A few weeks ago, we talked about the big plans in the works for improving the educational opportunities MLA offers, how they're organized, and how they're delivered.
Barry Grant will be leading the effort to make that vision real as MLA's new director of education. Barry will join the MLA headquarters staff on September 28.
Grant holds a doctorate in counseling psychology from Northwestern University. Most of his professional work has been in education: as an instructor for college and university students; as a curriculum and program developer working with faculty, subject matter experts, and instructional designers; and as an administrator, spending the last five years at Northcentral University, an institution specializing in leading-edge online adult education.
As a teacher, he directed and developed programs for gifted and talented students, counseled students, and wrote or cowrote curricula, notably a sequence of research courses for doctoral students and courses and learning outcomes for a doctoral program in evidence-based practice. As a program developer and manager, he cocreated a training and coaching program for Northcentral University faculty in a “teaching through feedback” approach to online instruction. He has had key roles in significant organizational changes and in increasing enrollment and revenue.
Grant has a strong entrepreneurial spirit. One of his sources of greatest satisfaction in his professional life is working collaboratively with others to create new programs and new ways of serving customers.
In his new role, Grant will lead MLA’s strategy and programs in continuing education, annual meeting education, Academy of Health Information Professionals credentialing, and all other education-related programs, as well as MLA’s relationships with its many external educational partners.
He is very excited to be joining the MLA team of staff and volunteers at a time when MLA is launching its ambitious educational strategic objective.