students are from the inner-city and want
desperately to learn and make a better life for themselves,” he explains. “They are
parents, professionals, soldiers, health care workers, business people… They have so
much talent, and all they need is a chance.”
ONLINE EXTRAS Visit FacultyMatters.com to see a slideshow of images taken of Dr. Andre Watson at
our April photoshoot in Pennsylvania.
FACULTY
FACTS
ANDRE WATSON
Faculty since 2007
FACILITATES FOR
College of Humanities
HIGHEST DEGREE
Doctorate of Clinical
psychology, Widener
University
facultymatters.com
BEST TEACHING
pRACTICES
Help students to
understand that
mistakes are great
learning opportunities.
See the bigger picture
– life is more than
passing one class. It’s
about seeing the best
in one’s self and never
giving up.
ADVICE
Expect the best out of
students. Students
thrive when they know
that someone believes
in them.
13

meet the faculty
Radostina Peteva
Overwhelmed
and loving it
By Lee Rasizer
Photography by Niall David
Radostina Peteva believes that if you’re not overwhelmed,
you’re wasting your time. And she practices what she
preaches. A faculty member with the School of Business
at University of Phoenix, Peteva is also Head of Business
Development at Greenhouse Studios—the latest stop on a
career path that has included powerhouse entertainment
companies and an internship at the United Nations.
continued on page 16

facultymatters.com
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Faculty Matters Summer 2012
meet the faculty
Radostina Peteva
continued from page 15
Mix a can-do spirit with a can’t-stop work ethic
and you’ll have a small window into what makes
Radostina peteva tick. She’s part philosopher,
part inspirational speaker and an unabashed
straight-talker. She’s also boardroom savvy
and has an international flair borne from a life
spent as a world-traveling diplomat’s daughter.
At the same time, she’s the type of person
who brazenly asks for an extra set of crayons
when dining with friends and their children
at restaurants. It’s a request that satisfies her
newest passion: painting.
“I’m living my happiest life now,” says Peteva, based in Sherman
Oaks, California. A faculty member with University of Phoenix, she
teaches Business 210: Foundations of Business, and has since 2010.
For Peteva, teaching is a personal calling—something she embraces
amidst the chaos of her own busy life.
“In my class, I explain to students that if you’re not overwhelmed
and don’t have a lot on your plate, you’re wasting your time,” she
explains. “You have to feel a little bit uncomfortable to know
that you’re growing. At the same time, everything is within [our
students’] power, so I empower them by talking to them.”
The big screen
A successful movie executive for nearly a decade, Peteva has worked
for Disney Media, ABC Family and 20th Century Fox. She oversaw
negotiations with Miramax, Marvel and the Academy of Motion
Picture Arts and Sciences—better known as the Oscars—while part
of Disney Media Networks Business Strategy and Development.
But Peteva wasn’t satisfied with being a cog in the wheel of the
big-studio system and desired ownership. She took the position
of Head of Business Development at Greenhouse Studios earlier
this year. At Greenhouse she became involved with projects such
as “Fatherhood 101,” a feature documentary exploring the various
child-rearing philosophies of men across diverse socio-economic
backgrounds. The project includes celebrity fathers such as actor
Alan Thicke and basketball player Grant Hill.
Most recently, Peteva helped secure a seven-figure contract with
Shoreline Entertainment to develop a film entitled “Dead Recon.”
From Bulgaria to the United Nations
Her students couldn’t have a better role model for the “anything’spossible”
mantra fostered by Peteva.
She was born in Bulgaria—her father Petio’s mandate as the
Bulgarian ambassador to Estonia ended two months ago. During
her youth her mother, Yoana, a doctor, and father were stationed
in exotic places like Vienna, Berlin and Albania. At age 14, Peteva was
attending middle school in Germany when the family relocated to
the U.S. She didn’t speak the language when she arrived and had to
enroll in English as a Second Language courses at her high school
in Washington, D.C.
Seven months later, she had already worked her way into
mainstream courses. Remarkably, at age 16—two years after
her arrival in America—Peteva earned a financially necessary
scholarship to Whittier College, a liberal arts institution in
Los Angeles.

“The way I look at it is, and this is
my personal philosophy, I have
no competition. My competition
is my dream.”
Her first university English grade wasn’t up to snuff, so
Peteva began writing day and night and proofreading
other people’s papers on the side to improve her
communications skills. While on the path to a doublemajor
in Political Science and Business Administration,
Peteva earned enough money to pay for an internship
with the United Nations in Geneva. Her work centered
on the difficult topic of female genital mutilation,
which helped further shape her world view.
By 23, when most students are just graduating college,
Peteva not only had her bachelor’s degree in hand
but had earned a master’s degree from Pepperdine.
She was already on the fast track to her career in the
entertainment industry.
The educator’s role
Peteva admits somewhat sheepishly that even now,
she’s never taken a day off. Believe it. “I have no year
unaccounted for, that I didn’t say, ‘You know what?
I was able to complete this milestone.’ And they are
not all the same. Some are personal. Some have to do
with citizenship. I love that. I think that’s why I have no
regrets … And that’s what I want for my students,” she
adds. “I want my students to look at everything they
want to do, and just do it—believe in their ability and
have no regrets.”
Teaching at University of Phoenix serves as the calm
in a relative storm of activity that marks her busy life.
It keeps her “balanced” and in many ways fulfilled.
“It’s such a rewarding feeling to feel like you have the
ability to make somebody see themselves as better; to
make somebody see themselves as valuable.”
Imagination to reality
Peteva’s University of Phoenix course includes
weekly wrap-ups that are sprinkled with inspirational
quotations. Her teaching methodology encompasses
real-world headlines transferred into business
applications. Supply-and-demand discussions touch
upon rising gas prices. Branding discussions reference
Hollywood mogul Tyler Perry. Profitability lectures cite
billionaire Warren Buffett. “Everybody wants to talk
about current events, but what I’m allowing them to
do is see them in a different light,” she says.
Each of Peteva’s students creates a business plan by
the end of class. That process begins with an inquiry
on broad-based entrepreneurial ideas that are limited
only by the imagination. By semester’s end the ideas
are transformed into presentations that could be,
and sometimes are, put forth to financial investors or
venture capitalists.
“All of a sudden you see this beautiful piece that’s also
accurate and business savvy from a person who might
have started out telling you, ‘I hate business classes,’”
she says. “It’s inspiring.”
ONLINE EXTRAS Visit FacultyMatters.com to see a
slideshow of images taken of Radostina Peteva at our April
photoshoot in California.
FACULTY
FACTS
RADOSTINA
pETEVA
Faculty since 2010
FACILITATES FOR
School of Business
HIGHEST DEGREE
Master’s in Business,
pepperdine University
Graziadio Graduate
School of Business
and Management
CAREER
HIGHLIGHTS
Daily I am able to
fuse my dreams or
the dreams of others
with my work.
BEST TEACHING
pRACTICES
Utilize the ABC
method/sandwich
approach for
feedback.
Use recent media
events to facilitate
lessons as it helps
students learn
quickly and memorize
contextually.
ADVICE
Motivate, believe
and inspire!

meet the faculty
Reynaldo Dinulong
A Navy man,
a nurse’s heart
By Keely Grasser
Photography by Marco Garcia
As a child growing up in the Philippines, Reynaldo Dinulong dreamt of the
world of opportunity the U.S. Navy could provide. That aspiration launched
a journey through the Navy, nursing and education.

facultymatters.com
Reynaldo Dinulong used to
look through his schoolroom
window where he would often
see the sailors working at
the nearby U.S. Navy base.
Daydreaming of his future, he
told himself that someday he
would be in their place. Born
and raised in the philippines—
the tenth of 12 children—he’s
a firm believer that anything
is possible. “You just have to
examine your heart and know
what you need in life,” he
explains.
A faculty member with the University
of Phoenix’s Hawaii Campus, Dinulong
teaches for the College of Nursing. He is
also pursuing his Doctor of Nursing Practice
degree with Walden University. His goal,
he says, is to continue to raise his level
of expertise and thus, his impact on the
nursing field. A model of perseverance and
motivation, he approaches everything in his
life methodologically and with purpose:
“My mantra is that I take one step at a
time and make it a masterpiece.”
A Navy man
Dinulong applied to the U.S. Navy while he
was still in high school. The Navy had a nowdefunct
agreement with the Philippines
that allowed Filipino citizens to join. They
had to apply, and then pass entrance
tests before being accepted. Dinulong
earned his high school diploma and was
studying at college in the Philippines—both
via scholarships—when he was called to
write the tests. He aced them. “Out of 300
applicants, there were only two of us who
made it,” he recalls.
And that, he explains, is when “my dreams
really started to come true.”
continued on page 20
19

20
Faculty Matters Summer 2012
meet the faculty
Reynaldo Dinulong
continued from page 19
Dinulong decided to focus his Navy career on medicine.
“I like to help people,” he explains. The Navy provided
him extensive nursing training which he then used
to provide primary medical care to patients on Navy
ships. “I was afraid at first,” says Dinulong, recalling his
first patient, who came to him with abdominal pain. “I
thought, ‘What the hell am I doing here?’ It was a scary
moment.” He correctly diagnosed the patient with
appendicitis—and his confidence began to grow.
Dinulong’s core nursing skills were honed during his
accomplished 25-year Navy career. One of his proudest
moments was making the senior ranking of Chief Petty
Officer while deployed in the Gulf. When the captain
pinned the anchor—Navy-speak for the insignia of the
rank—on his shoulder, “I actually cried,” he remembers.
Helping veterans transition
Dinulong retired from active duty in 2007 and he, his
wife and their two children now live in Hawaii, which he
calls “paradise.” He works as a nurse case manager for
the Tripler Army Medical Center’s Warrior Transition
Unit in Schofield Barracks. In this role, he ensures
that injured soldiers have all the support and care
they require to return to active duty or to civilian life.
From medical care to career counseling, it’s Dinulong’s
responsibility to put all of the soldiers’ post-service
care together, he explains. “You are in charge of the
overall health of the soldier.”
He says he wants to ensure the soldiers’ sacrifices are
paid back to them. Dinulong explains that because of
his Navy career, which saw him serve in the Gulf and
Iraq wars, he understands what his Tripler patients are
going through. He’s been deployed with soldiers who
have been injured. “I’ve been there. I’ve done that. And
it’s a way for me to make sure they’ll be OK,” he says.
Education’s impact
Dinulong recently taught Ethics: Health Care and
Social Responsibility at University of Phoenix’s Hawaii
Campus. He developed a passion for teaching while
in the Navy, where he was an instructor and master
training specialist. Dinulong enjoys teaching. It’s a
break in his normal routine, plus he likes being able
to share his knowledge with students, he explains.
“Hopefully they’ll learn from my experiences.”
“ If teaching is your passion, give
your heart and soul to that passion
and think of your students as your
replacement. What would you like
them to be?”
Dinulong’s time in the Navy not only taught him the basics of
changing dressings and closing wounds, but showed him that
communication with patients is key, he says. The ability to listen
and understand is also paramount to his work at Tripler. Building
trust and working with honor and integrity is pivotal to nursing, he
explains, and he imparts these important values to his students.
Inspiring the next generation
Overall, Dinulong encourages his students to look beyond earning
a diploma or a degree and to strive to be the best they can be.
It’s important to challenge the students to be critical thinkers, he
says, adding that it is no longer enough to memorize textbooks.
Dinulong is a key part of the University’s state-of-the-art nursing
simulation lab program. The program uses mock hospital rooms

and high tech manikins to provide students
realistic, hard-hitting nursing lessons. He
provides the voice for the life-size manikins,
which not only speak, but breathe, cry
and bleed during simulated medical
situations that the nursing students work
through. The simulation labs provide a safe
environment for the students to learn in
without the fear of mistakes, he says.
“It is a place to challenge them,” he adds,
noting the exercises help them develop
not only nursing skills, but that critical
thinking ability that is so important to the
profession.
Dinulong looks at his students as future leaders. He
says it’s so rewarding to have a student, on graduation
day, thank him for his motivation and encouragement.
The best way to pay tribute to those people that
helped you succeed is to help your own students
succeed, he says. “If teaching is your passion, give
your heart and soul to that passion and think of your
students as your replacement. What would you like
them to be?”
ONLINE EXTRAS Visit FacultyMatters.com to see a
slideshow of images taken of Reynaldo Dinulong at our
March photoshoot in Hawaii.
facultymatters.com
FACULTY
FACTS
REYNALDO
DINULONG
Faculty since 2008
FACILITATES FOR
College of Nursing
HIGHEST DEGREE
MSN/ED, University
of phoenix
CAREER
HIGHLIGHTS
Receiving the senior
rank of Chief petty
Officer while deployed
in the Gulf.
Helping with the
establishment of the
Hawaii Campus Nursing
Simulation Lab.
BEST TEACHING
pRACTICES
Know your students.
Be creative in the
classroom and use
teaching techniques
that will maximize
learning based on the
students’ strengths.
21
ADVICE
Be fair in evaluating
students and provide
constructive feedback
that will help students
succeed, not just
academically but also
professionally.

22
Faculty Matters Summer 2012
your
spacewhere you teach, learn and connect
Photos continue to pour in to our office, submitted by faculty members willing
to share what makes their home workspace so special. Enjoy!
LYN SHELA HECK, faculty since May 2008, is based in Acton, California. A member of the College of
Humanities at University of Phoenix, Heck says her peaceful space, created with green and blue pastels,
reflects her love of nature. “It’s a place where I can grade my papers, conduct classes and study for my Ph.D.,”
says Heck, a doctoral learner. Between her picture window on the upper right and the left wall are pictures
she took in Paris, France. “The right picture is Michelangelo’s marble sculpture of David,” she explains. “The
left one is a photo of the Eiffel Tower, taken from our boat on the River Seine. When I graduate from the
Ph.D. program, I am returning to Paris to see more of its history.”

CURTIS M. LYNCH, faculty
since 2009, is based in
Bradenton, Florida. A
member of the College
of Natural Sciences at
University of Phoenix, Lynch
says his space offers him room to reflect on his
soccer background—the soccer field has been
a sanctuary for him. “Throughout the most
difficult times in my life, I have often felt most
comfortable and grounded on a soccer pitch,”
explains Lynch. A collegiate soccer player and a
high school soccer coach for 22 years, on the wall
of his office is a plaque signifying his induction
into Palm Beach Atlantic University’s Sports Hall
of Fame in November 2001. Lynch’s office also
holds his certificate from the National Soccer
Coaches Association of America award, given to
him in 2010 for achieving 200 career victories as a
high school boys coach.
facultymatters.com
23
GERALD WHILTON OLIVAS, ED.D, faculty since
2001, is based in Carlsbad, California. A member
of the School of Advanced Studies at University
of Phoenix, Olivas describes his space as bright
and refreshing—and a space where he can do
some creative daydreaming. “The travel poster
on the wall of the Duomo in Florence, Italy, reminds me of the
need for everyone, like Brunelleschi in 1400s, to push their own
intellectual and creative limits,” he says. “Also, Italy is my retirement
destination.” On his wall are awards that remind him of his
professional achievements, including a letter from the Dean at the
school where he earned his doctorate. The little wood sculpture on
his desk was a gift from a young artist on a Kibbutz in Israel where
Olivas was a volunteer. “The time I spent on the Kibbutz was one of
the most enlightening times in my life.”
To be considered for an upcoming edition of
Your Space, email a photo of your office area
to Tracy.Pender@phoenix.edu.
ONLINE EXTRAS Visit FacultyMatters.com to view a slideshow of
additional Your Space profiles.

