Office of Academic Outreach

Staff

The staff of the Office of Academic Outreach has developed undergraduate and masters level academic outreach programs and distance learning courses in health education and health promotion; developed interactive websites related to worksite health promotion, advocacy, and distance education; administered the development and delivery of masters level courses for a national professional association; and published manuscripts in high quality journals related to health education and health promotion. Other accomplishments of the OAO are listed below:

  1. OAO staff developed the Online Degree Completion Program in Health Studies at UNCG. This program allows community college graduates from North Carolina across the US and worldwide to complete the final two plus years of study to earn a Bachelors Degree in Public Health Education from UNCG.
  2. OAO staff developed the North Carolina Effective Health Education Continuing Education Program for the North Carolina Department of Public Instruction to allow North Carolina Physical Education teachers to receive a Health Education endorsement.
  3. OAO staff designed, marketed, and delivered the Distance Education Masters of Arts Program in Health Education while at the University of Alabama. This program has had over 300 graduates and generated millions of dollars for the university and the Department of Health Science.
  4. OAO staff provided administrative and course design support for the Health Education and Promotion (HEP) Network, a joint venture of the American Association for Health Education, the Foundation for the Advancement of Health Education, and other corporate and university partners. The HEP network provides a menu of high quality courses that students can complete for undergraduate or graduate credits and continuing education credits.
  5. OAO staff created the Office of Health Informatics at Texas A&M University. OHI offered online undergraduate and graduate courses to over 1500 students each semester.
Jim Eddy

Jim Eddy

Jim Eddy is Director of the OAO at UNCG and also serves as a Professor in the Department of Public Health Education at UNCG. Dr. Eddy has designed, implemented, and evaluated a wide range of Academic Outreach programs and Distance Learning courses at Penn State, the University of Alabama, Texas A&M University, and now the University of North Carolina at Greensboro. He has published widely in the areas of Public Health Education, Distance Learning, and Business Related Applications. He holds a doctoral degree from Penn State, is a Certified Health Education Specialist, and was the 2006 AAHE Scholar.

Leah Tompkins

Leah Tompkins

Leah Tompkins is the Associate Director of Operations and Online Program Coordinator for the Office of Academic Outreach. She began her career in distance education at Texas A&M University in College Station, TX while working towards Master's of Science in Health Education. Leah received a Bachelor's of Science in Health Promotion from Emporia State University in Emporia, KS and an Associate's of Science in Information Technology from Johnson County Community College in Overland Park, KS. She is currently enrolled in UNCG's Doctorate of Education with a concentration in Higher Education.

Leah assists potential students with pre-transfer transcript evaluation for students interested in completing their Bachelor's degree online through the Bachelor's of Science in Public Health Online Degree Completion program. She also advises many of the students in the program. She also coordinates marketing, course development, CMS management, scheduling, and many other aspects of the Office of Academic Outreach.


Maggie Chrismon

Maggie Chrismon

Maggie Chrismon is an Associate Director for the Office of Academic Outreach and an Instructor in Public Health. She received her undergraduate degree in Public Health from the University of North Carolina at Greensboro, and her Masters in Public Health also from the University of North Carolina at Greensboro. Currently, Maggie assists the Office of Academic Outreach with research activities and student service.

Maggie works with students enrolled in the Public Health online courses, and she also serves as an advisor for students in the Public Health Online Degree Completion Program. Furthermore, she works with students that intend to pursue the Bachelors of Science in the Public Health Online Degree Completion Program.

Catherine Parlier

Catherine Parlier

Catherine Parlier is an Advisor for the Office of Academic Outreach and an Instructor in Public Health. She received her undergraduate and her Masters degree in Public Health from the University of North Carolina at Greensboro.

Catherine assists potential students with pre-transfer transcript evaluation for individuals interested in completing their Bachelor's degree online through the Bachelor's of Science in Public Health Online Degree Completion program. She also serves as an adviser and instructor to many of the students admitted to the program.



