Archives: Instructors

George has worked in Student Affairs and Collegiate Recreation and Wellness for over 33 years. He previously served as Executive Director and Assistant to the Vice President of Student Affairs for 29 years at the University of Alabama. He received his Bachelor of Arts in Business Administration in 1982 from Trinity University and his Master of Arts in Health, Physical Education, and Recreation in 1983 from Miami University. He completed his Ph.D. in Health Education and Health Promotion in 2010 from The University of Alabama. He has served in many leadership areas and presented on numerous occasions within NIRSA (National Intramural-Recreational Sports Association) and is currently serving on the Healthy Campus 2020 leadership team of the ACHA (American College Health Association) and an active member of NASPA (National Association of Student Personnel Administrators). His research interests are physical activity and holistic wellness among college students. He oversees and directs a comprehensive University Recreation and Wellness department with 64 full and part-time staff, in addition to over 750 student employees. University Recreation and Wellness at the University of Minnesota-Twin Cities annually serves over 70% of the total student population.

With thirty-six years of experience with award-winning design, Erik Kocher leads Hastings+Chivetta’s design efforts with specialized expertise in athletic and recreation and is a sought-after speaker nationwide at industry conferences. His design excellence comes from the physical expression of sound ideas, innovation, and creativity combined with an open flow of communication. Erik received a bachelor’s of science in mathematics from Grinnell College and a master’s of architecture from Washington University. NCARB Certified and LEED Accredited, he is a registered architect in twenty-six states.

As the founder and CEO of Ad Astra, Tom has been responsible for the strategic direction of much of the development of Ad Astra’s software and reporting systems that have been licensed to over 800 college and university campuses. He is the third generation of the Shaver family associated with The Shaver Partnership, the consulting and architecture firm from which Ad Astra was formed. His father, John Shaver, was an innovative educational architect and planner who has designed over 300 educational facilities, won national design awards, and has been featured in several national publications. Tom began working with his father in 1987. Their consulting work has evolved to include an innovative, capacity-based model for space management and student-centric model for course offering management that are foundational to Ad Astra’s offerings. Tom is actively involved as a lead consultant leveraging these models in a change management framework that uses data to justify change and track progress/business impact on college and university campuses. In 2004, Tom authored a United States business process patent application that was recently approved. The patent protects Ad Astra’s inventions in the scheduling software market including: student-specific course demand analysis, historical analysis of course demand and student availability, […]

Aaron Lucier is the director of housing operations in the Campus Living Department at East Carolina University. He has been at East Carolina for nineteen years. In his current role he oversees the department’s room assignment, technology and safety functional areas, and serves as a primary contact with the centralized university facilities department in providing housekeeping and facilities services for students living in housing. In his role at ECU, he has been involved with the design of new facilities and numerous renovations of existing facilities. Aaron has held a variety of leadership positions in the Association of College and University Housing Offices- International (ACUHO-I) and recently authored a chapter on facility safety and security in a new book on student housing.

For the past seven years, Frank has served as faculty head of house at Vanderbilt University’s Martha Rivers Ingram Commons. As faculty head of this living and learning community, Frank works closely with residential education professionals, resident advisors, and faculty colleagues to provide a stimulating experience for residents within the house. Moreover, he and his wife reside in a house with 240 first-year students. Frank teaches at Fisk University, as well as Vanderbilt, and he has held numerous faculty and administrative posts over the past thirty years in higher education. Frank is a respected author and scholar, with two novels to his credit, as well as other publications. Frank has also spoken nationwide on issues of diversity and inclusion.

Gus has served as the director of housing facilities services at the University of Oregon since January 2013. During this time, he has led the housing facilities services team to manage the second year of university housing operating its flagship residence, Global Scholars Hall, and presently developing the next new residence hall to incorporate both residential and academic requirements. Prior to his time at the University of Oregon, Gus served in the Navy as a Civil Engineer Corps Officer for twenty years, leading troops and civilian personnel to manage, plan, build, maintain, and demolish naval facilities both overseas nd in the continental United States. At his last duty station, he was the director of public works for Marine Corps Base, Camp Pendleton for four years. During this period Camp Pendleton experienced a construction boom of $3.3B, which included $1B for 32 bachelor enlisted quarters (troop residence halls) that incorporated residence learning/training, recreation, and support.

Ed has worked with organizations in policy formulation, program development, coalition building, team development, government relations, and strategic planning. He has certifications in advanced change management, facilitation, nonprofit management, and fundraising. Ed has worked for higher education, associations, corporations and nonprofit organizations, economic development corporations in providing training, planning, and coaching services. Ed has been instrumental in assisting universities, associations, and nonprofit organizations with procuring over $20 million from federal and state agencies and private foundations. Change management practices have been utilized by Ed in working with organizations that need to expand their financial capabilities, provide new services for clients, develop strategies for changing government regulations and opportunities, and create new partnerships that have diverse membership.

Chris brings his knowledge of alumni affairs, volunteer management, and integrated advancement leadership to his role as VP and alumni relations practice leader at GG+A. Previously, Chris served for five years as associate vice president for alumni affairs at Cornell University and for seven years as the executive director of the Lehigh University Alumni Association.