24
Faculty Matters Summer 2012
faculty
facesevents
around the world
A red carpet event at the
Southern California Campus
On Saturday, April 28, 2012, approximately 550 University of Phoenix faculty
members, along with academic leadership and guests, gathered in Long Beach,
California, for the Southern California Campus General Faculty Meeting (GFM)
and Red Carpet Faculty Appreciation Luncheon.
District Academic Advisor (DAA) Mike Geraghty,
Ph.D., Associate DAA Jim Ghormley, DM, and
Campus Vice President Kendra Angier, MBA,
welcomed faculty at a brunch at the Westin. Guests
included Vice President of Emerging Leaders
Development, Dianne Pusch; Senior Vice President
of Academic Operations, Dr. Russ Paden; Associate
Vice President of Academic Affairs, Dr. Robert
Johnson; Associate Vice President of Academic
Affairs, Doug Klingenberg; and several Regional
Directors of Academic Affairs for Online.
Positive experiences
Following the meet and greet brunch, Dr. Paden
spoke about the recent Faculty Engagement
Survey results, which were extremely positive.
GFM attendees participated in breakout sessions
separated by college and—a first this year for SoCal
Campus—a session dedicated to online faculty.
Following the sessions, a red carpet reception was
held and all guests enjoyed a lovely meal together.
Guest speaker Jim Gray, a multiple Emmy Award
winning sportscaster famous for leaving political
correctness at the door and a firm believer in higher
education, recounted tales from his decades spent
interviewing the likes of Pete Rose, Tiger Woods
and Michael Jordan.
Faculty awards
Later in the afternoon, each Campus College
Chair handed out a Faculty of the Year and
a Faculty Scholar of the Year award to their
respective college. A true highlight of the evening
was when special guest Dianne Pusch presented
a 30-year Lifetime Achievement Award to faculty
member Jack Abbott. Pusch noted that it took
her only a second to RSVP, as she was thrilled to
be part of the celebration for such a dedicated
faculty member.
ONLINE EXTRAS Visit FacultyMatters.com to read inspirational stories shared by faculty members
during the April 2012 National General Faculty Meeting.

Guest speaker Jim Gray recounted tales from his
decades spent interviewing the likes of Pete Rose,
Tiger Woods and Michael Jordan.
On page 24, far left, Emmy Award
winning sportscaster Jim Gray delivers
his speech. Also on page 24, faculty
member Jack Abbott receives his
30-year Lifetime Achievement Award
from special guest Dianne Pusch. On
page 25, University of Phoenix campus
and academic leadership mingle with
Southern California Campus faculty
members. Photos by Vickie Bennett.
facultymatters.com
25
Send us photos of you and your faculty colleagues engaged in
community work, taking part in a campus event or doing something fun.
Email your photos to FacultyRelations@phoenix.edu for possible
inclusion in an upcoming edition.

ALAN TALKS
FAILURE
WHAT IS FAILURE?
The worst failure is
disappointing one’s self.
HAVE YOU EVER
TWEETED OR
SEARCHED #FAIL?
No, but I have visited
EpicFail.com.
WHAT’S YOUR
FAVORITE SAYING
ABOUT SUCCESS?
“Success has a thousand
fathers but failure is an
orphan,” John F. Kennedy.
WHAT TREND DO YOU
WISH HAD FAILED?
Karaoke.
DO YOU HAVE A
SUBSTITUTE WORD OR
pHRASE FOR FAILURE?
Opportunity for
improvement.
Alan Drimmer, Ph.D.
Provost and Senior Vice President
of Academic Affairs, University of Phoenix

From the desk of the provost
Setting the stage
for success
A
t University of Phoenix, we take
a student-centric approach to
helping learners achieve their
academic and career goals. We
focus on each student’s unique
needs—needs that change depending on where they
are in their academic lifecycle. As faculty members,
you’re our vital partners in this undertaking.
A firm foundation
While we’ve always been committed to the success of
our students, in the past few years we have renewed
our focus in this area. In late 2010, we implemented
our New Student Orientation program, which helps set
the stage—and expectations—in regards to what it’s
like to be a student. This program gives prospective
students an inside look at what is required for them
to be successful at University of Phoenix—and this
experience happens before they enroll in a single class.
In turn, this helps them make informed decisions about
whether or not they’re ready for college and if our
University is the right choice for them.
We built on this foundation for student success with
our First-Year Sequence (FYS) program. The First-Year
Sequence uses a laddering approach where skills and
concepts introduced in early classes are reinforced
with assignments in later classes. This series of
interdisciplinary courses is designed to engage our
students and show them the real-world, practical
application of their learning. We are always looking at
ways to improve upon FYS, and I welcome your feedback.
Second Year Experience
Serving students based on their differing needs is the
right thing to focus on, and our next step in this area
Tweets from your provost
is the development of the Second Year Experience.
Associate Provost Hinrich Eylers is leading this
program’s development. The Second Year Experience is
aimed at encouraging our students to take ownership
of their individual degree programs and to focus on
deliberately selecting the courses they need to stay on
track to graduate. Where New Student Orientation and
First-Year Sequence help our students get ready for
their education, Second Year Experience helps them dig
deeper into their major field of study.
The sequence of success
In the spirit of good news, I am very pleased to let you
know about the success of our First-Year Sequence
initiative. The First-Year Sequence has helped
contribute to increased retention at the University,
which in turn helps our students get that much closer
to achieving their dreams of earning a college degree.
I want to acknowledge and honor the leadership of
those who worked so hard to bring these programs
to bear, including Senior Vice President of Academic
Research Adam Honea and Executive Creative Director
of Curriculum Innovation Doug Beckwith. I would also
like to thank you, our faculty, for the key role you play
in supporting our students at all the different stages of
their unique academic journeys.
As faculty, you’re an integral part of making sure these
initiatives meet their intended goals of helping to
properly prepare our students for their studies. You
are the link between the University and our students,
and, as such, you are in an ideal position to help them
lay a solid groundwork so they are poised to thrive
in all their endeavors. I want to thank you for your
unflagging commitment to our students and their
pursuit of success.
facultymatters.com
27
“ Where New
Student
Orientation
and First-Year
Sequence help
our students
get ready for
their education,
Second Year
Experience
helps them dig
deeper into
their major
field of study.”
@ALANDRIMMER
The case for prior learning and the completion agenda. Bit.ly/JXavKu #higher ed #edu #4profit #in May 7 via TweetDeck | RT @Harvard: Pres.Faust:
“We will not only make knowledge more available, we will learn more about learning” hvrd.me/JTOlqV #in #fb May 7 via TweetDeck | Teacher
licensing plan under fire. The “corporatization” of teacher prep? Nyti.ms/lymFJT #highered #edu #4profit #in May 7 via TweetDeck | Article by
@davidbrooks about @harvard @mit. Thanks for the shout out to @UOPX. Nyti.ms/J7oRu8 #highered #4profit #edu #in #fb May 4 via web | Open source
online #education for #Harvard and #MIT. Will students take interest? Bit.ly/lE6bke #highered #edu #4profit #in #fb May 3 via TweetDeck

The new F word:

By Heather Holliday
facultymatters.com
29
ast year there was a firestorm around
Yale professor Amy Chua’s book “Battle Hymn of the
Tiger Mother.” In it, she details how she raised successful
children. Among her rules: Her children never attended
a sleepover, had a play date, performed in a school play,
watched TV, or received a grade less than an ‘A.’ She also
criticized her children if they didn’t achieve.
Response to Battle Hymn ranged from venomous to
awestruck. And an emotional debate erupted about
what the best way is to achieve academic, professional
and social success. In addition to this battle, Chua’s book
stayed on the New York Times bestseller list for 11 weeks.
Controversial parenting methods aside, it seems people
were fascinated with the book—and the idea of achieving
success at all costs.
After all, our culture appears to revere success, while failure
has become taboo—it’s almost a dirty word, for some.
continued on page 30

30
Faculty Matters Summer 2012
“ OF COURSE,
EVERYONE
FEARS FAILURE.
BUT THIS
GENERATION
FEARS FAILURE
MORE. THEY
SEE THINGS
AS MORE HIGH
STAKES. THEY
OFTEN TELL ME
THAT THINGS
ARE MORE
COMPETITIVE
THAN FOR
THEIR PARENTS’
GENERATION.”
— Jean Twenge, Professor of Psychology,
San Diego State University
continued from page 29
Failure in today’s context
“I think our culture fears failure,” says University of Phoenix faculty
member Jean Coleman. Coleman teaches for the College of Social
Sciences and is the subject matter expert for the University’s
Positive Psychology workshop. “[Adults] swoop in before [kids]
can make a mistake. [Kids] are being taught that a mistake is
something to be avoided at all costs. Failure is not an option.”
Joseph Cuseo, professor Emeritus of Psychology at Marymount
College, agrees that many in the younger generation have lived a
life with safety nets, which does not allow room for failure. In such
cases, the parents tend to make everything better for the kids. “So
success is almost guaranteed,” he says. “The struggle is not there.”
While this may feel good in the moment, it’s obviously not what life
will deliver over the long haul. Which is why Cuseo says, “this group
may need a wake-up call.”
Jean Twenge, Professor of Psychology at San Diego State
University, also believes that the younger generation has a harder
time with failure than previous generations did. “Of course,
everyone fears failure,” Twenge explains. “But this generation fears
failure more. They see things as more high stakes. They often
tell me that things are more competitive than for their parents’
generation.” Twenge is also the author of “Generation Me: Why
Today’s Young Americans Are More Confident, Assertive, Entitled—
and More Miserable Than Ever Before.”
The consequences of abundant praise
But where did this increased fear of failure come from? According
to Twenge, at least some of it can be traced back to our culture’s
increased focus on individualism in the 1970s. This cultural shift led
to a ubiquitous effort to bolster people’s self-esteem in order to
achieve greater success. So parents, teachers and coaches started
to praise rather than criticize. And youth started being praised for
nearly everything. Head to the local playground today and you’ll
hear this cultural phenomenon at work. Johnny slid down the
slide? “Good job, Johnny.” Emma swung the bat at a ball? “Good job,
Emma.” Aiden ran in a circle? “Good job, Aiden.” In the workplace,
managers are now coached to use a “criticism sandwich,” which
cushions criticism between praise.
Abundant praise does seem like it would be helpful and
encouraging—and would lead to greater success. But evidence
shows the opposite may be true: It may actually discourage
people from working and achieving. Children often stop trying
because they’re so used to praise that they learn to not want to
make mistakes or to fail. This research, conducted by Stanford
Psychology Professor Carol Dweck and published in 2007, shows
that praise can actually discourage motivation. Once this belief
is learned, it can follow a person into adulthood, continuing to

discourage motivation and work in a professional
setting. According to Dweck, ever-present praise
doesn’t work because it’s not specific and it focuses on
the end result rather than on effort.
Does high self-esteem equal better grades?
If all this praise hasn’t led to the desired results, at least
people’s self-esteem is bolstered, right? Not so fast.
Self-esteem boosting also may not have achieved the
intended consequences.
Roy F. Baumeister, psychology professor at Florida
State University, retracted many assumed benefits
of nurturing self-esteem in a 2005 Los Angeles
Times commentary. He explains that the American
Psychological Society commissioned him and other
experts to review published self-esteem research.
“Here are some of our disappointing findings,” he
writes. “High self-esteem in schoolchildren does
not produce better grades. … In fact, according to a
study by Donald Forsyth at Virginia Commonwealth
University, college students with mediocre grades who
got regular self-esteem strokes from their professors
ended up doing worse on final exams than students
who were told to suck it up and try harder.”
Does high self-esteem equal
better job performance?
Self-esteem also doesn’t make adults perform better
at their jobs. Baumeister notes that people with high
self-esteem report that their performance is better.
They even say that they are smarter and better looking
than those who have low self-esteem do. “[B]ut neither
objective tests nor impartial raters can detect any
difference in the quality of work,” he writes.
Neither does self-esteem predict who will make a good
leader. According to an article by Robert Hogan and
Robert B. Kaiser published in the Review of General
Psychology in 2005, incompetent managers have a
variety of personality characteristics, including that
they are overly self-confident. Such a trait does make
a good impression in the short run, according to
the authors. For instance, those who score highly in
narcissism initially seem confident and charismatic.
“Over time, however, these features turn into a sense
of entitlement and an inability to learn from mistakes,”
write the authors. On the other hand, the authors
found that humility rather than self-esteem seems to
be a key trait of successful leaders.
continued on page 32
facultymatters.com
31

32
Faculty Matters Summer 2012
continued from page 31
This brings us back to the heart of the matter. Why all the talk
about kids and children who were praised and stroked their whole
life? They become your students, your colleagues and sometimes
even the boss.
Consequences of fearing failure
While focusing on praise and self-esteem has not increased
academic or professional success, it has bolster the idea that we
should feel good about ourselves all the time—for no particular
reason, says San Diego State’s Twenge.
But when the goal is simply to feel good about yourself, the
costs are high, according to an article published by University
of Michigan’s Jennifer Crocker in Psychological Inquiry An
International Journal for the Advancement of Psychological Theory
in 2003. When a person’s motivation is simply to feel good and
prove one’s worth, that person starts to fear becoming a failure.
Driven by these fears, she writes, “people will go to many lengths
to succeed, including arguing, scheming and cheating,” even if
these behaviors stop you from accomplishing another goal, such
as making a contribution to the workplace.
In short, protecting self-esteem becomes the primary goal. And
when faced with failure, rather than “realistically confronting our
shortcomings and mistakes” they may find excuses for it, they may
blame others, or they may dismiss the task’s importance.
So, while abundant praise isn’t something we encounter in higher
education or in boardrooms—we are not praised for stapling
well or for doing lackluster work—the ramifications
live on. On the one hand, innovation can suffer in the
workplace. After all, if people don’t want to fail, there is
the risk that they won’t put forward unique ideas.
This doesn’t mean that low self-esteem is the answer,
though. We need to have enough self-esteem so that
we can work toward goals despite having self-doubt,
fears of failure or feelings of worthlessness, Crocker
writes. She adds that if self-esteem is bolstered as a
result, that is an added bonus.
Failure is essential to success
Another problematic issue of mainly pursuing selfesteem
is that the learning process itself is put at
risk. “When our goal is self-esteem, we are focused
on what we are now, not what we need to become,”
Crocker writes. “And because we want to feel
worthy, we are not realistic about our strengths and
weaknesses, where we need to improve, what we have
accomplished and what we still need to accomplish.”
High or low self-esteem aside, failure, it turns out, is
central to the possibility of true learning.
Marymount College’s Cuseo points out, “you never
develop resilience if you don’t have a setback. You
never have the opportunity to develop that skill. Failure
gives anyone the ability to say, ‘What if I tried harder,
smarter, or used other resources?’”
University of Phoenix faculty member Coleman agrees.
“Failure is essential to success. I don’t think there are
very many people who succeed who haven’t failed first.”
Helping students better define failure
Of course, failure for different people means different
things. Some consider getting a ‘B’ to be a failure.
For others, getting a ‘D’ or ‘F’ means failure. While
the definition varies, as a faculty member, handling
perceived failure is almost always sticky.
One of the best ways for faculty to handle student
failure is to help students get over their fear of it.
Rather than stressing the need to succeed at all
costs, students may do better in school if they are
taught that failure is just part of learning, according to
research by Frederique Autin and Jean-Claude Croizet,
with the University of Poitiers and the National Center
for Scientific Research in France.

