Trey Martindale
University of Memphis - Download Profile/Vita

Thank you to nominating committee for recommending me as a candidate for President-Elect. And thanks to you, AECT member, for your interest in the well being of our organization.

Introduction

Please allow me to briefly introduce myself. I am a tenured Associate Professor with the University of Memphis in Instructional Design and Technology. I have been a professor for 15 years. I have served as our Program Coordinator for four years, and as Associate Department Chair of a very large department. I received my graduate education at Texas Tech University and Texas A&M University.

My degrees are in secondary education (biology), physiology, and instructional technology. Before serving in higher education I worked in health care in a large teaching hospital as a patient educator and cardiac rehabilitation specialist.

I am fortunate to work with very bright graduate students on research problems related to online learning environments. Recently this has meant investigating how to help organizations improve their employee training. I’m Director of an instructional design and e-learning consultancy within the university. Part of my role is to persuade company executives and non-profits to partner with us so our students can get real world instructional design experience working as paid consultants. I also work as an instructional design consultant for various organizations. We have several large companies in the Memphis region like FedEx, Autozone, Hilton, and International Paper – so there are many opportunities for students to get practical experience in instructional design.

My expertise is in the design of online environments and academic programs. I’ve helped create online degree programs at three different universities, and in my current program we recently launched our first cohort of students in our fully online doctoral degree program, so we’re excited about that.

My Experience with AECT

I joined AECT in 1998 and have been fortunate to participate in every annual convention since then. I have been able to serve in a number of leadership roles within our organization. I’d like to highlight four roles that are most relevant in preparing me for the role of AECT Convention Planner, and President:

1. I have served on our Board of Directors for the past eight years, and I was elected by our membership three times.

2. I helped to plan our annual convention in Dallas, serving with colleagues Ward Cates and Tom Hergert, so I understand how to put together a good AECT convention.

3. I was the convention program planner and then president of a large division--the Design and Development division.

4. Most recently, I served on the Strategic Planning team, as we wrote our guiding document for AECT going forward.

Personally and professionally, AECT has been so very beneficial for me, and I am indebted to many in our organization who have invested in me. I look forward to serving in AECT for many years to come. I purchased a lifetime membership, which is a pretty good deal. Phil would be most pleased to talk to you about that option.

My Vision and Goals for AECT

I’d like to cast my vision for AECT, and represent that vision with these goals. My goals are the following:

     1. Continuing the recent outstanding work in growing our international presence. This includes reaching agreements with additional nations for collaboration, research, exchanges, events, publications, etc.

     2. Expanding our presence and advocacy in terms of policy making at all levels. We produce good research, and decision makers need to know about it. I will follow through on the idea of AECT liaisons and “ambassadors” to legislative bodies, related organizations, and affiliates, as described in our new strategic plan.

     3. Enhancing our online presence. We must improve our online interaction within our membership, and improve how we communicate with external stakeholders and influencers.

     4. Keeping our costs of entry and participation as low as reasonably and fiscally possible, particularly for student members. I am convinced that we must keep student costs low. Students represent 30% of our active membership.

     5. Being as open as possible as an organization, in terms of our use and promotion of open educational resources.

AECT is in a very positive position at this time. We are sound financially, (thanks to the work of our staff and board, and the ECT Foundation). Due to my years on the board I have a good understanding of our budget and financial situation.

Conclusion

It would be an honor to serve as convention planner and then president, and I thank you for your consideration. I understand all that the jobs entail, and I’m prepared for the challenge. I have a really good network of colleagues within AECT, which certainly can help “turn the wheels” of the work we need to accomplish together. AECT is my professional organization of choice, and has been very beneficial to me. I am pleased to serve in whatever way we need.