Elise Eifert picture

Elise K. Eifert, MS, CHES

Elise Eifert received her Bachelor's degree in Health Education from Southern Illinois University and her Master's degree in Health Promotion from Indiana University. After graduation, she spent 4 years in Florida working as an Alzheimer's disease educator before returning to school to pursue her doctorate in public health education at UNCG. Her research interests involve issues related to healthy aging, caregiver health, and elder abuse. She is a Certified Health Education Specialist.

Elise is a graduate assistant in the Office of Academic Outreach and works with students in HEA 260 Human Sexuality. In addition to this work, she also assists Dr. Eddy and Ms. Tompkins with projects involving the Office of Academic Outreach. When she's not working, Elise is getting to know North Carlina and all it has to offer. She enjoys sports, the outdoors, reading, and volunteering.

Emily Madsen picture

Emily Madsen

Emily Madsen received her Bachelors degree in Psychology from the University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill. After graduating, Emily worked as a post-baccalaureate fellow at the National Institutes of Health in Bethesda, MD where she managed a study on maternal depression and child development. She spent 3 years as a study coordinator at the New York University Child Study Center in New York, NY before starting graduate school. She is currently working towards her Masters of Public Health Education at UNCG.

Emily is a graduate assistant in the Office of Academic Outreach and is the video editor for online courses. She hopes to combine her interests in community public health issues and documentary filmmaking. Emily's personal interests include traveling, photography, seeing movies, and spending time with family and friends.

Michele Porter picture

Michele Porter

Michele Porter, formerly a graduate from NC State University, is currently a graduate student working with the Public Health Department in the Office of Academic Outreach at UNCG. She has several interests in public health, including chronic diseases and community interventions. Upon graduating from the MPH program, Michele intends on pursuing her public health career and achieving either a DrPH or a Ph.D.

Affiliate Members of OAO:


Beth Chaney

Beth Chaney

Dr. Beth H. Chaney is an Assistant Professor at the University of Florida. She received her B.S. in Biology and M.A. in Health Studies from The University of Alabama, and her Ph.D. in Health Education and Promotion from Texas A&M University (TAMU) in August 2006. She is a Certified Health Education Specialist. Dr.Chaney's research interests include survey development and the evaluation of distance education quality.

Dr. Chaney came to UF after serving as an Assistant Professor at East Carolina University. While earning her Ph.D. at TAMU, Dr. Chaney served as a Lecturer, Graduate Research Assistant, Internship Supervisor and Graduate Teaching Assistant, as well as Assistant to the Editor and Copy Editor for the American Journal of Health Studies.

Dr. Chaney serves on the Board of Directors of the American Association for Health Education. Dr. Chaney also served as a Co-guest Editor for International Electronic Journal of Health Education: Special Issue on Distance Education Models and Outcomes and serves as the Representative for AAHE on the development of a joint position paper with the Society of Directors of State Health, Physical Education and Recreation on quality assessment of distance education in k-12.


Don Chaney

Don Chaney

Dr. J. Don Chaney is the Assistant Dean for Distance Education and Outreach in the College of Health and Human Performance at the University of Florida. He holds a Master of Science in Health Education and Promotion from Mississippi State University, a Ph.D. in Health Education and Promotion from The University of Alabama, and is a Certified Health Education Specialist. Dr. Chaney has held faculty appointments at East Carolina University (ECU), Texas A&M University (TAMU), and The University of Alabama (UA).

Chaney's research interests include the design of distance and continuing education courseware, the use of technological applications in health education and promotion, and the professional development of health educators. He has numerous publications and has conducted over 80 research presentations in these areas. While at TAMU, he directed the Office of Health Informatics which generated approximately 3 million dollars in revenue over his 4 year supervision. He has also served as Co-Director of the ECU Worksite Health Promotion program, Director of the Laboratory for Distance Education Research at ECU, and as Coordinator of The University of Alabama Master of Arts Program in Health Studies.


Amber Muenzenberger

Amber Muenzenberger

Amber Muenzenberger received her B.S in Health in 2007 and M.S. in Health Education in 2008 from Texas A&M University. She is also a Certified Health Education Specialist.