“ YOU NEVER DEVELOP RESILIENCE IF
YOU DON’T HAVE A SETBACK. YOU
NEVER HAVE THE OPPORTUNITY TO
DEVELOP THAT SKILL. FAILURE GIVES
ANYONE THE ABILITY TO SAY,‘WHAT
IF I TRIED HARDER, SMARTER, OR
USED OTHER RESOURCES?’”
When students are fixated on success, they become afraid to
fail and don’t want the challenge of mastering new material.
The authors, then, suggest that rather than focusing on grades
and test scores, focus on progress—rewarding each step in the
learning process.
Richard Ryan, Professor of Psychology, Psychiatry, & Education
at the University of Rochester agrees that grades and test
scores are not motivating. “[Being grade-focused] can take away
from the interest and excitement and growth that comes from
learning itself,” Ryan says. “Our job is to inspire and instill the joy of
discovery, not just weigh, assess and evaluate.”
When people run into challenges, they need support, not labels,
he adds. “The semantics of the term failure are so absolute,”
says Ryan. “But looking at the ways that you can improve your
performance is very different than whether you have failed or not.”
Likewise, he says, a good manager isn’t one who wields rewards
and punishments, but is one who finds out what the issue is and
how they can help with that. He says that assessment both in
schools and in the workplace should be used to gather information
and learn where there is room for growth.
A safe place to fail
In addition to shifting to assessment rather than focusing on
failure versus success, another tool for dealing with failure is to
create a safe learning environment. “I try to give the students a
safe place to fail,” Coleman says. “I let them know that you are
not going to be judged on your failures. We are going to look at
mistakes or failures as, ‘How are we going to equip you to be more
successful next time?’”
— Joseph Cuseo, professor Emeritus of Psychology, Marymount College
facultymatters.com
33
For Cuseo, feedback is essential. “Feedback has
to come early and students need to know how to
improve,” he says. “That’s often lacking where there
is [only] a midterm and a final. You need to give
opportunities to improve.” This way, students learn
how to work harder and smarter to turn a failure
into a success.
Twenge agrees. It is important to emphasize that this
is an opportunity to do better next to time and to
learn from it, she says.
Of course, no matter how she handles a student’s
perceived failure, there are the occasional requests
for a grade change or a second chance. Her answer
is almost always ‘No.’ “I ask myself, in five years, when
they are in a job, what would a manager think of that
request?” If missing an exam is comparable to missing
a presentation, asking for an exception is “not going
to go over well,” she says.
Better equipped to fail
And that is why it matters whether our culture is
increasingly inexperienced with handling failure. If it
is true that many a person has been protected from
setbacks, disappointments and failures, then there are
real concerns about how that person is going to adjust
to juggling the everyday complications of jobs and
families. We learn from mistakes—at least we can if we
acknowledge them.

34
1.
2.
Faculty Matters Summer 2012
your voice
we asked, you answered
The path to success?
In April of 2012, Faculty Matters sent an electronic survey to all active University of Phoenix faculty
members asking for opinions on the topic of failure. Much thanks to everyone who completed the survey—
and to all who found one of our questions flawed, we heard you and appreciate the feedback. Read on for
some intriguing statistics, offered as food for thought. For a glimpse at the 2,397 responses we received,
turn to page 36.
Is failure the opposite of success?
To what extent does a fear of failure exist in society today?
2%
NO FEAR OF FAILuRE
yES
11%
20%
NO MORE OR LESS than
in previous generations
19%
People SLIGHTLy
FEAR FAILuRE in
today’s society
NO
89%
59%
People GREATLy
FEAR FAILuRE in
today’s society

3.
Do you think people who
try new things and fail are
viewed negatively?
yES
31%
NO
69%
continued on page 36
Which of the following
would concern you most?
* A number of faculty responded that this question
was flawed, as it did not offer a ‘None of the above’
option. We have published the results in respect of
the respondents who answered the question, but
we appreciate these results would have been greatly
different had there been an option e: other.
FAILING
in front of
friends
4%
facultymatters.com
35
colleagues
family 35%
32% students
29%
“ I just finished the survey and find a major flaw in one
of the questions. You give only four choices that
are evaluated in our failure. You leave out the most
important. Failure of our personal standards. I am
far more concerned about failing myself than any of
the four options your survey provides. The question
implies that we are doing this for surface rewards
and not self gratification. I could not do my best if my
standards did not demand that of me. My primary
concern is about my personal failure.”
—Roger pae, School of Business
“The ‘forced choice’ answer in number 5 is silly. None of
them concern me.”
—Charles Lawson, College of Education
“ I would put NONE as my answer to who I would least
want to fail in front of because I do not believe in
‘failure.’ However, that option was not given and I had
to answer something. Should have a ‘none’ option.”
—Joanna Bauer, College of Humanities

36
Faculty Matters Summer 2012
continued from page 35
Is failure an option?
“ yes. Failure is the nucleus of accomplishment.
The opposite of failure is discovery. Success is
derived from managing failure.”
—Carl Mendoza, College of Humanities
“ yes. This question is for cheerleaders.”
—Anonymous
no
38%
“ No. When failure is an option, then
there is no need to try. Trying leads to
new beginnings and success.”
—Theron Simpson Jr., School of Business
yes
62%

“ No. Failure is NOT an option for the student
or the teacher. It is important for the faculty to
remember that if the student hasn’t learned the
faculty has not taught.”
—pamela Alexander, College of Humanities
“ yes. Failure to me means the traditional meaning; one tries
something, and can’t accomplish it. That happens to me often,
perhaps because I set my goals high. However, even smaller
goals, such as practicing my instrument daily, can be difficult
to accomplish every time. Thus, honestly, failure happens. It
is one option that might occur. A better question might be,
What can I learn from failing to accomplish this goal?”
—Ann Wehrman, College of Humanities
“ yes. If failure isn’t a possibility
then the bar isn’t high enough.”
—Grant Sisk, School of Advanced Studies
“ Yes. Sometimes we learn from our
failures better than our successes.”
— Sandra Lavallee, College of Information Systems
& Technology
“ Yes. Absolutely! Students who do
not meet course requirements
must fail the course.”
—Anonymous
“Yes. Failure is a mindset.”
—Lisa La Rocque, College of Natural Sciences
“ yes. If you can’t accept losing, you can’t win.”
—Joe Kronewitter, School of Business
facultymatters.com
37
Statistics appearing on pages 34 to 37 are aggregates of the 2,397 survey responses submitted by University of Phoenix faculty members. The survey closed April 22, 2012.

38
Faculty Matters Summer 2012
Turning
failure
into
success
By Lori Baker
For almost all innovators, success follows a discouraging string
of defeats that would make most of us want to call it quits.
Think Walt Disney—fired by a newspaper editor for lacking
imagination and having no good ideas—whose early venture
The Laugh-O-Gram Studio went bankrupt. Disneyland would later become
the world’s favorite magic kingdom. Or think J.K. Rowling, who was rejected
by 12 different publishers over the course of a year before her book was
accepted—ever since she’s been working her own magic with readers of the
phenomenally successful Harry Potter series. Setbacks like these bring to
mind Thomas Edison’s famous quote, “If I find 10,000 ways something won’t
work, I haven’t failed. I am not discouraged, because every wrong attempt
discarded is just one more step forward.”
While most of us don’t accept failure quite so readily as Edison, it’s key to
sparking true innovation, says Tim Harford, author of Adapt: Why Success
Always Starts with Failure. “Failure is like car crashes—it’s going to happen,”
he says. “It’s all a question of how do you learn from it when it does.”
And it’s not easy being the brains behind revolutionary innovations in
education, either. Oftentimes, radical higher education ideas—including
higher education without textbooks, libraries or even college campuses—
spark outrage as much as support.
Beyond bricks and mortar
Flash back to 1976, when University of Phoenix gained accreditation by the
North Central Association of Colleges and Schools. The University then began
to actively meet the educational needs of working adults in a revolutionary
new way. Instead of expecting working adults to drive to a large university
campus after work to earn their degree, “we held classes in nontraditional
continued on page 40

facultymatters.com
39
“ If I find 10,000
ways something
won’t work, I
haven’t failed.
I am not
discouraged,
because every
wrong attempt
discarded is just
one more step
forward.”
—Thomas Edison

40
Faculty Matters Summer 2012
“ The idea is to create a library of
completely free, open source turnkey
textbooks for the highest
impact college courses.”
—Tim Baraniuk, Professor, Rice University
continued from page 38
spaces near where students worked,” says Terri Bishop, Executive
Vice President of Academic Strategy and Senior Advisor to the CEO
at University of Phoenix’s parent company, Apollo Group. Thirteen
years later, University of Phoenix brought MBA classes even
closer to students by offering them online, a move that sparked
controversy within the organization. Back in 1989 a few universities
offered an online class or two, but “no one else was offering widescale
online degree programs,” Bishop says. “It struck huge internal
resistance, but it was the next chapter of University of Phoenix’s
development.” It also marked a new era in education, with an
increasing number of students flocking to online courses. Today
more than 6.1 million students are enrolled in online education
programs across the country, according to the Sloan Consortium.
Life as an open book
Richard Baraniuk, professor of electrical engineering at Rice
University and founder and director of Connexions, an open
source website for college textbooks, remembers teaching a
junior-level electrical engineering course in 1999—and remembers
coming to the realization that the textbook just wasn’t doing the
job. In the rapidly changing industry of electrical engineering, “the
textbooks were either out of date or out of context,” Baraniuk
says. “I was also bothered by the fact that the books only offered
off-the-rack learning materials. It’s like going to buy a suit without
any custom tailoring. I would find I’d have students in my class who
wouldn’t get really jazzed up about the material. I could also see
the pressures mounting even way back then regarding costs and
access to learning materials.”
His solution? Connexions, an initiative at Rice University in
Houston to produce textbooks using open-source materials, that
later evolved to become the Open Stax College. “The idea is to
create a library of completely free, open source turnkey textbooks
for the highest impact college courses [in physics, sociology,
biology and anatomy and physiology],” Baraniuk says. The physics
and sociology books have already been published and are free
online via computers, tablets and smartphones. The remaining will
be published in the fall.
Like any groundbreaking innovation, Open Stax College
faces advocates and detractors. “There are some people who
don’t understand at all,” Baraniuk says. “There are others who
understand, but discount the power of open source development.
And there’s a third and growing class of people who understand
and are seeking to participate.”
Books without shelves
David Bickford, Vice President of Academic Affairs at University of
Phoenix, was an advocate for the creation of a digital library nearly
two decades ago, back when the phrase was nearly an oxymoron
in higher education.

“University of Phoenix, because of its distributed
population of learners, moved toward a full embrace of
digital content in terms of library and textbooks earlier
than many other institutions and more aggressively,”
says Bickford, who admits going paperless wasn’t
popular. “The main resistance to the digital library at
times has been external, from regulatory authorities or
other organizations that judge universities by a rubric
that calls for a certain number of volumes on a shelf.
In order to open campuses in various states we’ve had
to make a very strong case about the equivalence of
digital library content.”
At first, digital textbooks weren’t a welcome change
for University of Phoenix students, who’ve spent their
academic years highlighting passages of physical
text and making notes in the margins of pages. “We
had to make it clear that our digital textbooks for
the most part allowed annotation, note-taking and
highlighting,” Bickford says. “We worked to improve
those capabilities and better publicize them.”
Unraveling the web of deceit
Christian Storm, co-founder and Chief Technical Officer
of Turnitin.com, struck upon an idea he thought would
be a hit with educators: a web-based service that could
detect plagiarism in students’ papers by comparing
them against an internal database and other sources.
facultymatters.com
“ The main resistance to the digital
library at times has been external,
from regulatory authorities or other
organizations that judge universities by
a rubric that calls for a certain number
of volumes on a shelf.”
— David Bickford, Vice President of Academic Affairs,
University of Phoenix
After Turnitin.com launched in 1998, Storm expected
prestigious universities like Harvard and Stanford to be
the first to subscribe. But Storm says the reverse was
true, leaving him with a sinking realization that some
educational institutions might not want to blow the
cover off their plagiarism troubles because “you have to
deal with the problem once you expose it.” “It’s a kind of
a Catch-22,” Storm says.
Meanwhile, Turnitin.com sparked so much animosity
among students that several high school students sued
the company, claiming it violated their rights under U.S.
copyright law. (The judge ruled in favor of Turnitin.com.)
Once the controversy died down, the company rapidly
grew and its services are now used in more than 100
countries and by more than 5,000 institutions.
Risky business
The experiences of trailblazers hold important life
lessons. “Experimenting can be a frightening process.
We are constantly making mistakes, not knowing
whether we are on the right lines,” Harford writes in his
book, Adapt. “The ability to adapt requires [a] sense of
security, an inner confidence that the cost of failure is a
cost we will be able to bear. Sometimes that takes real
courage; at other times all that is needed is the happy
self-delusion of a lost three-year-old. Whatever its
source, we need that willingness to risk failure. Without
it, we will never truly succeed.”
41

42
Faculty Matters Summer 2012
college
Dawn Iwamoto, Ed.D.
Vice Provost, university of Phoenix
newsadvancements and initiatives
Brian Lindquist, Ph.D.
Associate Provost
Marla Kelsey, Ed.D.
Associate Provost
Hinrich Eylers, Ph.D.
Associate Provost
Accreditation visit
continues through
the summer
A
s you may know, we completed
our initial visit for reaffirmation of
our accreditation with The Higher
Learning Commission (HLC) in March.
A team of Peer Reviewers visited with our central
administration team to confirm the contents
of the Self Study, which we submitted to HLC
earlier this year. The team visited the Phoenix
Campus and three local learning centers. This
summer, we are on the road visiting campuses and
learning centers across the country with HLC Peer
Reviewers. On these visits, the Peer Reviewers are
meeting with staff, students and faculty to learn
more about University of Phoenix. Many of the
Deans have been traveling to provide support and
answer questions during these visits. I want to
thank them personally for their commitment to
this process. It is also important to recognize all of
the work our campus personnel have completed
in advance to prepare for the visits. A special note
of appreciation to you, our faculty, since many of
you have participated in HLC meetings. We want
to thank you for your time and dedication to the
University.
* University of Phoenix is accredited by The Higher Learning
Commission and is a member of the North Central Association
(ncahlc.org).

