Yorktown University Newsletter
June 28, 2010

Faces of Our Students
One of the real disadvantages of being solely online is that we seldom meet our students in person.  Yes, we talk to them by telephone and e-mail them a lot, so it’s really a nice experience when they tell us something about themselves.

Meet U.S. Air Force Captain Austin Smith
Captain Smith writes:  “After receiving a stellar classical Christian education at Biola University's Torrey Honors Institute in La Mirada, CA, (a program that I can't say enough good things about), I wanted to pursue an education in the classical liberal arts tradition. I had made peace with the fact that no on-line degree was going to offer quite the same opportunities or quality as a traditional program at a brick-and-mortar school like Chicago U, Dallas U, or Notre Dame.  However, I still was holding out for a school that would challenge me intellectually and not be a positive hindrance to my goals of eventually working in academia and/or international military affairs. 

Enter Yorktown University.

Though still very young and with a lot of work left to do in establishing its credibility, name recognition, and academic clout, it had many promising features: well-educated and dedicated professors, a motivated and savvy president and board of trustees, and an educational philosophy rooted in the best of the Western tradition.  Taken alone, it presented a very intriguing opportunity, compared with the alternatives, it was a positive Godsend.”

When not studying, Capt. Smith is very involved in his community and with family life:

“I play the violin and contribute to the Pacific Northwest chapter of the Alliance of Christian Musicians.  I am a part-time writer for, and founding member of Mere Orthodoxy, a blog that offers Christian insights on culture, theology, politics, and the arts.  I fly the C-17, the Air Force's newest and most flexible cargo aircraft, on missions that have taken me to six continents and literally span the globe.  I participate in and help lead a local Officer's Christian Fellowship Bible study. 

I've been married for almost two years and still have a hard time justifying spend any free time away from the companionship of my beautiful wife, Beth, a lovely and accomplished middle school teacher at Springfield Christian Academy and ardent participant in all sorts of family discussions ranging in topics from the philosophy of education to the best way to maintain geranium window boxes in our downtown condo.”

Thanks, Austin, we appreciate having this insight into your world!

On the Road Again!
Yorktown University’s Director of Military Admissions is former U.S. Navy Chief Petty Officer, Wade Shol.  This summer Dr. Shol has hit the road visiting U.S. military bases.  Two weeks ago he conducted what he calls his “Dixie Tour.” The trip was long, covering over 2,000 miles.  His longest day of travel lasted sixteen hours!

Here’s Dr. Shol’s report:  “The Dixie Tour took me through the southeastern states of Louisiana, Mississippi, Alabama, and the Florida panhandle. A total of 14 military installations were on my radar as I started out in New Orleans. I visited the Naval Air Station, New Orleans, and the US Coast Guard command at the new Department of Homeland Security base on the southeast side of the metropolitan region.

The Coast Guard facility was operating out of several modular units, shipped in following the Hurricane Katrina. The previous command building had been totally devastated and a new one was in the final stages of completion and occupation. In addition to preparations being made for the move into their new command headquarters building, personnel were beginning to gear up for an onslaught of reserve personnel being called to active duty for purposes of fighting the oil spill.

Crews staged at various locations around the bayou were in position and waiting for the arrival of crude. Like a hurricane, it was the calm before the storm and, sure enough, a few days later the oil began to arrive ashore.

Moving on to Mississippi I visited Columbus Air Force Base, Keesler Air Force Base, Gulfport Seabee base, and Meridian Air National Guard.  My visit to Alabama took me to Fort Rucker Army Base and two Army National Guard Centers in the Montgomery area.

On the day of my visit to Montgomery, the Community College of the Air Force at Maxwell Air Force Base was holding their graduation ceremony so I dropped off a packet of information about Yorktown for the ESO and headed into Florida territory for an appointment at the Naval Air Station in Pensacola.

Pensacola’s naval contribution is heavily weighted toward education and training of the fleet. In addition to the pilot’s basic flight training, the Chief of Naval Education and Training is headquartered on the base. 

Coming Attractions!
Yorktown University is accredited by the Distance Education and Training Council, one of the most rigorous national accrediting associations chartered by the U.S. Department of Education.  Before Yorktown University can offer new courses and degree programs, we must submit them to DETC for evaluation.  There are no guarantees, but here is some information about an entirely new course, a new degree program and a new certificate program.

Westward Ho! How the West was Won 
Colleges and universities in the West attract scholars who teach the history of the Western expansion of the United States. These courses are extremely popular because the Old West is still alive in the memory of millions of Americans. Dr. Charles W. Miller’s course covers the history of the West through fourteen hours of lectures that deal with Cattle Drives, the creation of Texas, outlaws and lawmen, Indians and the U.S. Army.

MBA in Entrepreneurship and Sport Management
On travel to Florida recently, I met Dr. Gary Barrette and was intrigued to learn of his academic work in Sport Management.  Dr. Barrette’s distinguished career includes service as Department Chairman at Adelphi University and Dean of Academic Affairs at the U.S. Sports Academy.  We’re pleased to announce that Dr. Barrette has accepted the position of Dean of Yorktown’s new Entrepreneurship and Sport Management program. We’ll share more information about this exciting development when and if it meets DETC’s standards.

Certificate in Public Administration and Privatization 
Nearly twenty-five years ago, I was astonished by a brilliant essay on public administration that was published in the Heritage Foundation’s Mandate for Leadership series.  I found the author of those essays, Dr. Michael Sanera, at the John Locke Foundation in Raleigh, North Carolina, and persuaded him to develop a course in Public Administration.  At Yorktown University, we prefer small government, which is why Dr. Sanera’s course on Public Administration is so interesting.  He argues that by returning to the principles of the Founders of the Constitution we can manage the federal bureaucracy in ways that protect American freedom. 

The companion to this course deals with Privatization and Public Partnerships.  Developed by Dr. Steven Savas, this new course will deal with how municipal, state and federal government services can be outsourced. Dr. Savas served as an Assistant Secretary of Housing and Urban Development in the Reagan Administration and currently serves as an advisor to New Jersey Governor, Chris Christie.    If accredited by DETC, this program will be marketed to state and local public executives throughout the United States.

Sincerely yours,

Richard J. Bishirjian, Ph.D.
President
Yorktown University