Currently, she is the Director for the Office of Health Informatics (OHI) at Texas A&M University. Amber began working with health distance education courses in the Summer of 2006 as a student worker within the OHI. She continued her work as a graduate assistant teaching web-based versions of HLTH 334 Womens Health and HLTH 236 Race, Ethnicity, and Health as well as coordinating technology initiatives within the OHI. She also interned at the Center for Distance Learning and Research at Texas A&M in the summer of 2008. Amber's interests include technology applications in health education, production of distance education courseware, and worksite wellness.


Greg Wojtowicz

Greg Wojtowicz

G. Greg Wojtowicz is an Adjunct Professor in the Public Health Department at The University of North Carolina at Greensboro. Dr. Wojtowicz has developed a variety of community-based health behavior interventions. He holds a doctoral degree from Penn State University and was a former school health educator and coach in New York State.


OAO Selected Publications and Presentations

The staff of the Office of Academic Outreach (OAO) in the School of Health and Human Performance (HHP) at UNCG has published widely in the peer reviewed professional literature. You may review their curriculum vitae in the OAO staff link on this website for a comprehensive listing of publications. Some manuscripts specifically related to Academic Outreach, Distance Learning, and related marketing applications are provided below.

Publications

  1. Chaney, E.H., Chaney, J.D., and Eddy, J.M., (2010), The Context of Distance Learning Programs in Higher Education: Five Enabling Assumptions. Online Journal of Distance Learning Administration. Vol. XIII, Number IV, Winter 2010. PDF
  2. Chaney, E.H., Chaney, J.D., Eddy, J.M., and Stellefson, M.L., (2008), Making the Case for Distance Education in the Health Education and Health Promotion Professions. International Electronic Journal of Health Education. Vol. 11, pp 11-18. PDF
  3. Chaney, J.D., Chaney, E.H., Stellefson, M.L., & Eddy, J.M. (2008). Strategies for designing distance education programs/courses. The Health Educator, 25(1), pp 18-22.
  4. Chaney, B.H., Eddy, J.M., et al, (2007), A Primer on Quality Indicators of Distance Education. Health Promotion Practice, Vol. 10(2), pp 222-231. PDF
  5. Chaney, B.H., and Eddy, J.M., et al, (2007), Development of an Instrument to Assess Student Opinions of the Quality of Distance Education Courses. The American Journal of Distance Education, Vol. 21(3), pp 145-164. Article PDF Instrument PDF
  6. Eddy, J.M. and Stellefson, M. L., (2009), Entrepreneurship in Health Education and Health Promotion: Five Cardinal Rules. Health Promotion Practice, Vol. 10(1), pp 333-341. PDF
  7. Eddy, J. M. and Robinson, E. M. (2009). Nailing Jello to a Tree: The Science and Ethics of Health Coaching. American Journal of Health Studies, Volume 24 (1), pp362-365.
  8. Eddy, J.M., (2006), Epistemology of the Health Education Process. American Journal of Health Education, Vol. 37(5) pp 258-270. PDF
  9. Eddy, J.M., Donahue, R.E., and Chaney, J.D., (2001), A Contextual Relative Approach to Designing a Masters Program in Health Education Using Distance Education Technologies. International Electronic Journal of Health Education, Vol. 4, pp 377-384.
  10. Hensleigh, K.E., Eddy, J.M., Wang, M.Q., Dennison, D., & Chaney, J.D. (2004). The impact of a computerized dietary assessment on nutrition knowledge. International Electronic Journal of Health Education, 7, pp 43-49.
  11. McNeil, E.E., Eddy, J.M. (2005). Planning ADE: Implications from the Literature on Student Perspectives, International Electronic Journal of Health Education, 8, pp 70-79. PDF
  12. Perko, M.A., Chaney, J.D., Chaney, E.H., Gordon, B.D., & Eddy, J.M. (2008). Lessons lived: Development and discovery in health education distance education programs. The Health Educator, 25(1), pp 11-17.
  13. Stellefson, M.L., Eddy, J.M., Chaney, J.D., and Chaney, E.H., (2008), The Marketing of Distance Education. International Electronic Journal of Health Education, Vol.11, pp 85-96, (Supplemental Issue). PDF
  14. Stellefson, M.L., and Eddy, J.M., (2008), Health Education and Marketing Processes: 2 Related Methods for Achieving Health Behavior Change. American Journal of Health Behavior. Vol. 32(5), pp 488-496. PDF
  15. Stellefson, M.L.*, Chaney, E.H., & Chaney, J.D. (2008). Digital divide: myth or reality? American Journal of Health Education, 39(2), 42-48.

