Dr. Therrell has enjoyed teaching and consulting for over 25 years in a wide variety of contexts, engaging students and working with faculty from diverse backgrounds. He’s delivered over 400 workshops and keynotes around the world with a focus on leadership and collaboration (dissertation topic) in relation to leadership, culture, teaching, and learning.

Originally from Colorado and a graduate of Duke University (BA), San Francisco State University (MS), and the University of Texas at Austin (Ph.D. in Curriculum & Instruction), Jim brings executive, entrepreneurial, consulting, and government experience, in tandem with his academic focus, for constructing a hybrid approach to better support faculty in their teaching efforts.

The last 5 years, Jim led efforts to support new faculty orientation and teaching efforts through state-of-the-art programs at Northwestern Oklahoma State University as a founder of their Faculty Development Advisory Board. He envisioned, built support across campus, and orchestrated their endeavors to promote excellence in all areas of academic development, including the design of a teaching/learning center, strategic plan, and ethical standards.

Recently earning tenure and promotion to Associate Professor, Jim averaged 30+ credit hours per year, teaching a diverse course-load in the graduate program (“Higher Ed Philosophy & Practices,” “Intro to Educational Research,” and “Multicultural Education"), and at the undergraduate level in relation to curriculum, teaching methods, and pedagogy. [This past year he finished an integrated alignment of professional standards, performance assessments, rubrics, and data presentation for NCATE (National Council for the Accreditation of Teacher Education, where he served as a national Program Reviewer).] Besides a restructure of education curricula, designing and teaching online courses, and initiating the Northern Oklahoma Writing Network, Jim served as Faculty Senate President and was selected to attend the Oklahoma Outstanding Professor's Academy, presenting the following year as a featured lecturer: "Culture and Diversity in Higher Education."

Jim is married with a 10-year-old daughter and four step-daughters. He makes periodic trips to Vietnam with his wife, and enjoys participating in raquetball, golf, and winter sports.

"I'm passionate about teaching and look forward to many a conversation with people across campus. I can't imagine a more stimulating, enjoyable, and productive way to invest my time, pursuing with colleagues the complexities and challenges of the teaching-learning enterprise."