Contact Us

Administration

Avis Kunz

Assistant Dean, Outreach and Online Education

13 Sparks Building
(814) 863-5965
alm2@psu.edu

Avis has worked in higher education administration since the 1980s when she was a program director at Colorado Mountain College in Western Colorado. At Penn State, she directed projects at the Institute for the Study of Adult Literacy and was a program planner in Outreach before joining the College in 2003. In her current position, she oversees the College’s Outreach portfolio, including the World Campus and Continuing Education. She has a BA and MA in English and an Ed.D. in Adult Education from Penn State.

Diana Gruendler

Faculty-in-charge of Letters, Arts, and Sciences; Law and Society World Campus programs

215 Burrowes Building
(814) 865-4383
drg17@psu.edu

Diana, a senior lecturer in English, is entering her tenth year at the university. She brings to the position broad experience with online learning and using technology to build community in the classroom. She has collaborated with the library in conducting research on the use of electronic readers and the use of online communities to develop information literacy in students. Diana is the recipient of teaching awards and has been recognized for her commitment to her students. Prior to coming to Penn State, she served in both academic and student services administrative posts in public and private institutions.

Ryan Fisher

Administrative Support Assistant

013 Sparks
(814) 863-3894
rpf5029@psu.edu

Ryan graduated from Penn State with a BA in English and minors in Tech Writing and IST in May 2012. As an undergraduate, Ryan developed a strong portfolio in online learning. He interned as a technical writer for the College of Arts and Architecture’s e-Learning Institute in spring 2012, and co-founded the experimental open-classroom / book club Lector: A Virtual Book Club in spring 2011. His responsibilities include managing day-to-day office tasks and coordinating meetings.

Learning Design

Cathy Holsing

Director of Learning Design

13B Sparks Building
(814) 865-6065
cjh145@psu.edu

Cathy has worked with Liberal Arts Outreach and Online Learning since 2002. She directs the Learning Design team and oversees the development and delivery of the College's online course portfolio. Cathy also works with faculty to develop online courses. She holds a Bachelors and Masters from Penn State.

Lisa Byrnes

Instructional Designer

13A Sparks Building
(814) 867-1374
ltb103@psu.edu

A 1993 graduate of Penn State University, Lisa has been involved with educational technology for 17 years. She works primarily as a course designer and has developed a variety of courses in Philosophy, Political Science, History, Sociology, English, Anthropology, and American and African American Studies. Having experience both as an instructor and a student in an online learning environment, Lisa possesses a unique perspective which drives her work.

Brian Smith

Instructional Designer

13 Sparks Building
(814) 867-3644
bps14@psu.edu

Brian possesses a background in publishing and online learning. He works with faculty in the College and our partners in Outreach to develop courses across a broad range of disciplines, from start to finish. Brian also supports Outreach and Online Education by maintaining the unit’s broad portfolio of online learning resources. He holds an MS in Instructional Technology.

Ryan Murray

Instructional Designer

13 Sparks Building
(814) 867-3894
rmm35@psu.edu

Ryan helps build and maintain online courses, and provides technical support to instructors and students. Ryan briefly taught middle grades science, and served as a contracting instructional designer for the National Paideia Center at UNC-Chapel Hill. He comes to Penn State with an MEd in Instructional technology and a passion for problem- and case-based learning.

Stephen Tuttle

Multimedia Specialist

13 Sparks Building
(814) 867-1375
srt142@psu.edu

Stephen is responsible for deployment, maintenance, and modifications of the Plone CMS that delivers our online courses. Additionally, he creates and edits multimedia elements in video, graphics, and photography in collaboration with the Learning Design team, and implements custom web applications for interactive course enhancements. Having always been drawn to the arts, Stephen spends his spare time pursuing this interest with wood, photography, and music.

Teri Noll

Instructional Design Assistant

13 Sparks Building
(814) 867-2944
tln3@psu.edu

Teri worked for eight years as Webmaster for Penn State’s Mechanical and Nuclear Engineering department before coming to Liberal Arts. As Learning Design Assistant, she provides technical support to students and faculty and aides Learning Designers with the creation and maintenance of online courses. Additionally, Teri is head of the ADA committee in the unit, and networks with other professionals involved with these issues.

Kurt Steele

Instructional Design Assistant

13A Sparks Building
(814) 863-3894
kms60@psu.edu

Kurtis works as an assistant to the Learning Designers. His core duties include building course content as well as providing technical support for those courses. Kurt has a background in Information Technology and worked as an IT Support Specialist at Penn State’s World campus for 2 years before joining Liberal Arts Outreach and Online Education.

Program Management

Elizabeth Osborne

Project Manager

13 Sparks Building
(814) 867-3645
eko1@psu.edu

Prior to joining Penn State six years ago, Elizabeth worked in the private sector as an operations manager. Her primary duties include enrollment planning and management, performance monitoring, and process improvement with Liberal Arts and its partners. She possesses an Masters in Project Management, and serves as the operational liaison with academic units and Outreach partners.

Joseph Weeks

Education Program Assisant

013 Sparks Building
(814) 865-0834
jrw394@psu.edu

Joe is responsible for day-to-day operational communication with our Outreach partners at World Campus and Continuing Education. This includes coordinating scheduling and instructor assignments and gathering, summarizing and sharing information from various systems with multiple internal and external stakeholders. He has an MA from Penn State.