Presentations

  1. Tompkins, L. (2011, July). Best Practices in Distance Education Among Inter-Institutional Collaborators. Session presented at the Appalachian State University Summer FreeLearning Conference, Boone, NC.
  2. Tompkins, L. & Holderness, C. (2011, July). Making Something Out of Nothing: How Applying a Different Approach to Leadership Has Increased Recognition and Support for Online Students. Session presented at the Appalachian State University Summer FreeLearning Conference, Boone, NC.
  3. Barry, A.E.*, Tompkins, L.*, Chaney, J.D., Chaney, E.H., Eddy, J.M., & Icke, A.** (2007, March). Engaging students in active discussion through the use of RSS technology in health education. Session presented at the American Alliance of Health, Physical Education, Recreation, and Dance (AAHPERD) National Convention and Exposition, Baltimore, MD.
  4. Barry, A.E., Tompkins, L., Chaney, J.D., Chaney, B., & Icke, A. (2007, March). Increasing Accessibility to Lectures Outside the Classroom: A Demonstration in Podcasting. American Alliance of Health, Physical Education, Recreation, and Dance (AAHPERD) National Convention and Exposition, Baltimore, MD. (Poster)
  5. Carr, B. & Icke, A. (2008, October). An Alternative Course Management System. Texas A&M University College of Education and Human Development.
  6. Chaney, J.D. Health Promotion in the U.S.A.: The digital age of health promotion. (March 12, 2010). Invited Guest Lecture at Korea National Sport University (Seoul, Korea).
  7. Chaney, J.D. Current and future issues in distance education and technological applications in health education. (November 11, 2008). Invited Guest Lecture at the University of Florida.
  8. Chaney, E.H., Chaney, J.D., Stellefson, M.L.*, & Eddy, J.M. (2006, April). A qualitative analysis of student satisfaction with asynchronous web-based undergraduate courses in health education. Poster presented at the American Alliance of Health, Physical Education, Recreation, and Dance (AAHPERD) National Convention and Exposition, Salt Lake City, UT.
  9. Chaney, E.H., Stellefson, M.L.*, Chaney, J.D., & Eddy, J.M. (2005, April). Comparison of selected quality indicators for on-campus and distance education courses. Poster presented at the American Alliance of Health, Physical Education, Recreation, and Dance (AAHPERD) National Convention and Exposition, Chicago, IL.
  10. Chaney, E.H., Chaney, J.D., Stellefson, M.L.*, & Eddy, J.M. (2005, December). An evaluation of student satisfaction with asynchronous web-based undergraduate courses in health education. Poster presented at the Society for Public Health Education (SOPHE) Annual Conference, Philadelphia, PA.
  11. Chaney, J. D., Chaney, E. H., Icke, A., and Eddy, J. M.; Evaluating Distance Education courseware. Poster Presented at the American Alliance for Health, Physical Education, Recreation, and Dance National Convention and Exposition, Indianapolis, IN, March 19-21, 2010.
  12. Chaney, J. D., Chaney, E. H., & Icke, A. (2010, March). Using Qualtrics to Evaluate Distance Education. American Alliance of Health, Physical Education, Recreation, and Dance (AAHPERD) National Convention and Exposition, Indianapolis, IN.
  13. Chaney, J.D., Chaney, E.H., Stellefson, M.L.*, & Eddy, J.M. (2006, March). Technological strategies to enhance effectiveness of asynchronous distance education. Poster presented at the Southern District Alliance for Health Physical Education, Recreation, and Dance (SDAHPERD) Convention, Virginia Beach, VA.
  14. Chaney, J.D., Chaney, E.H., & Eddy, J.M. (2005, February). A comparison of traditional classroom and asynchronous distance education course evaluations. Poster presented at the American Academy of Health Behavior (AAHB) Scientific Conference, Charleston, S.C.