School of Business
Dean: Bill Berry, Ph.D.
Success Story:
Big congratulations to the faculty and staff at
the West Michigan campus for their support and
work with the Project Management Institute. “The
Project 2012,” a Project Management Institute
collegiate completion involving six Michigan
colleges and universities, took place in April 2012
focusing on a competition for planning the process
of applying for a benefit corporation certification.
University of Phoenix had a student team that
placed third out of a total of eight teams in the
competition. The student team consisted of:
Alicia Webb, Troy Grove, Michael Keifer and Wayne
Johnson; and was championed by Judd Freeman,
CCC for the School of Business; John Globensky,
lead faculty; and Marybeth Rardin, DAA for West
Michigan. Again, congratulations!
Dean’s Reminder:
A challenge these days is balancing the need
to provide effective quality feedback and the
timeliness of that feedback. It is easy to feel
that more is somehow better feedback. It is also
tempting to work to turn feedback around in shorter
periods than our own schedules allow. In order
to help both students and faculty manage these
expectations and receive the best guidance possible,
the School of Business is working on creating more
assignments using tools such as My Math Lab or
Wiley Plus. Stay tuned; we want to develop more
tools for immediate and concrete feedback with less
pressure on faculty to meet that need.
facultymatters.com
43
College of Criminal Justice
and Security
Dean: James Ness, Ph.D.
New This Quarter:
Coming for the new calendar year are two new
concentrations in the BSCJA—Cyber Crimes and
Security and two new concentrations in the MSAJS–
Law Enforcement and Global Security Issues.
Success Story:
Our Southern California Campus has led the way
again with innovative events including hosting a
Research Symposium, sponsoring the NOBLE local
chapter conference and hosting a lecture by General
Stanley McChrystal. The lecture was attended by the
public and numerous ranking officials from Southern
California’s criminal justice agencies.
Tip or Best Practice:
Being faculty is more than a job. It is one of the greatest
responsibilities in civilized society. You lay bare the
mysteries of the world and train students’ minds to
explore, to question, to investigate and to discover.
Dean’s Activity:
I had the pleasure to present with two CJ&S faculty
members at the ACJS Conference in March. We
presented on the topic of how to get published. Also,
the Des Moines Campus, in conjunction with the
College, initiated The First Annual Iowa Criminal Justice
Thought Leader Forum. This forum was a great success
with more than 32 leaders from Iowa’s criminal justice
agencies attending.
continued on page 44

44
Faculty Matters Summer 2012
college
continued from page 43
newsadvancements and initiatives
College of Social Sciences
Dean: Lynn K. Hall, Ed.D.
New This Quarter:
Marketing efforts for the College included our
sponsorship of the Cyber Cafe at this year’s American
Counseling Association annual conference, attended
by almost 4,000 people. In addition, one-sheet
descriptions of our programs—one for each program
and an overview of the College—were created and
made available to the campuses.
Success Story:
The Utah Campus received full-cycle accreditation
from CACREP for their MSC/Mental Health Counseling
program. Kudos go to the work of CCC Randy Buckner,
Program Manager Sarah DeHaan, Campus Research
Director Sean Meegan, Campus Administration Darris
Howe and Campus Director/DAA Paul Benner. These
folks worked collaboratively to ensure the faculty
scholarship and research endeavors met CACREP
standards!
College Trends:
We now have Counseling Skills Centers at six
campuses where our MS/Counseling students gain
skills by offering free counseling to the community.
In the future we hope to build more CSCs to benefit
our students, as well as offer the service to the
communities in which we have counseling programs.
College of Natural Sciences
Dean: Hinrich Eylers, Ph.D.
New This Quarter:
We always seek faculty feedback when we revise
existing courses or design new ones. In the past, CAMs
and FEOCS were important feedback mechanisms, and
will remain so. But we will reach out to you for feedback
even more in the future via surveys and invitations to
discussion groups. Please share your thoughts as your
feedback and comments are critical to the quality of
our courses.
Success Story:
March was National Nutrition Month, and several
of our faculty were interviewed for newspaper and
television stories exploring the topic of “Just what is
a ‘healthy diet,’” “MyPlate vs. the Food Pyramid: new
recommendations from the USDA,” “How to shop
healthy: tips and tricks for the grocery store,” and
“Organic vs. non-organic: what is the difference and
which is better?” Thank you for being in the spotlight!
Tip or Best Practice:
The Carnegie Learning-based Step-By-Step Math
Review tool has been available for several months
now and will soon receive a facelift. Make sure to
remind your students that this is one of the many
tools available in the Center for Math Excellence.
These tools can help students be better prepared
for their math classes. Many math faculty have even
started using Step-by-Step successfully for their
math tutoring sessions.

School of Advanced Studies
Executive Dean: Jeremy Moreland, Ph.D.
Dean’s Quote:
I would like to thank our faculty across the University
for responding so enthusiastically to our calls for
research and scholarship in powerful, diverse ways.
I have personally had the pleasure of discussing
research ideas, seeing projects in action and learning
from results of scholarly efforts. They illustrate the
wealth of creative intellectual work undertaken here at
University of Phoenix. I feel that the future success of
our institution—and likely that of all higher education—
resides in our faculty’s capacity to bring their
knowledge and wisdom as critically minded scholars
into their classroom practice, for these capabilities are
the gold standard of the new economy.
Dean’s Reminder:
Faculty and students alike should be aware that via
the University Library, they now have access to Sage
Research Methods Online, a comprehensive suite
of tools, content and media created to assist in the
development and execution of research. SRMO is an
invaluable technology for faculty looking to broaden
their research knowledge or learn new skills in
conducting a study.
Dean’s Activity:
In October, I was invited to present at the International
Leadership Association’s annual conference. My
sessions addressed scholarship and publishing in
the contemporary landscape of leadership inquiry. I
highly recommend this conference (October 2012 in
Denver, Colorado,) for any faculty who are interested
in conversing with an exciting array of emerging and
experienced leadership scholars.
College of Humanities
Dean: Robert Ridel, Ph.D.
facultymatters.com
45
Dean’s Quote:
I have attended more than 25 graduation ceremonies
over my career—and have listened to keynote speakers
consistently praise faculty for their educational
efforts. I do not doubt their sincerity; however, I do
sometimes wonder if teachers truly realize the impact
they have on their students. When our students walk
across the stage this year, complete with huge smiles
and hopes, I know we as faculty contributed to their
future success. It will be a great feeling. I encourage
you to participate in your local graduation ceremony—
to honor your students and to recognize the uniquely
important role you played in their lives.
Dean’s Reminder:
Is your faculty profile current? Have you recently
published an article or presented at a conference?
Have you taught a new course? While faculty should
review their profiles annually, updates can be made
throughout the year. There may be opportunities to
teach, develop curriculum and/or become involved in
assessment.
Question For Faculty:
As a former lead faculty at the Oregon campus, I
participated in several conversations with colleagues
about issues related to curriculum and faculty
development. If you were in my shoes, serving as
Dean of the College of Humanities, what areas would
command your attention? Be practical—but also bold.
Email your suggestions to infocoh@phoenix.edu.
continued on page 46

46
Faculty Matters Summer 2012
college
continued from page 45
College of Nursing
Dean: Pamela Fuller, Ed.D., MN, RN
newsadvancements and initiatives
Success Story:
A special thank you to the Faculty Council members
from CON and SAS who worked tirelessly over a fourday
weekend to build the foundation of the upcoming
Doctorate of Nursing Practice (DNP) degree. This
team included Sun Jones, DNP, FNP-BC, RN; Carise
Elizabeth Charles, DNP, FNP-BC OHNP; Ellen Beth
Daroszewski, Ph.D., APRN; Mary DeNicola, DNP, FNP-C,
FNP; Rinda Alexander, Ph.D., RN; and Pamela Porter, DNP,
APRN, FNP-BC. Thank you to all who participated.
Tip or Best Practice:
I used a familiar teaching technique recently, reflection.
At the end of the course I asked students to reflect on
what they had learned in the course and how it might
help them on their career path.
Dean’s Activity:
I was honored to be a member of a panel of experts
addressing Pathways to Health Care Careers: From
Two-Year to Four-Year Colleges and Beyond. This was
sponsored by the Apollo Research Institute and The
Chronicle of Higher Education. Six experts from nursing
education, community college and health care practice
shared insights on how students can successfully
transition from community college to university—and
the importance of this pathway.
College of Information
Systems & Technology
Dean: Blair Smith, Ph.D.
New This Quarter:
We’ve been updating a number of BSIT courses in
preparation for the ABET Accreditation Review this
year. The College is also completing preparations for the
July 1 submission of the BSIT Self-Study. The next major
activity will be preparation for the campus site visits in
late 2012 or early 2013.
Dean’s Reminder:
The College has established a website link on the left
frame of the Course Materials page for all College of
IS&T courses. This website provides faculty members
with an update on the activities of the College and
provides course updates. Faculty members can also
submit Course Change Recommendations via this link.
Question For Faculty:
The College is interested in hearing from our faculty on
specific content areas that you think we should consider
for future development. What new programs or courses
should the College of IS&T develop next? Please send
recommendations to CISTWM@phoenix.edu.

College of Education
Dean: Meredith Curley, Ed.D.
Dean’s Recommendation:
The College is partnering with NBC to offer students
and faculty an exciting electronic resource, NBC Learn
(www.nbclearn.org). This standards-based repository
of NBC news content provides primary source film
and documents.
Dean’s Activity:
Lynn DeMuth, Regional Assistant Dean, participated in
a national research panel addressing educator ethics
sponsored by Educational Testing Service (ETS). Our
supplemental standards were recognized as a quality
set of expectations for students. We are honored to
be asked to collaborate on research in this field.
Dean’s Reminder:
Thank you for your efforts to refine our state-specific
syllabi! Using these syllabi provides students with a
framework for learning, more clearly demonstrating
course alignment to state and national standards,
as well as our conceptual framework. The syllabi
look great and we have received positive comments
from students.
College Extension
Dean: Dallas Harris, Ed.D
facultymatters.com
47
New This Quarter:
Continuing education and professional development
courses offered through College Extension are
being revised to include collaborative assignments/
assessments that promote shared learning
experiences, culminating projects that focus on
critical and creative thinking and assignment options
and multimedia enhancements that better meet the
needs of diverse learners.
Dean’s Recommendation:
During the last quarter, 31 continuing teacher
education and professional development courses were
developed or revised to foster student engagement,
to promote student achievement associated with the
University and College Extension learning outcomes,
and to provide an alignment to state and national
standards. The dedication, knowledge and experience
of our faculty made this possible: Carrie Buck, Phyllis
Carbonaro, Catherine Cisar, Myrtle Combrink, Martine
Fiting, Nancy Fitzgerald, Elsa Giles, Donna Hogard,
Melissa Holmberg, Allison Hoewisch, Angela Kennedy,
Cynthia Kennedy, Kristin Korte, Jo Ann Lynch, Jamie
Mahoney, Jackie Mangieri, Thomas Martin, Danielle
Miller, Suzy Natividad, Ray November, Hildegard Selig,
Mary Sheedy, Calvin Thogersen, Dominique White and
Kristine Vanduyne.

48
Faculty Matters Summer 2012
from thedeans
up close and personal
When did you really fail, and what did you learn?
“ I ran for Sheriff in Jackson County,
Illinois, and lost. What I learned is that
not everyone likes you, no matter what
they tell you.”
— James Ness, Dean, College of Criminal
Justice and Security
“I enrolled in college immediately
following high school. Although I
wasn’t on a swimming scholarship,
I did manage to make the college’s
varsity swim team. As I experienced
more freedom in a college setting away from my
parents’ guidance, my grades suffered and I was
provided a quarter break from the school to think
about the importance of education. Given a good
chance I might be drafted, I joined the Navy. As soon
as I experienced boot camp, I fully realized the benefits
of an education and planned my future education as
soon as possible after my enlistment.”
— Blair Smith, Dean, College of Information
Systems and Technology
“Lots of people love to go snow skiing; the beauty of the
mountains, the snow, the fire burning in the lodge, people
having fun enjoying the outdoors. I love the outdoors and
have all my life. So it was natural for me to try skiing in my
mid-twenties. Little did I know about the brutality of the
sport on one’s knees and lower back, the humiliating falls, and the muscle
coordination needed to get back up on my skis. After falling flat on my face
several times, killing my knees and wrecking my pelvis, I finally called for the
ski patrol to come get me. I couldn’t even make it down the hill. Needless to
say, that was my first and only skiing experience. Complete failure. What I
learned: being a weekend athlete is a great way to get injured.”
— Pamela Fuller, Dean, College of Nursing
“The first journal manuscript I submitted for
peer-review consideration was rejected. In fact,
the editorial comments that I received—each
pointing to a shortcoming—were nearly as long
as my manuscript. While faculty had warned me
that often multiple submissions are necessary before acceptance
by an editor, I was truly deflated. However, an experienced
colleague brought me to a key realization: such extensive
comments represented acknowledgement from the scholarly
community—my peers—that my work was worthy of their
consideration. In fact, the comments represented real insight into
how I could improve my work and, eventually, get it published.”
— Jeremy Moreland, Executive Dean, School of Advanced Studies
“While attending elementary
school in the 1960s, I
befriended Connie. She had
been diagnosed as mentally
retarded, which, at the time,
was a catch-all for learning disabilities. In
middle school, I stopped being Connie’s friend
because of peer pressure. Because I valued
what my classmates thought of me above my
friendship with Connie, I failed Connie and
myself. This decision made me miserable. I
vowed to never let anyone influence me to
act in a manner that would intentionally hurt
another individual. As a middle school teacher,
I assigned my students to create a Code of
Conduct including treating fellow classmates
with respect.”
—Dallas L. Harris, Dean, College Extension

“All final exams for my physics diploma in Germany were oral.
Generally, the professors examining the students were not the same
ones who were giving the lectures the students were attending, so
preparation for the exam required being familiar with a wide range of
topics—and not only the ones that were taught in the student’s class.
My one exception was thermodynamics. Elated, I thought sticking to just the material
from that class would allow me to limit the study effort necessary in this subject. Not a
good idea. The professor asked all kinds of questions from topics he hadn’t addressed in
class. I didn’t do well at all and was offered the choice between barely passing or coming
back six months later. (I took the poor grade—my only one—because I had already been
admitted to my doctoral program and I didn’t have the six months). But the lesson was
valuable—shortcuts don’t work. Being prepared means considering all aspects of a
topic, not only what one thinks will be asked.”
— Hinrich Eylers, Dean, College of Natural Sciences
“Not merely a failure, my incident was more like
a colossal catastrophe. I was once retained by
a company, with the job of defusing tensions
between divisional units. Overconfident (and
naïve), I was convinced I would ‘pull it off’ and
would have both sides soon playing Parcheesi, sharing jokes and
singing Kumbaya around the campfire. No way. Not a chance. The
environment turned out to be the ‘civilized’ equivalent of the war
zones I experienced when I was with the United Nations. And the
lesson learned: some battles (no pun intended) are better left
alone, or engaged only when one is fully prepared to be effective.”
—Robert Ridel, Dean, College of Humanities
“I failed in a spectacular fashion when I created a training
guide for the evaluation of student writing at the St.
Louis campus. It took a lot of work and time to go from
initial creation through to dissemination and training.
While it was accomplished in a timely manner, and
faculty embraced it, the guide did not solve the basic problem. Even with
a common tool, the faculty had varied personal backgrounds. In that
respect, grading will always be flavored by the individual’s background, as
it should. I did not meet my goal of solving what is an incredibly complex
problem; I did succeed quite well at learning to find the real issue.”
— Bill Berry, Dean, School of Business
facultymatters.com
49
“I failed my doctoral oral
exams! I have never said
this publicly, even though
I have shared it with select
people. It was a huge
failure for me and it led to a period where
I questioned my future and myself. After a
significant period of time, I went back and
completed a different doctoral program
and earned my Ed.D. What I learned was
to persevere—to never give up something
that I believed was not only possible but
was necessary in order to achieve the goals
I had set for myself. I made it—that’s the
important thing!”
—Lynn K. Hall, Dean, College of Social Sciences
“ I see myself as an optimist
and found this question
challenging. I honestly cannot
think of a time when I have
truly failed at something. I have
certainly encountered obstacles but choose to
focus on the opportunity to reflect and improve
practice. Treating a defeat as a leverage point for
improvement is a better use of energy. One of
my favorite sayings, “it takes too much energy to
have a bad day!” Face your challenges head on and
choose to learn and move on.”
—Meredith Curley, Dean, College of Education

50
Faculty Matters Summer 2012
Historic day in African education
By Mark Dillon
I n January, Gregory Cappelli, Joe D’Amico and Jeff
Langenbach were guests at the first graduation
ceremony hosted by the Oprah Winfrey
Leadership Academy for Girls. The men, each of whom
holds an executive leadership position with University
of Phoenix’s parent company, Apollo Group, were
inspired by the students and the faculty at the Henley
on Klip, South Africa school.
Media mogul Winfrey is founder and benefactor of
the school, which welcomed its first class in 2007.
The school’s mission: provide a first-rate high school
experience for gifted local girls from disadvantaged
backgrounds. Langenbach spoke to Faculty Matters
about his impressions of the institution and of that
memorable, historic January day.
FM How did the opportunity to attend the South Africa
commencement arise?
JL Greg knows Stedman Graham [Oprah’s long-time
friend] very well. The purpose of the trip was to meet
with businesses, colleges and government officials in
South Africa to look for potential opportunities for
expanding Apollo, and Africa is a pretty attractive
market. Stedman had earlier suggested we plan a
business development trip around the same time of
the graduation, so we could see the event in-person.
In education, there’s probably no bigger story in Africa
right now than Oprah’s school, and we are excited at
exploring opportunities to be involved.
FM What is the campus like in Henley on Klip?
JL It’s a beautiful school [Winfrey’s] built for these
girls, all with her own money. The majority of the girls
are originally from townships or villages that have
no electricity or running water. At the school they
have a gorgeous campus with a lot of space for ball
fields, dormitories and a state-of-the-art library.
It’s spectacular.
FM Can you describe the ceremony?
JL Before we went in, the girls and their parents were
together outside having spontaneous celebrations—
there was a lot of singing and dancing. The current
students wore bright green uniforms, and the 72

