Down-to-earth college prof with 20+ years experience and a passion to help students learn offers writing, math and college/career success lessons and coaching

James's resume

JAMES H. COOK
1213 Realoaks Drive, Fort Worth, TX 76131 • (concealed information) • (concealed information)

EXPERT: STUDENT SUCCESS / ACADEMIC COACHING / TUTORING
• Passionate about helping students learn / enjoy learning
• Student development / success theory
• Best teaching / tutoring practices for various learning styles
• Subjects: various math, English / writing, dissertations / theses, study skills / test preparation
• Patient, thorough, professional, adapts well to context
• 25+ years teaching / tutoring experience
• Student success coaching /mentoring / advising
• Teaching / tutoring students, ages 7 – 70
• Tutoring students whose first language is not English
• Adept at explaining difficult concepts in easy-to-understand manner

PROFESSIONAL EXPERIENCE

WHALES ENGLISH, Beijing, China
ESL TEACHER / CURRICULUM CONSULTANT – Grades 1 – 8 (2018 – Present)
Teach English as a Second Language to children, ages 6 – 13, via Zoom and proprietary WE LMS. Serve as consultant in development of new online ESL curriculum. Work closely with colleagues, leadership, children of various ages and parents.

TARLETON STATE UNIVERSITY, Stephenville, TX
ADJUNCT INSTRUCTOR – Marketing and Computer Information Science Department (2019)
Teach online marketing courses, providing exceptional, “real-world” learning experience focused on helping students learn subject matter and how to apply it using effective critical thinking systems / logical thought processes.
• Guide students to successfully apply traditional, digital, and guerilla marketing concepts and strategies to personal, career, business, and other organizational contexts.

THE DEEP-MINDED COMPANY (TDMC), Weatherford, TX / Fort Collins, CO
COLLEGE SUCCESS & PERSONAL DEVELOPMENT COACH / ORGANIZATIONAL STRATEGIST (2002 – 2019)
Part-time passion project, coaching and consulting individuals, groups, and organizations on college career navigation, life / career design, self-mastery, and peak performance.
• Coached / consulted for 400+ individuals and organizations.
o Individuals: college / university students nationwide who were attending, nearing graduation or in early career stages.
o Continually sharpened expertise in student / academic affairs-related dynamics, laws, practices, policies, and processes.
o Maintained expertise in latest student success and retention theory, tools, strategies, and programs.
• Organizations: on-campus sororities, fraternities, student governments, and other student organizations, small businesses, non-profits, and religious organizations.

COLORADO STATE UNIVERSITY, Fort Collins, CO
MARKETING INSTRUCTOR, College of Business (2013 – 2018)
Taught Fundamentals of Marketing courses to upperclassmen minoring in business. Created learning experience incorporating rich combination of lecture, discussion, and collaboration. Emphasized importance of effective execution of ethical marketing practices, sound reasoning, critical thinking, evidence-based planning / decision-making.
• Received consistent aggregate student evaluations of 4.5+ / 5.0 from 400 – 600 students each semester on subject matter expertise, communication skills, organization / preparation, learning environment, and availability.
• Tutored / mentored students, ages 17 – 70.

CAPELLA UNIVERSITY (Online), Minneapolis, MN
DISSERTATION COMMITTEE CHAIR / RESEARCH METHODOLOGIST, Higher Education Leadership Program (2004 – 2013)
• Chaired and mentored 60+ students through dissertation process. First defense passage rate: 90%. Served as second member and research methodologist on 27 committees.
• Helped students select, execute, write on results of quantitative and qualitative research. Research focused on student development / maturation, student learning / persistence / success, and impact of college experience on students.

PROFESSOR (2010 – 2013) / ADJUNCT PROFESSOR (2004 – 2010), Higher Education Leadership Program
Provided academic advising and mentoring for 200+ students.
• Taught graduate and doctoral courses: Higher Education Administration, History of Higher Education, Student Services / Personnel Development, Student Development Theory, Financial Aid & Scholarships, and Student Success / Retention.
• Provided a variety of online student services to students, including holistic advising and mentoring.

LARIMER COUNTY COMMUNITY COLLEGE, Cheyenne, WY
VICE PRESIDENT FOR STUDENT SERVICES & ENROLLMENT MANAGER (2007 – 2010)
Provided strategic and operational leadership for division of 60+ professional staff. Prepared, championed, and managed multi-million-dollar budget. Division included: Admissions, Athletics, Campus Safety & Security, Career Services, Counseling and Advising, Financial Aid, International / Diversity Services, Judicial Affairs, Orientation / Freshman Programs, Non-traditional Student Services, Registrar, Housing / Residence Life, Service Learning, Student Activities / Student Center.
• Introduced more inclusive, evidence-informed strategic and operational planning process.
• Created division’s first, comprehensive student learning / program effectiveness assessment system.
• Co-Chaired with Vice President for Academic Affairs SACS compliance committee. Spearheaded preparation of QEP. Prepared division for / guided it through SACS accreditation reaffirmation process.
• Redesigned organizational structure, resulting in more efficient, effective reporting and coordination division wide.
• Led development and implementation of institution’s first strategic enrollment management and strategic diversity plans.
• Spearheaded, in collaboration with academic counterpart, integration of curriculum / co-curricular programming and support.
• Championed diversity / inclusion programs and strategies, increasing student enrollments for adult learners 22%, African American students 21%, Hispanic-American students 23%, and international students 29% over three-year period.
• Assembled team of campus leaders, faculty, staff, students, law enforcement professionals, community members to create and implement first campus violence prevention-management plan / at-risk student early alert program.
• Served as a volunteer academic tutor.