  15. Chaney, J.D. Developing distance education courseware: What is in it for the department, college, and university. (April 25, 2005). Invited Guest Lecture at the University of Arkansas.
  16. Chaney, J.D., Eddy, J.M., & Chaney, E.H. (2005, April). Utilizing a technological innovation in designing distance education courseware. Poster presented at the American Alliance of Health, Physical Education, Recreation, and Dance (AAHPERD) National Convention and Exposition, Chicago, IL.
  17. Chaney, J.D. & Eddy, J.M. (2004, March). AAHE online courses: The HEP Network. Session presented at the Society for State Directors of Health, Physical Education, and Recreation, (SSDHPER) Annual Conference, New Orleans, LA.
  18. Chaney, J.D., Eddy, J.M., Fitzhugh, E.C., Leaver-Dunn, D. & Donahue, R.E. (2002, May). A systematic contextual approach to evaluating the credibility of online health reources. Poster presented at the Society for Public Health Education (SOPHE) National Midyear Scientific Conference, Cincinnati, OH.
  19. Delissaint, D.*, Soleimani, G.*, Green, B.L., Chaney, J.D., Eddy, J.M., & Ji, Q.* (2007, March). Utilizing distance education strategies in teaching about health disparities. Poster presented at the American Alliance of Health, Physical Education, Recreation, and Dance (AAHPERD) National Convention and Exposition, Baltimore, MD.
  20. DeMaria, A.L., Randa, I., & Icke, A. (2010, February) Effectively Managing a Large Online Courses. Teaching with Technology Conference, College Station, TX.
  21. Dickens, B., Eddy, J., Dollar, J. (2010, February) Online Learning. Southern District American Alliance for Health, Physical Education, Recreation, and Dance Convention, Myrtle Beach, SC, February 10-14, 2010.
  22. Eddy, J. M., Tompkins, L. E., et al. North Carolina Effective School Health Program, North Carolina Department of Public Instruction, Healthful Living Coordinators Conference, Winston-Salem, NC, November 11, 2009.
  23. Eddy, J. M., Perko, M. A., et al. Academic Roundtable on Workforce Development. North Carolina Public Health Association, Annual Conference, Ashville, NC, September 30-31, 2009.
  24. Eddy, J.M., Chaney, D., Chaney, B., & Icke, A. (2008, April). Development of the Virtual Academy: Living History of Health Education. American Alliance of Health, Physical Education, Recreation, and Dance (AAHPERD) National Convention and Exposition, Dallas, TX.
  25. Eddy, J.M., Gold, R.S., Chaney, J.D., & Chaney, E.H. (2007, March). The virtual academy: A living history of health education. Poster presented at the American Academy of Health Behavior (AAHB) Scientific Conference, Savannah, GA. (Received Best Poster Award at the Meeting)
  26. Eddy, J.M., Chaney, E.H., Chaney, J.D., & Videto, D. (2006, April). The HEP Network: Technological and administrative issues. Session presented at the American Alliance of Health, Physical Education, Recreation, and Dance (AAHPERD) National Convention and Exposition, Salt Lake City, UT.
  27. Eddy, J.M. & Chaney, J.D. Online graduate credit courses: Positive experiences in health education. (March 30, 2006). Invited Pre-Conference Lecture at the Lamar University 3rd Annual Education Research Conference.
  28. Eddy, J.M., Chaney, J.D., Fitzhugh, E.C., & Perko, M.D. (2005, April). Student opinions of a distance education masters program in health education. Poster presented at the American Alliance of Health, Physical Education, Recreation, and Dance (AAHPERD) National Convention and Exposition, Chicago, IL.