Upper photo, page 50: Oprah Winfrey stands amid graduates and guests at the first graduation ceremony
hosted by Oprah Winfrey’s Leadership Academy for Girls in South Africa. Current students of the school
wore white shirts with green blazers while graduates wore white dresses. In the second row are Stedman
Graham, Jeff Langenbach, Gregory Cappelli and Joe D’Amico. Lower photo, page 50: Banners proclaiming
Oprah’s school’s values decorate the commencement venue. Photo page 51: Current students play music
and celebrate with the graduates. Photographs provided by Jeff Langenbach.
graduates wore white dresses. The parents
were generally wearing very colorful South
African tribal outfits. During the ceremony,
Oprah introduced the girls and they all filed
in one at a time.
The parents in the audience have a custom
where, instead of clapping, they made
yelling or clicking sounds when their
daughter’s name was announced. For the
most part, these girls would be the first in
their family to go through 12th Grade and
move on to college. There were some very
emotional parents as they all know what
this means for their future. The faculty
spoke openly about how, every week on
average, at least one girl in the school would
lose a relative to AIDS, it’s such an epidemic
right now.
FM What is the makeup of the faculty at
Oprah’s school?
JL Some of the teachers come from the
U.S. and some from the U.K. There are quite
a few South African faculty members who
previously taught in other schools. They
also have some South Africans who were
teaching in the U.S. and Oprah convinced
them to come back. The faculty role is
their full-time job and they live on the
grounds. It’s a great opportunity to teach in
a state-of-the-art facility, whereas most of
the other schools in the area are pretty lowtech.
This is the best of the best of faculty.
She’s able to get some good people.
FM Were the faculty asking about
University of Phoenix?
JL They were all very curious. Most of
Oprah’s faculty are aware of University of
Phoenix and they were anxious to hear
about ways we might expand into South
Africa, most likely through online learning.
They know online learning is the wave of
the future and they’d love to see us do it
over there.
FM How would you characterize the
teaching model at Oprah’s school?
JL It’s very robust and rigorous. The
students are living there full-time and are
involved in a very strenuous education
program. It’s why these girls can get into
great schools here in the U.S. Six of the
graduates are coming to the U.S. and
will attend colleges including Stanford
University and Wellesley College. The rest
of the graduates are moving on to colleges
in South Africa.
“ The real story of this
school has yet to be
written. It will be written
ten to twenty years
from now, when you
see these girls are the
leading politicians. They’re
going to be doctors and
scientists. It’s going to be
very interesting.”
— Jeff Langenbach
facultymatters.com
FM Do you have a sense of how these girls’
accomplishments are viewed back in their
communities?
JL In their society, there are still a lot of
tribal views that women are second-class
citizens. The girls are returning to their
villages and their mothers are very proud,
but they still aren’t getting a lot of respect
in some cases from the men in these rural
areas or townships. A lot of them expressed
interest in leaving the country because of
that, but the vast majority are staying to
pursue college.
The graduates view their mission in life
as helping other girls like themselves,
and they want to have a hand in changing
the political system. A number of these
girls said, “We’re going into government.
We’re going to be Prime Minister. We’re
going to change our culture.” The real
story of this school has yet to be written.
It will be written ten to twenty years from
now, when you see these girls are the
leading politicians. They’re going to be
doctors and scientists. It’s going to be
very interesting.
51

52
Faculty Matters Summer 2012
forwardthinking
ideas, research and innovation at UOpX
“ Thanks to ALE,
we can target
individuals with
gaps in learning and
skills with additional
materials. But
ALE will also offer
enrichment to
students who come
to the University
well prepared,
ensuring we keep
them engaged and
motivated.”
— Gailene Nelson, ALE
team lead
The Adaptive Learning
Environment in action
Imagine receiving a snapshot of how well your students understand specific
concepts in the courses you teach. Now imagine having access to a simple tool for
providing appropriate, timely intervention to those who are struggling. In this
issue of Forward Thinking, University of phoenix Vice provost Dawn Iwamoto, Ed.D.,
and Associate provost Marla Kelsey, Ed.D., sit down with Gailene Nelson to discuss
the exciting advances the University’s Adaptive Learning Environment (ALE)
workgroup has made. ALE is aiming to make scenarios like those mentioned above
a reality. Nelson has led the initiative for the Adaptive Learning Environment team
since October 2011.
Marla Let’s begin with a little background, Gailene.
What is adaptive learning, and what does it mean to
University of Phoenix faculty and students?
Gailene Adaptive learning uses science to derive
insights from students’ activity. These insights enable
faculty to not only see where their students need
guidance or enrichment, but also where they can
provide individualized recommendations to guide those
students.
When I ask faculty where their students need the most
guidance, they often reply that they don’t have a clear
understanding, but would really like to. We are creating
tools that can assist faculty with providing formative
assessments and developing interventions to maximize
student learning.
Dawn I assume the goal is to provide a more
individualized learning experience for students and
advance toward improved retention, performance and
motivation, correct?
Gailene That’s right. Thanks to the tools we are
creating in the classroom, we can track how students
are performing and combine that information with
our knowledge about their educational experience,
personal preferences and styles, and activities to
determine the optimal learning path for them.
Marla I believe there’s a misconception that adaptive
learning will only assist those students seen to be
struggling. Can you touch on how the University’s ALE
will benefit all learners?
Gailene Adaptive learning enables us to target
individuals with gaps in learning and skills with
additional materials. But ALE will also offer enrichment
to students who come to the University well prepared,
ensuring we keep them engaged and motivated. Our
ALE is about using science to augment the learning
experience for all students—and it’s not completely
a machine-driven experience. It’s designed to work
hand-in-hand with our faculty, our staff, our academic
counselors, the deans and all the teams who create
the curriculum for students. ALE offers a continuous
feedback loop throughout that entire education
ecosystem.

Dawn This sounds terrific in theory, but
I know our faculty will want more details.
Can you explain what this technology will
actually look like?
Gailene The tool we are introducing
is called a Knowledge Check. It’s a
combination of three things: a lowstakes
formative assessment delivered
in the form of a weekly quiz with some
enhancements; a personal study guide,
which is a summary of the student’s
performance on that knowledge check;
and a faculty dashboard, which is a view
of the student’s performance with built-in
recommendations for intervention.
Marla Let’s imagine I’m a student in an
Economics class and I don’t understand the
concept of supply and demand. How will a
Knowledge Check help me?
Gailene In the middle of the week
all students are assigned a Knowledge
Check. When you answer a question on the
Knowledge Check and get it wrong, you, the
student, will receive immediate feedback
letting you know the answer wasn’t correct.
You’ll also be offered a hint that may help
you grasp the concept better. You can
answer the question again and receive an
immediate explanation of why the answer
was correct or incorrect. This allows
students to learn as they’re being assessed.
Dawn How do faculty use the Knowledge
Check?
Above are Vice Provost Dawn Iwamoto, Ed.D., (left) and Associate Provost Marla Kelsey, Ed.D.
Gailene A student’s Knowledge Check
results are posted to the faculty dashboard.
Not only can faculty see that a student
answered all three questions related to, for
example, supply and demand incorrectly,
but also can see if they clicked on the
hints and looked at some of the additional
materials within the quiz. At that point, the
faculty member can send that student a
personalized message with some additional
materials around supply and demand and
say, “Maybe these will help.” Faculty have
the option of choosing materials suggested
by the college and the instructional
design team, or they can send their own
recommendation if there’s something else
they feel may resonate better.
Marla Have we tested the Knowledge
Check with students and faculty? If so,
what were the reactions?
Gailene Yes, we have completed three
pilots, and feedback from both students
and faculty has been very positive. The first
pilot started about six months ago and it
was conducted with 16 students and one
facultymatters.com
53
instructor in the ECO 561 course. The other
two pilots were conducted with a larger
number of students and faculty based in
the same course. The feedback from all
three pilot groups was extremely positive
and optimistic in terms of the potential
this tool actually has in the classroom.
Student reactions ranged from “It was
helpful to know where I stand, what I know
and what I don’t know,” to very enthusiastic
responses about how much feedback they
had received and how their instructor
really seemed to care about their progress.
Faculty noted how helpful it was to actually
see where students needed the most
guidance—and felt reassured that they had
done their best to address their students’
needs.
Dawn What is the ALE workgroup’s
vision for the future?
Gailene Students come to University
of Phoenix to improve on their skills and
education, things that can help them have
continued on page 54

54
Faculty Matters Summer 2012
forwardthinking
ideas, research and innovation at UOpX
Gailene Nelson, ALE team lead
continued from page 53
a better life. They enroll to get credentials
so they can get a job, a better job, or a
raise. What we want to do with ALE is to
provide the opportunity for each student
to be successful at his or her goals at his
or her own skill level. The ALE is a GPS of
sorts, keeping the students guided and
on track to reach their end goal. Being
able to guide and track every student that
comes in the door is our aim.
Marla I know you welcome input
from faculty. Where should they send
comments and questions?
Gailene We have many ideas about
how we can help improve learning
outcomes for students, but if there are
other ways we can make processes and
workflows more efficient for faculty, I’m
very interested in hearing those as well.
You can send questions, comments and
feedback to me at Gailene.Nelson@
phoenix.edu.
Viewing questions from
weekly Knowledge Checks

Above are early images of the Knowledge Check, referenced by Gailene Nelson. The Knowledge Check is a
combination of three things: a low stakes formative assessment delivered in the form of a weekly quiz
with some enhancements; a personal study guide, which is a summary of the student’s performance on
that Knowledge Check; and a faculty dashboard, which is a view of the student’s performance with built-in
recommendations for intervention.
facultymatters.com
55
What students and
faculty are saying
saying about the
Knowledge Check
“ I love the Knowledge Check. It helps
to make sure that I am on track with
my understanding of the concepts in
the class.“
— Student
“ I use the personalized study guide when
I’m doing discussion questions, weekly
summaries and writing papers. It’s really
helpful in identifying where I need to
look more deeply at the text.”
— Student
“ The personalized study guide is really
helpful so that I can quickly see what
areas I need to study more.”
— Student
“ The Knowledge Check is an assessment
and a teaching tool. Explaining WHY
an answer is correct. It assesses my
knowledge so I know how much I
actually know about the objectives.
Could be a tool to determine where I
need to read in more depth.”
— Student
“I no longer have to question whether
I’ve thoroughly taught a concept or
given students enough opportunities
to master a skill. If students receive a
poor grade on a paper, I can be confident
that I did my best to prepare them.”
—Faculty
ONLINE EXTRAS Visit FacultyMatters.com
to read an exclusive article about the
University’s Carnegie Learning Step-By-Step
Math Review program.

56
Faculty Matters Summer 2012
scholarshipspotlight
a message from Executive Dean Jeremy Moreland
Adversity and
scholarship:
Choosing to benefit
from criticism
By Julie Wilson
In this edition of Faculty Matters, Executive Dean
Jeremy Moreland explores how peer review and
persistence are essential to producing quality
scholarship.
FM It seems that scholarship and rejection go hand
in hand. After all, not every paper can be accepted
by every journal nor to every conference. Is this
considered failure on the part of the individual
producing the scholarship?
JM Many people experienced at scholarship would
argue that if you are receiving good, critical feedback
on your work, then ultimately that effort has not been
a failure, even if it isn’t accepted by a publication.
Rejection and feedback are part of the process of
strengthening the quality of one’s research and
writing. In fact, most people who are published in a
peer-reviewed journal likely weren’t successful on
their first try.
FM Does that same logic apply if a faculty member
has submitted for an award through University
of Phoenix’s Office of Scholarship Support grants
program and isn’t successful?
JM Yes, I would argue that they were still successful.
The fact that the faculty member was engaged,
formulated ideas, put those ideas down on paper, and
shared them for peer review is a success. Maybe he
or she didn’t receive an award on the first attempt,
but many do not.
FM It sounds like it’s a matter of perspective.
JM A lot depends upon how effectively an individual
can integrate feedback into their efforts. Our Vice
Provost Dawn Iwamoto famously tells her doctoral
students that feedback is a gift. Successful scholars
ultimately are not thwarted by rejection. They don’t
perceive it as failure but rather as an opportunity to
extend their thinking via the feedback of others.
FM From our students’ perspective, why is faculty
scholarship important?
JM I’d assume a lot of students would say we would
be failing at our scholarship efforts if we couldn’t
use the results to help them in the classroom.
When faculty engage in scholarship that furthers
either their discipline or their teaching practice,
they create the occasion for an amazing teaching
and learning experience, as well. Our students are
consistently excited about their ability to apply
what they are learning in the classroom to their
workplace. The same should be true of our faculty
applying their scholarship in the classroom.

FM How do students reconcile the abstract concept of scholarship and the
hands-on role our faculty members play in their learning?
JM A classic critique of academe is that there is a huge chasm between what
we do as scholars and what we do as instructors. In many institutions, there’s a
long hallway that separates the laboratory where faculty do research and the
classroom where they lecture. It’s reasonable for our students to expect us to
be able to link the ways we discover, innovate and apply scholarship.
What we are telling our students is that they should care about a given topic.
Even if the work I am engaged in is highly theoretical, I should still be able to
explain it to students in a way that leads them to ask questions about it. Our
“Successful scholars ultimately
are not thwarted by rejection.
They don’t perceive it as failure
but rather as an opportunity
to extend their thinking via the
feedback of others.”
— Jeremy Moreland, Executive Dean, School of
Advanced Studies, University of Phoenix
students shouldn’t be perplexed when we tell them
about our work. The way our research connects to the
curriculum should make perfect sense.
FM Beyond sharing scholarship outcomes and
knowledge with our students, why is it important for
our faculty members to share their scholarship efforts
with each other?
JM The practice of peer review among scholars creates
a safe place for them to experiment in terms of the
expression of their ideas and research. We, as faculty,
can take the spirit of this model from the scholarly
community and bring it into our conversations, where
we can foster the spirit of enthusiastic collaboration
toward each other’s work. Peer review is collaborative
at the summative phases. I have found that our
faculty and students seem to have some of their most
rewarding experiences when they work closely with one
another. After all, scholarship is inherently communal.
FM It’s relatively easy for our faculty who teach on
campus to collaborate with one another. How can our
online faculty do the same?
JM PhoenixConnect® offers all our faculty members a
powerful way to collaborate with one another virtually
and to benefit from each other’s research. This summer,
we are launching a new Faculty Scholarship Group on
PhoenixConnect® as a means for our faculty members
to share their scholarship with one another. I encourage
all our faculty members to join the conversation and
engage in the communal spirit of scholarship.

