Archives: Instructors

Dr. Hoyt has a distinguished thirty-year career in higher education. He served as president of Centenary College of New Jersey, as president of the Ohio Foundation of Independent Colleges Inc., as vice president for the University of Akron, and in various leadership positions at Otterbein College and Baldwin Wallace College. During his seven-year presidency at Centenary College, Dr. Hoyt implemented a collaborative strategic planning model that led to unprecedented enrollment growth (1,600-3,300) in the college’s traditional, non-traditional/adult, online, and graduate programs. Centenary utilized an effective branding strategy that established it as the fastest growing college in New Jersey, as a first-choice institution providing “education designed around you,” and as a college known for “student centered learning and unparalleled service.” Centenary was recognized by Intel as one of the top fifty wireless colleges in America for its wireless IBM laptop campus. Under Hoyt’s leadership, Centenary College rewrote its curriculum, established measurable learning outcomes, became a part of the Council of Independent Colleges/Rand Corporation Collegiate Learning Assessment program, completed its decennial Middle States evaluation, became TEAC, IACBE, and BSW accredited and CAEL certified, and improved student retention by 20%.

Jacquie Thomarat has been with the University of Saskatchewan since 2004, working with the students’ union, advancement, government relations, and as a sessional lecturer before joining the office of institutional planning and assessment (IPA) in 2011. In 2008, Ms. Thomarat was appointed as a commitment leader for the implementation of the university’s second integrated plan, a four‐year assignment to build collaboration between academic and non‐academic units. In her current role, she supports institutional planning by aligning the university’s resources behind its priorities through a commitment to financial sustainability.

Nancy Smith has served as a corporate executive, educator/trainer, economic developer, author, strategic planner, and most recently as Director of Corporate Relations at the University of Arizona. At the UA, she established a formal program for industry engagement, expanding private sector investments in research and other programs and coordinating links between diverse University and Industry interests. She developed a popular “How to Work with Industry” training course for faculty and has presented at a number of national conferences. Prior to joining the University, Nancy contributed to the rapid growth of music industry electronics firms, as Vice President sales, marketing, strategic planning and/or general management for Roland Corporation and Kaman Corporation. She then served as VP of Strategic Services and led the development of the “Economic Blueprint” for Tucson Regional Economic Opportunities in Tucson. Smith also developed and implemented product launch strategies for early stage technology companies, served as a mentor in the McGuire Entrepreneurship Program at the UA, and was a course developer and trainer for the American Management Association, who published her course, “Selling to Senior Executives”.

Prior to arriving at Elon, Steve served as senior annual fund officer, associate director, and interim director during his tenure at Bucknell, where the annual fund office delivered $12.5 million in operational funds ($6.2M in unrestricted). During that time, Steve co-designed and produced two large-scale giving day events at the university. The first event, entitled “$100K in a Day” brought in a total of $890K. The most recent, called “$250K in a Day, Trustee Challenge” collected almost $2M with just under 3,000 donors in a matter of 24 hours. Previous to working for Bucknell University, Steve finished a twenty-year career as an educator in public schools in 2008 and entered the Roy H. Park School of Communications at Ithaca College where he graduated with honors with a master of science degree. From there, he worked with development offices at local colleges to design communication and appeal plans. It was at that time that he became intrigued with designing appeal strategies and marketing using communication theory and research. He went on to work for Ithaca College and then Elmira College where he served as the director of annual giving before coming to Bucknell.

With nearly twenty-five years of experience in both the private and institutional practice of architecture, Peter has been responsible for nearly $1 billion worth of construction over the last decade at the University of Delaware and the University of North Carolina-Chapel Hill. Peter served as the project director for the architectural firm Ayers Saint Gross of Baltimore, MD during the design of the Interdisciplinary Science and Engineering Laboratory, and then as the University Architect during its construction. With these dual roles as reference, Peter can provide a unique perspective on the design and implementation of Delaware’s STEM facility. Peter is a member of the Society for College and University Planning, the US Green Building Council, the American Institute of Architects, and the Association of University Architects. His professional focus is on the beneficial impacts of collaborative planning with faculty, staff, and students.

Serving as a laboratory planner and designer at RFD, Mark combines his broad architectural experience with a keen personal interest in serving the science and technology community. With over thirty years of planning, design, and project management experience, Mark has been responsible for over four million square feet of new and renovated research, educational, government, and private industry facilities. His academic laboratory projects have included facilities at institutions such as the University of California, Florida Atlantic University, University of North Carolina, University of Michigan, Queens University of Charlotte, Indian River State College, and many others. He has also served as laboratory consultant for international projects including the Samsung Advanced Biomedical Research Center in Seoul, South Korea and the Biological Sciences Complex at the University of British Columbia in Vancouver, Canada. Mr. Ranyak received his bachelor of science and master of architecture degrees from the Massachusetts Institute of Technology, is a licensed architect in five states, and is certified by the National Council of Architectural Registration Boards. He is a LEED accredited professional, and is affiliated with the AIA Committee on Architecture for Education, American Association for the Advancement of Science, and Florida Educational Facility Planners’ Association. Mr. Ranyak’s projects have […]

As a former chairperson at a community college and now, in her role as the director charged with supporting SVSU’s adjunct faculty, Ann has worked to find effective means to meet the needs of the adjunct faculty. She has done this by providing professional development in teaching and learning, finding novel ways to streamline the adjunct faculty employment process and supplying the adjunct faculty with the tools necessary for course preparation and delivery.

Prior to coming to the VCCS, Chris served as the chief human resources officer for a community college and a state university in the University System of Georgia and a Bates College in Maine. Chris has managed more than 20 presidential search processes with colleges and universities. He is a former question writer for the PHR and SPHR examinations administered by the Human Resources Certification Institute (HRCI). His areas of expertise are staffing, training, and performance management—or, in his words, “finding, developing, and managing talent in organizations.” He is the author of numerous human resources related articles and three books, including Performance Conversations: An Alternative to Appraisals and Search Committees: A Comprehensive Guide to Successful Faculty, Staff, and Administrative Searches. He has recently completed his fourth book, tentatively titled, Performance Questions: 30 Minutes, 7 Answers, Unlimited Results. He has presented at conferences and consulted with clients in the US, Canada, Australia, and South Africa on HR-related topics. He holds a master’s degree in HR management, a doctor of philosophy degree in HR development, and he is certified as a senior professional in human resources.