  29. Eddy, J.M., Chaney, J.D., & Woosley, J. (2005, December). The integration of distance education into the university setting. Session presented at the Texas Alliance for Health, Physical Education, Recreation, and Dance (TAHPERD) Annual Conference, Corpus Christi, TX
  30. Eddy, J.M. & Chaney, J. D. (2004, May). The HEP Network: A collaborative partnership designed to enhance professional development. Session presented at the CDC/DHPE National Conference on Health Education and Health Promotion and Society for Public Health Education (SOPHE) Midyear Conference, Orlando, FL.
  31. Elphingston, J.E., Videto, D.M., Wang, M.Q., Eddy, J.M., Chaney, E.H., & Chaney, J.D. (2007, March). The AAHE/FAHE HEP Network: Solutions in distance education. Session presentated at the American Alliance of Health, Physical Education, Recreation, and Dance (AAHPERD) National Convention and Exposition, Baltimore, MD.
  32. Hanik, B.*, Voyer, N.*, Chaney, E.H., Chaney, J.D., Eddy, J.M., & Young, M.** (2007, March). Powering up the classroom: Podcasting in health education. Poster presented at the American Alliance of Health, Physical Education, Recreation, and Dance (AAHPERD) National Convention and Exposition, Baltimore, MD.
  33. Icke, A. & Colmbus, Y. (2010, March) Implementing Moodle: Lessons Learned. Texas Distance Learning Annual Conference, Houston, TX.
  34. Icke, A. & Hanik, B. (2010, February) Moodle-ing. Teaching with Technology Conference, College Station, TX.
  35. Icke, A., Chaney, D., Chaney, B., Eddy, J. (2009, April). Applications of Moodle within Health Education/Promotion. American Alliance of Health, Physical Education, Recreation, and Dance (AAHPERD) National Convention and Exposition, Tampa, FL.
  36. Icke, A. (2008, September) What is Moodle? Presented at Texas A&M University Department of Education Human Resource Development.
  37. Icke, A. (2008, March). What is Moodle? The University of North Carolina Greensboro for the Department of Public Health Education.
  38. Kittleson, M.J., Conley, M., Chaney, J.D., Chaney, E.H., & Oomen-Early, J. (2010, March). Technology Questions that Youre Too Embarrassed to Ask Your Kids. Session presented at the American Alliance of Health, Physical Education, Recreation, and Dance (AAHPERD) National Convention and Exposition, Indianapolis, IN.
  39. Gordon, B.C.*, Perko, M.A., Eddy, J.M., & Chaney, J.D. (2007, March). Evolution of The University of Alabamas distance health education program. Session presented at the American Alliance of Health, Physical Education, Recreation, and Dance (AAHPERD) National Convention and Exposition, Baltimore, MD.
  40. Perko, M., and Eddy, J. M. (2010, February) Positioning Worksite Health Education for National Initiatives. Southern District American Alliance for Health, Physical Education, Recreation and Dance Convention, Myrtle Beach, SC, February 10-14, 2010.
  41. Stellefson, M. L.*, Chaney, J. D., & Chaney, E. H. (2008, October). Current state of the digital divide in health education. Session presented at the Society for Public Health Education (SOPHE) National Meeting, San Diego, CA.
  42. Stellefson, M.L.*, Chen, C.*, Zhang, J.*, Chaney, J.D., Chaney, E.H., & Eddy, J.M. (2007, March). Engaging students in active discussion through the use of RSS technology in health education. Poster presented at the American Alliance of Health, Physical Education, Recreation, and Dance (AAHPERD) National Convention and Exposition, Baltimore, MD.
  43. Stellefson, M.L.*, Eddy, J.M., Chaney, J.D., & Chaney, E.H. (2005, April). Designing undergraduate health courses for online delivery. Poster presented at the American Alliance of Health, Physical Education, Recreation, and Dance (AAHPERD) National Convention and Exposition, Chicago, IL.