58
Achieving excellence, furthering knowledge
The University of Phoenix Faculty Honorarium Program recognizes faculty work that aligns with the
University’s definition of scholarship, which is based within the context of the Boyer Scholarship Model’s
four dimensions: discovery, integration, application and teaching. Faculty Matters sends congratulations
to the honoraria recipients listed on the following pages.
University
of Phoenix
Faculty
Presentation
Honoraria
awarded from
January to
March 2012
Tra Ahia
Surprise, AZ
Stuart Gold
Hollywood, FL
Faculty Matters Summer 2012
scholarshipspotlight
honoraria recipients
PRESENTATION
Honoraria Recipients
Sherna Armstrong
Dallas, TX
Susan Kessler
Nashville, TN
Tra Ahia of Surprise, Arizona, for Effective Parenting
Styles with Differing Levels of Attention Deficit
Hyperactivity Disorder Symptomatology. Presented at
the First Annual College of Social Sciences Research
and Scholarship Symposium.
Richard A. Alexander of Tampa, Florida, for Handling
the First DUI Case. Presented at LawReviewCLE.
Sherna Armstrong of Dallas, Texas, for Grammar: To Be
or Not Two Bee. Presented at the Community College
Humanities Association National Conference.
Noreen N. Astin, Ph.D., of American Fork, Utah, for
Feminism in ‘The Lottery’ and Today. Presented at the
13th Annual Conference by the Faculty.
Leslie Baker of Pleasanton, California, for Application
of Multimodal Play Therapy Techniques for the
Assessment and Treatment of Bullying. Presented at
CALAPT Workshop.
Noreen N. Astin
American Fork, UT
Jason King
Salt Lake City, UT
Leslie Baker
Pleasanton, CA
Carol Gegenheimer
Glendale, AZ
Richard Bowman
Mesa, AZ
Gregory P. Holder
Tampa, FL
Stephan Belding of Tigard, Oregon, for Two
Generations: How the Boomers and Millennials
Will Work Together to Help Transform the World.
Presented at the International Leadership Association
Conference.
Richard A. Bowman of Mesa, Arizona, for Change
or Die. Presented at The Accreditation Council for
Business Schools and Programs Region 7 Annual
Conference.
Tom Cappels of Redwood City, California, for
Financially Focused Information Technology Project
Management. Presented at the CA-VIAR Conference at
CA-World.
Deborah Elver of Tucson, Arizona, for Adult Re-entry.
Presented at the Greater Tucson Leadership.
Nancy L. Fitzgerald of Naperville, Illinois, for Reading
& Writing Activities/Resources in a 1:1 Environment.
Presented at the Illinois Computer Educators
Conference.
Tom Cappels
Redwood City, CA
Melissa Holmberg,
Prescott, AZ
Nancy L. Fitzgerald
Naperville, IL
Therese Kanai,
Kailua-Kona, HI
Kristen Gilkeson
Reno, NV
Stephen J. Lind
Clemson, SC

Kristen Gilkeson, Ph.D., of Reno, Nevada,
for Response to Intervention: Establish
Essential Outcomes for Future Teachers.
Presented at The Teacher Education
Division of the Council for Exceptional
Children 34th Annual Conference.
Stuart Gold, Ph.D., of Hollywood, Florida,
for Applied Research Presentations.
Presented at the Academic Research
Symposium.
Susan Kessler, Ed.D., of Nashville,
Tennessee, for They’re in Class; Now What?
Presented at the National Alternative
Education Association 2012 National
Conference.
Jason King, Ph.D., of Salt Lake City, Utah,
for Engaging Duel Diagnosis Adolescents
into Addiction Treatment. Presented
at the 2012 Mental Health Symposium:
Focus on Addiction. And for DSM 5: New
Perspectives on Mental Health Disorders.
Presented at the Utah Mental Health
Counselors Association 2012 Annual
Conference.
Carol Gegenheimer, Ph.D., of Glendale,
Arizona, for Trauma-Informed Care: How
are we Doing? Presented at the First Annual
College of Social Sciences Research and
Scholarship Symposium.
Shaunita Makisha Grase of West
Columbia, South Carolina, for Evidence-
Based Practices in Community Corrections.
Presented at the 2011 SC Criminal Justices
Training Conference, Joining Forces for a
Better Future!
Judith Longmeyer
Phoenix, AZ
Burke Sorenson
Sandy, UT
Sam Martin
Schaumburg, IL
Christine Thompson
Gallatin,, TN
Doreen McGunagle
Palm Beach Gardens, FL
Phillip Tobias
Okemos, MI
Connye Harper, J.D., of Honolulu, Hawaii,
for HR and the Image of an Organization.
Presented at the 2011 SHRM Hawaii
State Conference: HR Moving Forward
to the Future.
Saman Hassan of Louisville, Kentucky,
for Building Bridges: Turning on Learning:
A Proactive Approach. Presented at ELT:
Building Bridges: 27th International ELT
Conference 2011.
Gregory P. Holder, J.D., of Tampa, Florida,
for How to Be An Effective Expert Witness.
Presented at the Hillsborough County Bar
Association Judicial CLE Luncheon. And, for
Florida’s Stand Your Ground Law. Presented
at Tampa’s first paralegal organization
monthly meeting.
Melissa Holmberg, Ph.D., of Prescott,
Arizona, for Setting the Tone on the First
Day of Class in the SAS Online Classroom.
Presented at the 10th Annual Hawaii
International Conference on Education.
And, for Setting the Tone on the First Day
of Class in the Online Classroom. Presented
at E-Learn World Conference on E-Learning
in Corporate, Government, Healthcare &
Higher Education.
Lynn Jarreau-Wihongi of Highland, Utah,
for That was Then/This is Now: Personal and
Professional Reflections on Deployment.
Presented at the Utah Fall Substance
Abuse Conference.
Melvin Jeppson of River Heights, Utah,
for Other Party Assessor. Presented at
the American Aerospace Quality Group
Registration Management Committee.
Matasha Murrell Jones
Chicago, IL
Gaston Weisz
Plainview, NY
Thomas R. Old
Boise, ID
Michael N. Widener
Phoenix, AZ
Troy J. Rodgers
Albuquerque, NM
Therese Kanai, Ph.D., of Kailua-Kona,
Hawaii, for Setting the Tone on the First
Day of Class in the SAS Online Classroom.
Presented at the 10th Annual Hawaii
International Conference on Education.
And, for Setting the Tone on the First Day
of Class in the Online Classroom. Presented
at E-Learn World Conference on E-Learning
in Corporate, Government, Healthcare &
Higher Education.
Stephen J. Lind of Clemson,
South Carolina, for Demonstrating
2MinuteThinker. Presented at the
Carolina Rhetoric Conference 2012.
Judith Longmeyer of Phoenix, Arizona, for
Linking Nature Awareness to Equine Care.
Presented at The Association of Zoo and
Aquarium Docents 2011 Conference.
Sam Martin of Schaumburg, Illinois, for
Microblogging, Facebook, and QR Codes
Oh My! Presented at the 2011 IAECT
Conference.
Doreen McGunagle, Ph.D., of Palm Beach
Gardens, Florida, for Small Changes Creates
Radical Continual Change. Presented at The
Academic Forum 2011 Conference.
Matasha Murrell Jones, D.M., of Chicago,
Illinois, for Teaching to the Multitudes:
Indigenized Instruction Across Generations
and Cultures; The Ethnic Stew Post
Approach: Culturally-Responsive Teaching
for Today’s Students. Presented at the 2012
Midwest Scholars Conference.
Bronwyn Scott
Seattle, WA
facultymatters.com
59
continued on page 60
Sherrie Segovia
Long Beach, CA

60
Faculty Matters Summer 2012
scholarshipspotlight
honoraria recipients
continued from page 59
University of Phoenix Faculty
Presentation Honoraria
awarded from January to
March 2012
Thomas R. Old of Boise, Idaho, for The
Human Side of Project Management.
Presented at the Ada County Employers
Association.
Scott Pelking of El Paso, Texas, for
Preparing for Court: An Ethical and Practical
Approach. Presented at NMMHCA’s
December ethics training.
Alice Prince of St. Louis, Missouri, for
Working with Workforce Investment—
Breaking Barriers With At-Risk Youth.
Presented at the International Journal of
Arts & Sciences Conference: European
Conference for Academic Disciplines.
Bruce J. Puma Jr. of Albuquerque,
New Mexico, for Transfers of Jurisdiction
(New UAGHA Law) & the Use of Temporary
Restraining Orders.Presented at the First
Annual Guardianship Summer Symposium:
Guardianship, Sex & Marriage: The
Complexity of Decision Making.
Troy J. Rodgers, Psy.D., of Albuquerque,
New Mexico, for Introduction to Crisis
Response Training: What is Mental Health
Certification, CIT, and CNT? Presented at
the First Crisis Response Training Summit
Conference.
PUBLICATION
Honoraria Recipients
Jinan Banna
New York, NY
Manuel Hernandez
Fajardo, PR
Susanne J. Danis
Pembroke Pines, FL
Bert H. Hoff
Seattle, WA
James W. Davis
Tucson, AZ
Nicholette Leanza
Cleveland, OH
Lugene Rosen of Stanton, California, for
Let it Bleed: Blood as Subversive Ritual
and Symbol in Supernatural. Presented at
the Southwest Texas Popular Culture and
America Culture Association’s 33rd Annual
Conference.
Barbara Rossow of Placitas, New Mexico,
for Educational Workshop. Presented at
Marie Hughes Elementary School.
Bronwyn Scott of Seattle, Washington,
for The Effects of Gorse on Soil
Properties, and Possible Management
Implications. Presented at the Pacific
Northwest Invasive Plant Council: Gorse
in Threatened Coastal Habitats Applied
Research Workshop.
Sherrie Segovia of Long Beach, California,
for Infidelity: Precursor to Inter-Parental
Violence. Presented at the NEXUS XVI
Training Conference: Violence Within the
Home and its Effect on Children. And,
for Violence Prevention for Pregnant and
Parenting Adolescents at Hope Street
Family Center. Presented at the Fourth
Annual Violence-Free Teens Conference:
Cultivating Connections–Empowering
Youth & Adult Allies to End Relationship
Violence. And, for What About You?
Managing Your Stress While Working with
Children and their Families. Presented at
the 2012 California Head Start Association
Conference.
Debra Smith of Norman, Oklahoma, for
The Horror! Stories from the Trenches.
Presented at EPA/RVIPA 27th Annual
Pretreatment Workshop.
Jack Dowling
Downingtown, PA
Cheryl Lentz
Las Vegas, NV
Mikel Del Rosario
Roseville, CA
David J. McGarva
Woodland Hills, CA
Kristene Diggins
Waxhaw, NC
Ryan T. Miller
Salt Lake City, UT
Burke Sorenson, Ph.D., of Sandy, Utah, for
Digital Humanities: What’s all the Buzz About?
Presented at the Humanities Education
and Research Association 2012 Conference.
And, for Dummies Guide to Hybrid Courses.
Presented at the Utah Coalition for
Educational Technology Annual Conference.
Phil Stella of Mayfield Village, Ohio, for Taking
the Pain out of Sales Pitches.Presented at the
COSE Small Business Conference. And, for
COSE SBC Speaker Orientation Panel, speaker
training. And, for Finding Your Voice: Optimizing
Your Presentation Skills. Presented at the Wean
Foundation Fifth Annual Nonprofit Summit.
Christine Thompson, Ed.D., of Gallatin,
Tennessee, for The More Hands The Better:
An Inclusive Reading Model for EL Students.
Presented at TNTESOL 2012 Annual Meeting
and Conference.
Phillip Tobias of Okemos, Michigan, for
Designing, Developing, and Delivering Training.
Presented at LESA/ASSE Meeting.
Jeffrey M. Wallmann of Las Vegas, Nevada,
for The Meme Machine: Politics, Culture, and
Consilience. Presented at the Far West Popular
& American Culture Associations 24th Annual
Conference.
Gaston Weisz, Psy.D., of Plainview, New York,
for Culturally Responsive Schools and Positive
Behavioral Interventions and Supports.
Presented at the 2011 New York Association
of School Psychologists Conference.
Kathy A. Welch-Martin of West Lafayette,
Indiana, for What’s Math Got To Do With It?
Presented at the Indiana Council of Teachers
of Mathematics Fall Conference.
Jay Familant
Germantown, ME
Kurpad Murthy
Bartlett, IL
Jim H. Hillman
Greenwood, IN
Manes Pierre,
Woodbridge, VA

Katharine S. West of Covina, California,
for Picturing Quality: The Art of Displaying
Data Visually. Presented at the National
Association of Healthcare Quality 36th
Annual Educational Conference. And
for Global Connections: Integrating
Theory to Practice in Professional Nursing
Science Using the Artinian Intersystem
Model. Presented at the Sigma Theta Tau
International Honor Society of Nursing
41st Biennial Convention.
Michael N. Widener, J.D., of Phoenix,
Arizona, for Reflections on Leasing
Vacant Tracts for Solar Power Generation.
Presented at Real Property Section –
Southern Counties Luncheon.
Melissa Williams, D.M., of Phoenix, Arizona,
for The Employee Perspective of Elected
Leaders’ Management. Presented at the
First Annual College of Social Sciences
Research and Scholarship Symposium.
Richard Zapal of Savannah, Georgia, for
Safety and Security. Presented at the
Savannah Area Board of Realtors.
University of Phoenix Faculty
Publication Honoraria
awarded from January to
March 2012
Jinan Banna, Ph.D., of New York, New York,
for Assessing Face Validity of a Physical
Activity Questionnaire for Spanish-Speaking
Women in California. Published in the
Journal of Extension. And for Functional
Weight Loss – Nutritionist Reviews.
Published on 999diet.com.
Roger Daene of Vicksburg, Michigan,
for Colonel Patrick O’Rorke: Unsung
Hero of Little Round Top. Published on
MilitaryHistoryOnline.com.
Burke Sorenson,
Sandy, UT
Christine Thompson
Gallatin,, TN
Michael N. Widener,
Phoenix, AZ
David D’Onofrio of Dearborn Heights,
Michigan, for Dichotomy in the Definition
of Prescriptive Information Suggests Both
Prescribed Data and Prescribed Algorithms:
Biosemiotics Applications in Genomic
Systems. Published in Theoretical Biology
and Medical Modeling.
Susanne J. Danis of Pembroke Pines, Florida,
for Minimize Words, Maximize Impact with
Simple Graphics. Published in American
Nurse Today.
James W. Davis, Ph.D., of Tucson, Arizona,
for Persuading Library Use in Technologically
Structured Individuals. Published in Library
Hi Tech.
Jack Dowling of Downingtown, Pennsylvania,
for Chemical and Biological Security on
Campus. Published in The Clipboard.
Mikel Del Rosario of Roseville, California,
for The Accessible Apologetics Workbook:
Five Lessons for Everyday Defenders of
the Faith.
Kristene Diggins, DNP, of Waxhaw, North
Carolina, for Moral Courage, and Privileged
Trust. Published on journalofchristiannursing.
com. And for One Appointment, Two
Patients, and Rethinking Retail. Published
on reflectiononnursingleadership.org.
Jay Familant, Ph.D., of Germantown,
Maryland, for Two Way Street: Advice for Job
Seekers and Employers. Published in Proven
Beyond the Process.
Aaron Gershonowitz of West Hempstead,
New York, for Does the Supreme Court’s
Burlington Northern Decision Require
Reconsideration of the Aceto Line of
‘Arranger’ Liability Cases? Published in the
University of Baltimore Law Review.
Thomas M. Woodruff
Georgetown, TX
facultymatters.com
Saman Hassan, Ed.D., of Louisville, Kentucky,
for Role-modeling Proactive Leadership.
Published in SPELT Quarterly.
Lillie M. Hibbler-Britt, Ph.D., of Charlotte,
North Carolina, for River Voices: Breaking the
Silence, A Social Political View of
Issues Affecting the African American
Community Through Commentary, Poetry
and Photography.
Jim H. Hillman of Greenwood, Indiana, for
Franklin: Images of America.
Manuel Hernandez of Fajardo, Puerto Rico,
for The Legacy of Piri Thomas, and Focusing
on the Needs of Latino Students. Published in
PRTESOL-GRAM: A Publication of the Puerto
Rico Teachers of English to Speakers of
Other-Languages.
Bert H. Hoff, J.D., of Seattle, Washington
for National Study: More Men than Women
Victims of Intimate Partner Physical Violence,
Psychological Aggression.Published in
MenWeb online journal.
Bruce Hunter of Spring, Texas, for The
7 Deadly Sins of Resource Management:
How to Find and Fix Costly Drains on Your
Business and Create a Change Ready
Organization.
Nicholette Leanza of Clevland, Ohio, for
NeuroCounseling: Simple Therapeutic
Interventions for Rewiring the Maladaptive
Brain, and for Mirror, Mirror in the Brain:
The Biology of How We Connect to Others.
Published in PsychCentral: Learn. Share.
Grow.
Cheryl Lentz, DM, of Las Vegas, Nevada,
for The Consumer Learner: Emerging
Expectations of a Customer-Service
Mentality in Post-Secondary Education.
Jane Lillestol, Ph.D., of Alexandria,
Minnesota, for The LQ3: A New Paradigm in
21st Century Leader Decision Making.
Jim Lyons of Boise, Idaho, for Observations:
Looking Ahead and Enjoying Coming Full
Circle in the Research/Analyst World.
Published in The Hard Copy Observer.
61
continued on page 62

