Dr. Eason’s commitment to the field of distance learning and the impact of his contributions, place him at the top of any list of individuals worthy of being in-ducted into the Texas Distance Learning Hall of Fame.
A summary of his exceptional commitment and overall impact follows:
- Dr. Eason’s distance learning career spans over twenty-nine years; focusing on practice, advocacy, teaching, and administration for Tarrant County Col-lege.
- He has served for five years as Director of Distance Learning after serving almost fourteen years as Assistant Director of Distance Learning for the Tar-rant County College District which has one of the largest programs in the state, overseeing all distance learning offerings for the District and enroll-ments that total approximately 20,000 per year, implementing standards of excellence in all distance learning courses, and providing the necessary re-sources, such as technology, training, and support, to attain those stand-ards. He advanced distance learning as a career field, mentored others help-ing them grow professionally, and encouraged people to stretch their boundaries, make their own paths, and impact distance learning in their own way.
- Dr. Eason was active in distance learning professional associations, such as TxDLA, encouraged and supported his staff’s participation as well, and held many leadership roles throughout his career, such as, Vice- President Elect for State Chapters with the USDLA, President of TxDLA, TxDLA’s Board of Directors and Executive Community and Executive Partnership Council. He served as member of TCCTA, Texas Consortium for Educational Telecommu-nications, and Management Advisory Committee for Eastfield College.
- He educated faculty and administrators, both at TCC and institutions all over the state, through presentations, seminars, workshops, and one-on-one meetings on the methods and strategies of teaching via distance, support and cost issues, administrative concerns and procedures, and the rewards for students who have the distance option.
- He was recognized twice for excellence in distance learning with TxDLA’s Outstanding Individual Commitment to Service by the TxDLA as well as the Don Foshee Award for Outstanding TxDLA Leadership.
- Numerous presentations have been conducted across the state and nation on a variety of topics including faculty training, course development, suc-cessful teaching strategies, and leadership.
- Publications: A Qualitative Study of Higher Education and Their Experiences Training for, Developing, and Teaching Online Courses. Doctoral Disserta-tion. 2000. Online Faculty Training and Course Development Program. Co-Director, Developer, and Author. 1999-2005. Learning Without Limits: Model Distance Education Programs in Community College. Co-Authored chapter highlighting TCC as a model program. 1996.