TARLETON STATE UNIVERSITY, Stephenville, TX
ADJUNCT ASSISTANT PROFESSOR OF MANAGEMENT, MARKETING, & ADMINISTRATIVE SYSTEMS
DEAN OF ENROLLMENT MANAGEMENT (2005 – 2007)
Provided strategic and operational leadership for 25+ professional staff. Departments: Admissions, Registrar, Scholarships, and School Relations.
• Conducted and reported on quantitative and qualitative enrollment, student success, and retention research.
• Reorganized Registrar’s Office to improve operating efficiency.
• Guided design and implementation of strategic recruitment and retention plans, boosting freshman enrollment from -4% to +9% in three years.
• Collaborated with faculty to enhance freshmen experience and other programs, improving freshman retention in two years: first six weeks (from 80% to 89%), first semester (76% to 81%), freshman fall-to-sophomore fall (61% to 64%).
• Streamlined business processes, decreasing admissions application processing turn-around time 75%.
• Championed funding for new welcome / student recruitment center (re-purpose of extant building space at $500k).
• Taught organizational behavior, principles of management, business strategy, and business statistics.
• Tutored students in the College of Business.

ASSOCIATE VICE PRESIDENT FOR STUDENT SERVICES (2000 – 2005)
Supervised directors of Housing and Residence Life, Student Development Center (student union), Financial Aid, Dining Services, and Student Services at Tarleton – Central Texas in Killeen, TX. Managed multi-million-dollar budget. Served as division planning, assessment, and research officer.
• Updated strategic and operational planning process, gaining broad buy-in.
• Spearheaded division-wide preparation for SACS reaffirmation. (No recommendations, one commendation.)
• Partnered closely with all departments to improve division’s assessment and planning process: streamlined paperwork, added / revised / deleted assessment instruments. improved assessment administration / analysis / reporting / application, updated planning process / documents / accountability system.
• As result of improved assessment efforts and incorporation of results into subsequent plans and decisions, Student Services experienced, within two years, 19% increase in students reporting “Excellent”, a 21% increase in students reporting “Very Good” in response to their rating of service quality across all Student Services departments.
• Collaborated with Brad Bankhead, other EM leadership, faculty, and staff to create TSU’s first strategic EM plan.
• Played key planning role in design / build process for new 250-bed residence hall.
• Coordinated, in collaboration with Finance and Administration / Facilities counterparts, plan and process to renovate three residence halls (300+ beds). Project cost: $1 million+.
• Successfully turned Dining Services operating deficit of $251,000 into surplus of $132,000 in two years by designing and implementing plan which included cost-savings resulting from improved operating efficiency; expanded, value-added meal plan options for students and significantly deeper penetration of the faculty-staff-community dining market.

•• ••• ••

Director of Student Success Center & Freshman Year Programs, Henderson State University, Arkadelphia, AR (1997 – 2000)
Instructor (Management, Economics) School of Business, Henderson State University, Arkadelphia, AR (1991 – 1999)
Director of Career Planning & Placement, Henderson State University, Arkadelphia, AR (1989 – 1997)

EDUCATION & CREDENTIALS

UNIVERSITY of ARKANSAS at LITTLE ROCK — Little Rock, AR
Doctor of Higher Educational Leadership (EdD) – Student Development Studies
Dissertation: Identifying Within-Year & Freshman-to-Sophomore Year Persistence Patterns & Associated Causality Among First-Time Freshmen at a Rural, State-Assisted University: A Logistic Analysis

HENDERSON STATE UNIVERSITY — Arkadelphia, AR
Master of Business Administration (MBA), Strategic Management / Marketing

LIBERTY UNIVERSITY – Lynchburg, VA
Master of Arts (MA), Theological Studies – Comparative Religion / Apologetics

Professional Development
• Extensive graduate coursework in psychology, cognitive science, philosophy of the mind (Abilene Christian University)
• CIRP (and YFCY) Data Institute (freshman success & retention longitudinal research training), Higher Education Research Institute (HERI), University of California at Los Angeles

COMMUNITY & PROFESSIONAL SERVICE

• Community: columnist for Weatherford Democrat newspaper, life coach - Watercrest at Towncenter Retirement Community, on-air personality at KRFC 89.7 Public Radio, ministry aid worker - Indigenous Ministries, Inc. (Egypt & India), life coach - Clark County Women’s / Children’s Shelter, various positions - church
• Campus organizations: Marketing Association, F.A.R.M.H.O.U.S.E. Fraternity, Society for Human Resource Management
• Higher education associations: National Association of Student Personnel Administrators (Co-Chair - National Academic Affairs and Student Affairs Collaboration Knowledge Community Board / State Director - Texas Chapter/ Journal Editorial Board), President – Arkansas Chapter ACPA, Association of Institutional Research, Wyoming ACT