62
Faculty Matters Summer 2012
scholarshipspotlight
honoraria recipients
continued from page 61
University of Phoenix
Faculty Publication
Honoraria awarded
from January to
March 2012
David J. McGarva, Ph.D., of
Woodland Hills, California, for
Tulving, Endel (researcher into
human memory research).
Published in the Encyclopedia
of the History of Psychological
Theories.
Ryan T. Miller, Ph.D., of Salt
Lake City, Utah, for Globally
Understanding The Digital
Divide. Published in Impact
Journal: Utah Association of
Secondary School Principals.
Steven J. Minkin, DM,
of Honolulu, Hawaii, for
Virtual Team Leadership
and Implementation in the
U.S. Air Force.Published in
the International Journal
of Networking and Virtual
Organizations.
Kurpad Murthy of Bartlett,
Illinois, for Epidemiology
of Mychoplasmabovis in
Pennsylvania Veal Calves.
Published in the Journal of
Dairy Sciences.
Manes Pierre, Ph.D., of
Woodbridge, Virginia, for Creole
Language Politics in Haiti.
Published on examiner.com.
Burke Sorenson, Ph.D., of
Sandy, Utah, for Cognitive
Coaching Research: Best
Practices for School Principals
and Teacher Mentors.
Published in Impact Journal:
Utah Association of Secondary
School Principals.
Christine Thompson, Ed.D., of
Gallatin, Tennessee, for Tripling
Reading Instruction by Using
the TRI Model: A Pilot Project’s
Preliminary Results. Published
in the TNTESOL Journal,
Volume 4, 2011.
Michael N. Widener, J.D., of
Phoenix, Arizona, for Chasing
the Atticus Code – Preserving
Adjudication Integrity in Local
Administrative Hearings.
Published in the Journal of
the National Association of
Administrative Law Judiciary.
Thomas M. Woodruff, DM,
of Georgetown, Texas, for
A Refractive Perspective on
Post-Secondary Education and
Lifelong Learning. Published in
The Refractive Thinker: Volume
VI: Post-Secondary Education.
PRESENTATION Honoraria photos
unavailable: Richard Alexander,
Tampa, FL; Stephen Belding, Tigard,
OR; Melissa Williams, Phoenix, AZ;
Deborah Elver, Tucson, AZ; Shaunita
Makisha Grase, West Columbia,
SC; Connye Harper, Honolulu, HI;
Saman Hassan, Louisville, KY; Lynn
Jarreau-Wihongi, Highland, UT;
Melvin Jeppson, River Heights, UT;
Scott Pelking, El Paso, TX; Alice
Prince, St. Louis, MO; Bruce J. Puma
Jr., Albuquerque, NM; Lugene Rosen.
Stanton, CA; Barbara Rossow,
Placitas, NM; Phil Stella, Mayfield
Village, OH.
PUBLICATION Honoraria photos
unavailable: Roger Daene, Vicksburg,
MI; David D’Onofrio, Dearborn
Heights, MI; Aaron Gershonowitz;
Saman Hassan, Louisville, KY; Lillie
M. Hibbler-Britt, Charlotte, NC; Bruce
Hunter; Jane Lillestol, Alexandria,
MN; Jim Lyons, Boise, ID; Steven J.
Minkin, Honolulu, HI.
Calls for
PROPOSALS
Arranged chronologically by earliest
submission deadline
IBAM 2012 Annual Conference
Institute of Behavioral and Applied Management
*Submission deadline is June 15, 2012
The conference runs October 4-6, 2012
Nashville, TN
www.ibam.com
2012 Frontiers in Education Conference
Frontiers in Education
*Submission deadline July 1, 2012
The conference runs October 3-6, 2012
Seattle, WA
www.fie2012.org
26th Annual Women in Educational
Leadership Conference
University of Nebraska
*Submission deadline July 12, 2012
The conference runs October 14-15, 2012
Lincoln, NE
www.cehs.unl.edu
75th Annual ASIS&T Meeting 2012
American Society for Information Science
and Technology
*Submission deadline July 15, 2012
The conference runs October 26-31, 2012
Baltimore, MD
www.asis.org
2013 Annual Meeting
American Education Research Association
*Submission deadline July 15, 2012
The conference runs Apr. 27 to May 1, 2013
San Francisco, CA
www.aera.net
2012 AAHPM/HPNA Annual Assembly
American Academy of Hospice and Palliative Medicine
& Hospice and Palliative Nurses Association
*Submission deadline July 16, 2012
The conference runs March 13-16, 2013
New Orleans, LA
www.hpna.org

scholarshipspotlight
event calendar
Conferences and events from
June to August 2012
O
June 2012
Ninth Annual Teaching
Professor Conference
The Teaching Professor
June 1-3, 2012
Washington, DC
www.teachingprofessor.com
NASPA Assessment &
Persistence Conference
NASPA Student Affairs
Administrators in Higher
Education
June 7-9, 2012
Tampa, FL
www.naspa.org
pportunities abound for faculty to share their knowledge, build their professional
network and engage in exciting dialogue. Academic and professional conferences
are a wonderful way to stay on the leading edge of information while offering great
venues in which to make scholarly contributions.
2012 Biennial Conference:
“Our Keys to Success:
Collaborate, Communicate,
Connect.”
Consortium for the
Advancement of Higher
Education
June 13-15, 2012
Kansas City, MO
www.caahe.org
13th Annual Faculty Learning
Community Developers’ and
Facilitators’ Summer Institute
International Alliance of
Teacher Scholars
June 20-23, 2012
Pomona, CA
www.iats.com
Fifth International
Conference on Global Studies
Global Studies
June 20-22, 2012
Moscow, Russia
www.onglobalisation.com
2012 ALA Annual Conference
American Library Association
June 21-26, 2012
Anaheim, CA
www.alaannual.org
2012 SHRM Annual
Conference
and Exposition
Society of Human Resource
Management
June 24-27, 2012
Atlanta, GA
http://annual.shrm.org
July 2012
12th International Conference
on Knowledge, Culture and
Change in Organizations
On The Organization
July 6-8, 2012
Chicago, IL
www.ontheorganization.com
142nd Congress of Correction
American Correctional
Association
July 20-25, 2012
Denver, CO
www.aca.org
SCUP Annual International
Conference and Idea
Marketplace
Society for College and University
Planning
July 7-11, 2012
Chicago, IL
www.scup.org
August 2012
28th Annual Conference on
Distance Teaching & Learning
University of Wisconsin:
Distance Education Professional
Development
August 8-10, 2012
Madison, WI
www.uwex.edu
facultymatters.com
63

64
Faculty Matters Summer 2012
note
worthy
awards, achievements, promotions and appearances
U niversity of Phoenix faculty members are skilled professionals who bring in-depth, real-world experience to the
classroom to benefit our students. Noteworthy highlights accomplishments our faculty are making in their respective
fields in terms of industry awards, promotions, book publications and appearances.
Arizona
Mesa
Robert Carl Winsor II (Brian), Ph.D., a faculty member with the
College of Education at UOPX, was awarded two charter schools by
the Arizona School Board for Charter Schools.
Arkansas
Phoenix
Joseph A. Zodl, a faculty member with the
School of Business at UOPX, released the
fifth edition of his book, Export-Import:
Everything You and Your Company Need to
Know to Compete in World Markets. The book
is a guide for companies entering the world
of international trade, or improving their
business model.
Little Rock
Edmond William Davis, a faculty member
with the College of Humanities at UOPX,
published Pioneering African-American
Aviators Featuring the Tuskegee Airmen of
Arkansas. This supplemental resource book
covers categories including women’s history,
African-American history, civil rights issues and race relations. The
book also exposes many trailblazers in civil and military aviation.
California
Del Mar
Marilyn K. Simon, Ph.D., and Jim Goes,
Ph.D., both faculty members with the School
of Advanced Studies at UOPX, co-authored
Dissertation and Scholarly Research: Recipes for
Success. The book provides guidance for those
working through the dissertation process, from
beginning to end. Simon resides in Del Mar. Goes
resides in Cottage Grove, Oregon.
Georgia
Canton
Virginia Louise Merlini, Ph.D., a faculty member with the
College of Humanities at UOPX, was selected to the 2012
inaugural class of the Georgia Women’s Policy Institute. The
GWPI provides advocacy and leadership training for about
12 women each year in order to help increase the number of
women involved in the public policy process.
Idaho
Saint Anthony
Rachel A. Gonzales, DM, a faculty member with the College
of Nursing at UOPX, was selected as the new CEO of Madison
Memorial Hospital in Rexburg, Idaho.
Illinois
Chicago
Jocelyn Carita Thornton, D.Min., a faculty member with the
College of Humanities at UOPX, co-facilitated the Fall Retreat
of the Sustaining Pastoral Excellence Leadership Cohort of the
Evangelical Covenant Church in October, 2011. Thornton also had
a portion of her thesis published as an article entitled “Preaching
Through a Faith Crisis.” The article was published in a special
issue of The Journal of the Liturgical Conference.
Michigan
Sturgis
Shanda Hansma Blue Easterday, Ph.D., a faculty member with
the College of Humanities at UOPX, presented an off-site poetry
reading as part of the Associated Writing Programs annual
conference in Chicago. Hosted in a different city each year, the
conference and fair aim “to celebrate the outstanding authors,
teachers, writing programs, literary centers and small press
publishers of that region,” according to the association’s website.

Missouri
Lathrop
Debra Gayle Stewart, Ed.D., a faculty member
with the College of Education at UOPX, published,
I Care to Share: A Manual for the Loving Care
of_________. Designed to help both primary
caregivers and the loved ones receiving care,
the book provides prompts for the recording
of all details and preferences necessary in order to help ensure
a high standard of care is maintained—and to ensure continuity
can be assured should the responsibility of care be transferred to
someone else.
Ohio
Mayfield Village
Phillip Joseph Stella, a faculty member with the College of Social
Sciences at UOPX, received the Volunteer of the Year Award
from the Council of Smaller Enterprises of the Greater Cleveland
Partnership. The award recognized Stella’s work as chair of the 2011
Small Business Conference Task Team.
Oregon
Portland
Shyvonne Ballosingh Williams, a faculty
member with the College of Social Sciences
at UOPX, published, Unlocking the Power of
Words: Applying the Seven Keys in the Partner
Model to Create Authentic Conversations. The
book explores the Partner model, a means
of improving communication and enabling a person to let go of
barriers to creating stronger relationships.
Texas
Austin
Nicholas Marvin Courtright, a faculty member
with the College of Humanities at UOPX,
published Punchline. The book of poetry is built
around quotes from the likes of Albert Einstein,
Carl Sagan, Fredrico Garcia Lorca and Shunryu
Suzuki, and uses the medium of poetry to
explore philosophical questions.
Houston
Anthony Bruno, a faculty member with the
College of Information Systems and Technology
at UOPX, published, CCDA 860-864 Official
Cert Guide. The book is a learning resource
for internetworking professionals to help
obtain the Cisco Certified Design Associate
certification.
Utah
Salt Lake City
Brad C. Parkin, a faculty member with the School of Business at
UOPX, was named one of the state’s top marketing professionals
by Utah Business magazine at their annual Sales and Marketer of
the Year awards. Parkin is Associate Zoo Director over Marketing
Services at Utah’s Hogle Zoo.
Virginia
Charlottesville
Carolyn Ramwell, a faculty member with the College of Natural
Sciences at UOPX, spoke at the American Burn Association’s
44th Annual Meeting, on International Burn Care. Ramwell also
co-authored the article “Recession, Reform, Redesignation – Oh
My! Find out how to Energize Staff for Magnet Redesignation in
Challenging Times” published in 2012 Magnet Update: Recognizing
Nursing Excellence in the American Nurse Today.
Washington
facultymatters.com
65
Pasco
Jason Andrew Bond, a faculty member with
the School of Business at UOPX, published
Hammerhead, a science-fiction novel where
the central character, Jeffrey Holt, is a
combat veteran who works tearing apart
decommissioned ships that have crash-landed
in the Nevada desert.
Snoqualmie
Nathan Kositsky, a faculty member with the
College of Humanities at UOPX, published
Visits to Issaquah. The novel depicts the tale
of a therapist who enters Native American
ceremonies, where he meets the spirit of the
lover who betrayed him.
university of Phoenix faculty members
are welcomed to send a paragraph
about their recent industry success to
FacultyMatters@phoenix.edu.

