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Canyon College

Kurt Diesch, Ph.D., M.S., B.S.
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Biographical Information

Work Experience

The following work experiences have brought my skills to an expert level in the following areas:

• Academic leadership and instruction at higher education institutions from administration as a Dean, instruction of over 100 courses, development of many courses, and service on a variety of academic committees.
• Business management and finance, business strategy, organizational development, and marketing at several technology companies including my own.
• Management and implementation of projects related to Windows software development, Internet-based applications and systems., and data analysis. Software project management through full product life cycle including design, development, QA, release, maintenance, and support.
• Coding and systems expertise in MS C++, ASP, .NET (C# and VB), Java, Windows NT/2000/2003 Server/IIS, Access, MS SQL, Analysis Services, Report Services, VB Script, Javascript, XML

2005 - Present
Touro University International
Cypress, CA

Adjunct Faculty, College of Business Administration

• Instruction and facilitation of online IT courses including Management Information Systems.

2005 - Present
Westwood College Online
Denver, CO

Adjunct Faculty, College of Information Technology

• Instruction and facilitation of online IT courses including Systems Analysis and Design, Game Analysis and Playability, and Unix Operating Systems using Linux.

2004 - Present
AIU
Hoffman Estates, IL

Adjunct Faculty, College of Information Technology

• Instruction and facilitation of online IT courses including Application Development, Data-Connected Applications, Web Applications, Systems Engineering and Software Testing.
• Course development including Systems Analysis and Software Quality and Testing.
• Service on Technology and Academic Policy committees and participation in Building Program Knowledge initiative.
• Awarded “Super Rookie” at November 2004 Annual Faculty Summit

2004 - Present
DeVry University
Oakbrook Terrace, IL

Adjunct Faculty, College of Business

• Instruction and facilitation of online IT courses including Integrated Computer Applications.
• Course development including Integrated Computer Applications.

2004 - 2005
Thinksmart, LLC
San Francisco, CA

Development Manager, Analysis Systems

• Management of data analysis and reporting services development team. Responsible for specifications, project and development team management, systems development, QA, and deployment.
• Interface with clients on projects, specifications, and formulation of business logic.

2003
Scott Community College
Bettendorf, IA

Adjunct Faculty, College of Arts and Sciences

• Instruction and facilitation of Microsoft Office Applications course.

2002-2003
Kaplan University Online
Davenport, IA

Dean, College of Business and Technology

• Provided overall leadership of the college and was responsible for providing a quality academic program. Collaborated with the academic advising, admissions, and marketing departments, and the registrar’s office.
• Recruited and developed the academic coordinators and faculty of the college.
• Developed the academic programs of the college.
• Assessed student achievement and used the results to improve program quality.
• Contributed to the Academic Team and supported other functions of the college including admissions, marketing, academic advising, student support services, and the registrar’s office.
• Enhanced the financial results of the college.

2002
Kaplan College Online
Davenport, IA

Adjunct Faculty, Online

• Instruction and facilitation of online IT courses including Microcomputer Concepts and Computer Applications.

2002
University of Phoenix
Phoenix, AZ

Adjunct Faculty, Online

• Instruction and facilitation of online Business Systems Analysis course covering SDLC and key systems analysis concepts and applications.

1999 - 2001
Myspace.com
San Francisco, CA

Vice-President Product Development

• Key contributor to executive management team in areas of business and technical strategy and planning. Responsible for design, implementation and maintenance of front-end and back-end systems for Internet virtual storage system and technical staffing.
• Managed strategy, design and development of high-traffic web site ultimately handling multi-terabytes real-time data storage and retrieval, 7 million users, and 200,000 visitors per day.
• Developed, staffed, and managed QA and support groups and worked closely with operations group to design and maintain infrastructure. Stand-in for VP Infrastructure.

1999
Touchstone Software
Andover, MA

Director Internet Development

• Guided company’s initial strategy to develop Internet presence.
• Directed transition of outdated utility software line of products to state-of-the-art offerings released for retail sale.
• Implemented process improvements in engineering to coordinate development teams in California, Massachusetts, and Europe.

1991 - 1996
IMSI
Novato, CA

Director, Product Development

• Responsible for all product development activities, including long-range product planning, budgeting, staffing, design, development and maintenance of commercial software products, evaluation of new software and programming technologies, and management of product development functions including engineering, quality assurance, technical publications, technical support, localizations, and product management.
• Grew the Product Development organization from 1 person to 75 and a budget of $7M/annum, concurrent with a growth in company revenues from $3.5M to $65M/annum. Guided product line growth from 1 product producing 80% of company revenues to 10 focused product lines with a lower-risk distribution of revenues.
• Successfully developed, staffed, and managed the Product Development organization of 75 people to develop industry-leading Windows products. Under my direction, TurboCAD and FormTool were the #1 selling retail products in their categories. MasterClips 2nd, Graphics Converter 2nd and WinDelete 4th in their respective categories.
• Achieved a consistent release rate of over 20 commercial retail product SKUs/quarter through recruiting and mentoring a highly motivated, efficient product development staff along with the implementation of phased- approach development processes to reduce delivery risk.
• Successfully created a highly-leveraged Engineering, QA, and content development organization in St. Petersburg, Russia with a staff of 35.

1996 - Present
Enjoy! Software
Eldridge, IA

Owner

• Manage business focused on the development of Internet related products and services.
• Developed commercially successful product “NetAccelerator” recognized as best Internet utility product in 1998 PC Magazine analysis.
• Installed and maintained Internet servers and eCommerce web sites.
• Established a highly qualified staff of software engineers in St. Petersburg, Russia to provide flexible, low-cost work force for contract projects.

1982 - 1991
Applied Micro Systems Technology
Ames, IA

Owner

• Engineering consulting, custom programming and commercial software development and sales. Commercial software included utility and business productivity programs sold throughout the world and eventually acquired by IMSI.
• Developed and presented courses in Management Accounting as an Adjunct Professor in the Department of Industrial Engineering and Management at Oklahoma State University

1991
Oklahoma State University
Stillwater, OK

Adjunct Professor, Department of Industrial and Management Engineering

• Taught Engineering Accounting course to undergraduate engineering students.

1984 - 1989
Iowa State University
Ames, IA

Assistant Professor, Department of Industrial Engineering, Business and Engineering Extension

• Developed, promoted and presented courses in Industrial Engineering and computer applications to business and engineering professionals. Developed and presented undergraduate courses in production and inventory control and project management.

1982 - 1984
Sunstrand Hydro-Transmission
Ames, IA

Manufacturing Engineer

• Responsible for manufacturing support systems and cost estimating. Served key role in implementation of company’s CAD system, implementation of microcomputer use, and factory automation.

Education

1984 - 1989
Iowa State University
Ames, IA
Ph.D. Industrial Engineering, Computer Science Emphasis

1980 - 1982
Iowa State University
Ames, IA
M.S. Industrial Engineering

1976 - 1980
Iowa State University
Ames, IA
B.S. Industrial Engineering