newsadvancements and initiatives - Faculty Matters

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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.”