RUSS TALKS
FAILURE COLLABORATION
WHAT COLLABORATION IS FAILURE? IS …
Giving innovation. up or quitting.
EVER COLLABORATION
TWEETED OR
SEARCHED ISN’T … competition. #FAIL?
No.
DO YOU pLAY WELL
FAVORITE WITH OTHERS? SAYING
ABOUT Occasionally. SUCCESS?
“Eighty YOUR FAVORITE
percent of success
is TEAM showing SpORT? up,” Woody
Allen. Bossaball.
WHAT QUOTABLE: TREND “In DO a truly YOU
WISH creative HAD collaboration, FAILED?
Planking. work is pleasure, It’s not so and much the
that only I rules wish and it had procedures failed as
I’m are puzzled those that as to advance why it the
was common ever a cause. trend.
—Warren Bennis
IS FAILURE THE
OppOSITE OF SUCCESS?
No. Allowing failure to
be final or fatal is the
opposite of success.
Russ Paden, Ph.D.
Senior Vice President of Academic Operations
University of Phoenix

From the desk of the senior vice president of academic operations
True or false
I
n my role at the University, I’m fortunate to have
the opportunity to communicate with a lot of
faculty members on a regular basis. While some
of you reach out to me electronically, I meet many
more of you in person when I attend faculty meetings
and events across the country.
You share your great ideas and constructive
feedback with me, but you also share some common
misconceptions about your role as a faculty member
and about the University. I’d like to debunk a few of
the most frequent myths I hear.
Myth: If I fail a student, I won’t be offered as many
teaching contracts.
Truth: Many faculty members believe there will be
negative consequence for them if they fail a student,
but nothing could be further from truth. At the
University, we expect you, our instructors, to grade
our students appropriately based on their academic
performance in the classroom. Sometimes that will
mean you must issue a failing grade.
While we don’t penalize our faculty members for failing
students, we do, however, pay attention to variance
in grading. If we notice that the average grade an
instructor gives students is 4.0, then we know that
instructor is not providing an appropriate level of
feedback to the students and is not discriminating
between higher and lower quality work. If there is zero
variance in an instructor’s grading, we will typically
have an administrative faculty member work with the
instructor on his/her grading skills and technique.
Myth: The University purposely schedules less senior
faculty members with lower pay grades to save money.
Truth: Though this is a common myth, there’s not
an ounce of truth to it. The University staff members
responsible for scheduling are completely blind to
the pay levels and categories of our faculty members.
Because of this, it’s impossible to discriminate against
our more senior, higher earning faculty members when
scheduling instructors for our classes.
On the other hand, sometimes we intentionally seek
more senior faculty members for our more advanced
classes because their higher level of knowledge and
experience is the best fit. This is done prior to the
actual scheduling of classes and is usually handled in
the course approval process. In other words, when
approving a faculty member to teach a course, we will
decide who is the best fit for teaching the course and
add that faculty member to the pool of faculty that are
eligible to be scheduled.
Myth: The anonymous Faculty Engagement Surveys
aren’t really anonymous.
Truth: This is another common myth. Sometimes
we receive letters from faculty members who believe
their courses were cancelled because of feedback they
provided in the Faculty Engagement Survey. Again, this
myth is completely baseless. I want to reiterate that the
Faculty Engagement Survey is absolutely anonymous.
University of Phoenix hires a third-party company
to conduct our survey and analyze the results, which
they provide to us without revealing any identifying
information about faculty members. We only receive
the aggregate scores.
Sometime our survey administrator will break the
survey responses into categories for us. However,
when there is a survey category with fewer than 10
responses, we are not given that information because
of the possibility that we could determine the source
of the comments. Again, this measure provides an
additional layer of protection for our faculty so you can
feel confident that the Faculty Engagement Survey is
completely anonymous.
Editor’s note: See the results of the latest Faculty Engagement Survey in
The HR Column which starts on page 72.
facultymatters.com
67
“ I’d like to
debunk a few
of the most
frequent
myths I hear.”
Answers to your questions
I encourage you to contact your college campus chair or director of campus
affairs with your own questions about the University and its policies. Online
faculty can send their inquiries to facultyassist@phoenix.edu.

68
Faculty Matters Summer 2012
justask
“ Just ask what?”
you might be
thinking. Ask
us anything
related to your
academic role
as a University
of phoenix
faculty member.
Our experts
in Academic
Affairs—this
edition Associate
Vice president
of Academic
Operations
Yvonne phelps
is our go-to
person—will give
you the straight
answers. Email
your Just Ask
questions to
FacultyMatters@
phoenix.edu
with the subject
line “Just Ask
Question.”
Who is Yvonne Phelps?
yvonne Phelps, Associate Vice President of Academic
Operations at university of Phoenix, is passionate about
faculty and student success. “I love not only helping
students complete their academic programs, but also
ensuring they get the greatest benefit they can from the
courses they take,” says the Ph.D. candidate.
A native of southern California, Phelps has two business-related master’s
degrees and was an entrepreneur before she entered the field of education.
When she agreed to teach a business planning class for the University of
Southern California, she realized she had found her calling. In 1997, Phelps
began teaching graduate marketing and strategy classes to University of
Phoenix students at the Southern California campus and online. She became
an Instructional Specialist with the University in 2002. In 2003 she moved
to Phoenix to take the role of Program Chair for Graduate Business and
Management, and her career continued to evolve through Academic Affairs.
The mother of two adult children, Phelps says one terrific thing about working
at University of Phoenix is being part of a team. “We’re all in this together,” she
explains. “We play different parts in the academic journey of our students,
but when they’re successful and when we’re successful in helping them be
successful, we really do change lives.”

Resources and roadmaps for students
Q
How can we as faculty help our
students that are struggling?
A
t University of Phoenix we have a large number
of resources and tools available to students, and
we encourage faculty to become familiar with them.
Refer students to labs and workshops
There are two types of labs for students—those
managed by the colleges and related to course
content and those managed by the Academic
Operations team to help students with their academic
skills. A student who is really struggling can go to
both a lab and a workshop and they’ll have a different
experience in each setting.
The online labs, monitored by full-time faculty, are
open round the clock. They’re designed for students
to drop in and get information in a student-unionmeets-academic-need
way. Examples of lab topics
include student success, writing, critical thinking and
avoiding plagiarism. These specific labs are available
both on OLS and via groups within PhoenixConnect®.
The workshops, numbering more than two dozen,
are instructor-led and last three days. Designed to
give specific content to students, some of the more
popular ones address APA, basic essay writing and
time and stress management. All workshops are free,
and students are welcome to take as many as they
want. Faculty also have access to all of the workshop
materials, should they want to review the content.
Encourage participation in Academic
Support Community
Another exciting resource is the brand-new
Academic Support Community, expected to go live
in PhoenixConnect® on June 1, 2012. The Academic
Support Community is a place for students to get
recommendations for the resources they need at any
given moment. Some full-time faculty members will
be the community leaders for this effort, and they’ll
be able to direct students to the resources that can
help support them when they find themselves in need.
We’re also working on a student resource road map that
will be a navigational tool to help students land at the
right resources at the right time. This map was created
with faculty in mind, and we hope it will make tracking
down student resources easier for our instructors. To
access the map/guide, log into eCampus and enter
studentresources.phoenix.edu into the address bar.
Make career connections
It’s also very helpful to students when our faculty make
the relevancy of their course clear by explaining how
the concepts students learn in a particular class can
benefit their life, both today and in their future career.
Studies show that if a student can see how what they
are learning is going to benefit their career down the
road, they’re more likely to persist with their education.
This is because they have a strong reason to do
whatever is necessary to overcome a challenging event.
If they don’t know why, they’re more likely to just say,
“Oh, I’m done.”
Recall orientation
Last fall, University of Phoenix launched UNIV, a
new orientation program for any new student with
fewer than 24 college credits. This free three-week
course gives potential students a reality check as to
what University life is like by presenting orientation
materials and activities within the look and feel of the
University of Phoenix classroom. And UNIV is helping
with student retention, performance and motivation.
One participant commented, “These weeks have given
me life-changing skills that I have to put into place
that will allow me to be successful in school, work and
my personal life.”
If your students have participated in UNIV, it may be
helpful to remind them to look back on what they
learned in the program about managing their time
and locating resources.
Motivate, encourage and inspire
Finally, it is important to realize that our students don’t
always come to University of Phoenix armed with a
support system and ready resources from the outside
world, so we become their support system, their
link to success. To the extent that we can motivate,
encourage and inspire them, and link them to the
resources that are available, we can really become
very pivotal. We can become a catalyst in their life, and
that’s a pretty powerful place to be.
facultymatters.com
69
A sampling of
University
of phoenix’s
most popular
OLS student
workshops from
December 2011
to February 2012:
NEW STUDENT
ORIENTATION
Bachelor/Master
11,524 students
registered
Associate
4,945 students
registered
Local
1,504 students
registered
17,973 TOTAL
students registered
ApA
5,985 students
registered
Avoiding
plagiarism
3,576 students
registered
Basic Essay
Writing
3,711 students
registered
Basic Grammar
3,264 students
registered
Student Success
2,529 students
registered
Time & Stress
Management
2,310 students
registered
Help us help you
Academic Operations relies on faculty to help us determine what the needs
of the students are. If you would like to provide feedback or suggestions on
matters related to the resources we provide students, we encourage you to
contact us at Student.Resources@phoenix.edu.

70
Faculty Matters Summer 2012
mail
faculty email recap
you’ve got
New scholarship resources, an exciting partnership with Cisco Systems and the launch of
Phoenix Career Services—it’s been a busy few months at University of Phoenix. Here are
some recent messages sent to your email.phoenix.edu account that we think are worth a
second read.
Topic: Two new scholarship websites launched
Dated: March 7, 2012
From: Jeremy Moreland, Office of Scholarship Support
Celebrate the launch of scholarship websites
On behalf of the Office of Scholarship Support, I am very pleased to announce the launch
of our two new University of Phoenix websites, the Scholarship & Research eCampus
Website for faculty and the new Research and Innovation page on phoenix.edu.
Topic: Cisco partnership brings exciting programs to UOPX
Dated: March 15, 2012
From: Alan Drimmer, Office of the Provost
New partnership with Cisco Systems
Today, I am excited to announce a unique new partnership between University of
Phoenix and Cisco Systems. Cisco is one of the leading technology companies in the
world and ranks No. 62 on the 2011 Fortune 500 list.
Topic: Keep your info up to date in our EMNS
Dated: March 21, 2012
From: Russ Paden, Academic Operations
Emergency mass notification system
University of Phoenix understands the importance of safety in creating a successful
learning and working environment and is strongly committed to the safety of its
students, faculty and staff. In accordance with this commitment and the Higher
Education Opportunity Act of 2008, University of Phoenix has an Emergency Mass
Notification System (EMNS) to be used to alert the campus community in the event of
an emergency or dangerous situation.

Topic: Building on faculty scholarship initiatives
Dated: April 5, 2012
From: Alan Drimmer, Office of Scholarship Support
New academic scholarship resources
As a University, we place great value on faculty research and innovation, and it’s easy to
see why. Through our scholarship efforts, we continue to refine and improve our teaching
and learning model. This makes us better educators, which in turn helps position our
students for greater success after they graduate.
Topic: Connecting education to careers
Dated: April 10, 2012
From: Mike Mayor, Career Services
phoenix Career Services
I’m excited to announce to all of University of Phoenix faculty the launch of Phoenix Career
Services, an innovative new approach to supporting student success and connecting
education to careers. This is a major milestone for University of Phoenix, and is the result of
extensive research, direct student and employer feedback and rigorous testing.
Topic: New web-based tutorials offered
Dated: April 24, 2012
From: Academic Operations
facultymatters.com
More tutorials to assist faculty with HLC visit
Between April and June this year, The Higher Learning Commission (HLC) will be visiting
University of Phoenix to observe a number of our local and online classrooms. This is
being done as part of a University-wide Comprehensive Visit to reaffirm our regional
accreditation. A Consultant-Evaluator from HLC may ask to speak with you, or may ask
to observe one of your classes. If such a request is made, the University will notify you in
advance to verify it is a legitimate call.
ONLINE EXTRAS Visit FacultyMatters.com to find links to the full content of each of the above emails.
71

72
Faculty Matters Summer 2012
the HRcolumn feedback, results and news
By Cheryl Naumann
Vice President of
Human Resources at
University of Phoenix
Faculty Engagement Survey
A
s a University, we know that when
you, our faculty, are engaged, we’re all
the better for it. When you’re feeling
invested in your role as educators, there
is a positive impact to you, to our students and to the
University as a whole.
The Faculty Engagement Survey
Two years ago, we decided we needed a way to measure
how engaged you are and to capture your points
of pride and pain. We also wanted to capture your
suggestions about how we can continue to innovate and
improve as a University. In 2010, we launched the Faculty
Engagement Survey as a tool to solicit this type of input.
Since then, through this survey you have consistently
reinforced why you are here: to impact the lives of our
students and to help University of Phoenix succeed in
accomplishing our mission.
The latest results
The most recent Faculty Engagement Survey results
are cause for celebration. I’m pleased to report that an
impressive 56.58 percent of the 8,000 of you that we
surveyed—that’s approximately one-quarter of our
faculty population—responded. And 98 percent of the
survey items are trending upward. Faculty engagement
has reached an all-time high of 82.77 percent.
While these results speak to how much we can
accomplish when we work together, I want to assure
you that our efforts are not restricted to the short term.
We will continue to survey you on a regular basis, and
we will continue to take action on issues you bring to
our attention as we work together for an even better
University.
Raise your voice
If you didn’t receive an invitation to participate in the
February survey, don’t worry. Starting this spring, we
have begun to survey 25% of our faculty body every
six months. This means each of you will have the
opportunity to participate in the official survey once
every two years—but this new system also ensures
that we are receiving your vital feedback on a more
regular and frequent basis.
It’s always anonymous
Remember, your participation in the Faculty
Engagement Survey, and the answers you provide,
are anonymous and kept confidential by our survey
vendor, Quantum Workplace. Quantum handles the
administration, analysis and reporting of the results,
and no individual survey responses are ever reported
to us. Results are aggregated without individual
identifiable information. In no way can anyone
at University of Phoenix connect your responses
directly to you. What does this mean? It means we
truly want your 100% honest answers. It’s the only
way we can continue to improve.
Questions?
If you have additional questions about the Faculty
Engagement Survey, please contact your Director of
Academic Affairs. You can also send your inquiry to
facultyassist@phoenix.edu.
And now, I invite you to take a moment to review the
high-level Faculty Engagement Survey responses on
the opposite page. I also urge you to participate in
the survey when it comes your way. Thank you for
your contributions to the future of our University
and the success of our students.

82.77% 98%
Faculty engagement has reached
an all-time high.
Job satisfaction, pride and trust in senior leaders remain the
highest-rated categories.
Your top three items (highest favorable scores) are the same as last year.
I often think about how to
be a better instructor:
95% in 2011
96% in 2012
Your most improved items:
Considering the value I
bring to the University, I feel
I am fairly compensated:
36% in 2011
43% in 2012
I am proud to teach
for this University :
I would like to be teaching
for this university one year
from today:
95% in 2011
95% in 2012
If I contribute to the
University’s success I know
I will be recognized:
42% in 2011
48% in 2012
answered favorably to the
statement: “I often think
about how to be a better
instructor.”
I enjoy teaching my
classes:
93% in 2011
94% in 2012
I receive the information I
need to feel fully connected to
the University and its goals:
66% in 2011
71% in 2012
85% in 2012
facultymatters.com
73

74
Faculty Matters Summer 2012
by the numbers
success or failure?
123
Rejected by 123 publishers, inspirational
speaker Jack Canfield and author Mark Victor
Hansen persisted and were finally picked up by
a small publisher. Today, Chicken Soup for the
Soul has more than 200 titles in print, has sold
in excess of 112 million copies and has been
translated into 40 languages. 5,000
9,000
“I’ve missed more than 9,000
shots in my career. I’ve lost
almost 300 games. 26 times,
I’ve been trusted to take the
game winning shot and missed.
I’ve failed over and over and over
again in my life. And that is why I
succeed,” Michael Jordan.
John Stephen Akhwari ran the marathon for
Tanzania in the 1968 Mexico City Olympics.
After taking a fall early in the race, the battered,
bleeding athlete placed last. When asked why
he kept running a race he couldn’t win, Akhwari
responded: “My country did not send me 5,000
miles to start the race. My country sent me
5,000 miles to finish the race.”

Faculty
stories are
meant to
be shared.
We want to
hear yours.
You could be in an upcoming edition of Faculty
Matters. We want to know about University of
Phoenix faculty accomplishments, scholarship
pursuits, goodwill efforts and interesting life stories.
Email your story to FacultyMatters@phoenix.edu
The above faculty members
have all been profiled in Faculty
Matters magazine. Clockwise
from top left are Patrick Patrong,
Angelita Talens, Miguel Rodrigues,
Sandra Otero, Ryan Conti, Maryse
Nazon, Catherine Hood, Yen Hoe
Lee and Linda de Charon.
Read their stories at
FacultyMatters.com.

Faculty Matters magazine
4025 S. Riverpoint Parkway, CF-K410
Phoenix, AZ 85040
Commencement photos wanted!
Faculty, when you attend commencement this year, take a picture of yourself
enjoying the fun. Send your picture to FacultyMatters@phoenix.edu for
possible publication in an upcoming edition.
Tweet your photos to us! use the hashtag #FacultyMatters.