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Academic Support
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Academic Support

The Office of Academic Support provides support and plays a pivotal role in fostering academic excellence and ensuring the holistic development of students across all campuses of the university. This office provides strategic leadership and direction in the areas of assessment and accreditation.

The Vice Chancellor for Academic Support (VCAS) works closely with key stakeholders in the colleges/schools to enhance the quality of education and advance the institution's mission. The VCAS collaborates with academic and administrative units to enhance University planning and effectiveness, promoting continuous improvement and innovation in academic support initiatives.

The office leads the development, implementation, and assessment of the University's strategic plan, aligning academic support initiatives with institutional goals and objectives. The office oversees the operations of the University-Wide Assessment Committees, University Writing Center, Teaching & Learning Center, Office of Assessment & Accreditation, A.T. Still Memorial Library, Interprofessional Education & Collaboration, Center for Resilience in Aging, and Center for the Future of the Health Professions.

Should you have questions, please email daltman@atsu.edu.

  • Administration and staff +

    • Gary Cloud Don Altman, DDS, DHSc, EdD, MPH, MBA, MA
      Vice Chancellor for Academic Support

       

      Phone: 660.626.2395
      Email: daltman@atsu.edu

      Don Altman, DDS, DHSc, EdD, MPH, MBA, MA, is ATSU’s vice chancellor for academic support. Dr. Altman has worked at ATSU since 2006, first as program chair, Master of Public Health – Dental Emphasis, in the School of Health Management (now ATSU-CGHS); then as director, Public Health and Research at ATSU’s Arizona School of Dentistry & Oral Health; and later as department chair, Public Health in the School of Health Management.

      His other roles at the University included dean of ATSU’s College of Graduate Health Studies (ATSU-CGHS) and most recently associate vice president, academic affairs.

      Prior to coming to ATSU, Dr. Altman served consecutively as regional dental director, Texas Department of Health; chief, Office of Oral Health, Arizona Department of Public Health Services; and national dental director, the Principal Financial Group.

      Dr. Altman is nationally and regionally recognized for his professional activities, having served as president of both the American Board of Dental Public Health and the Arizona State Board of Dental Examiners.

      His accreditation background includes continuing interaction with the Higher Learning Commission, the Council on Education for Public Health, and the Commission on Dental Accreditation.

      Leonard Goldstein Leonard B. Goldstein, DDS, PhD
      Assistant Vice President for Clinical Education Development
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      Leonard B. Goldstein, DDS, PhD, serves as A.T. Still University’s assistant vice president for Clinical Education Development. Dr. Goldstein earned his doctor of dental surgery degree from Case Western Reserve University and his PhD from the City University of Los Angeles. Immediately following dental school, Dr. Goldstein served in the U.S. Army as a captain in the Dental Corps during the Vietnam conflict.

      Prior to joining ATSU, Dr. Goldstein was the director of clinical education and associate professor of family medicine at the NYIT College of Osteopathic Medicine from 2005-2014. He was the co-author of NYITCOM’s Accelerated Family Medicine/DO Residency Continuum program, as well as the co-author of the HRSA grant that supported the program. He also wrote and ushered four master’s degree programs for NYITCOM through the NYS Education Department for approval. Prior to that, he was the assistant dean for graduate program development at the Touro College School of Health Sciences from 2000-2005. At Touro, he wrote and directed the nation’s first Master of Science in Forensic Examination program.

      Dr. Goldstein has been awarded Fellowship in the International College of Dentists, the Pierre Fauchard Academy, the Academy of General Dentistry, and the American College of Acupuncture. He holds Diplomate status in the American College of Forensic Dentistry and the American Academy of Pain Management. He has authored or co-authored over 200 published scientific articles in peer reviewed journals, and he has co-authored "Best Practices in Dental Sedation: A Desk Reference," which is being published by Quintessence Publishers and will be available in early 2022. Dr. Goldstein maintained a private dental practice for over 30 years, as well as directing a hospital-based, multi-specialty facial pain center.

      Stephanie Elsea Stephanie Elsea
      Senior Executive Assistant

      Stephanie Elsea is senior executive assistant for the Office of Academic Affairs. She earned a Bachelors degree in Justice Systems from Truman State University. Stephanie joined A.T. Still University in July 2016 as enrollment support for the College of Graduate Health Studies (CGHS). She has since worked as employment coordinator in the Human Resources Department and as an executive assistant in the President's Office. She joined the Office of Academic Affairs in August 2022.

      Brenda Jackson Brenda Jackson
      Senior Administrative Assistant

      Brenda Jackson is the senior administrative assistant for the Office of Academic Affairs. Brenda helps support the Teaching & Learning Center, Interprofessional Education and Collaboration, Office of Assessment & Accreditation and Continuing Education. She earned a Bachelors degree in Business Administration from Mars Hill College. In September 2022 she earned her certificate in Project Management. Brenda joined A.T. Still University in October 2016.

  • Reporting units +

    • A.T. Still Memorial Library – Available to residential and online students, the library’s online full-text collections include tens of thousands full-text journals, more than 200,000 online reference works and textbooks, and several of the top point-of-care products. The library also teaches evidence based practice skills, provides search strategy and literature searching support, and hosts the 3D Print shop.

      Interprofessional Education – The purpose of the Office of Interprofessional Education and Collaboration is to advance interprofessional practice and education across ATSU. The Office designs and delivers interprofessional educational activities to develop interprofessional collaborative practice competencies for ATSU graduates. It supports ATSU programs in meeting interprofessional education and collaborative practice accreditation requirements. The office provides expertise on interprofessional curricular design and evaluation for faculty and staff development opportunities focused on enhancing their knowledge and facilitation skills in supporting students to develop collaborative competency. The Office also supports collaborative research, grants, and dissemination.

      Office of Assessment & Accreditation – The Office of Assessment & Accreditation (OAA) supports assessment, accreditation, and quality improvement efforts of ATSU. This includes the management of data to allow for accurate and timely provision of information and reports to members of the ATSU community including the board of trustees, administrators, faculty, staff, students, and appropriate external constituencies. Additionally, the OAA provides strategic and operational support in pursuit of our university’s re-accreditation by the Higher Learning Commission.

      Teaching and Learning Center – The Teaching & Learning Center (TLC) provides faculty with quality resources, programs and activities to promote innovative teaching and learning-centered practices to positively affect student-learning outcomes. TLC collaborates with University colleges, schools and programs; the University Library; Academic Technologies; and others to sponsor a variety workshops, webinars and events focused on innovative teaching and engaged learning.

      University Writing Center – The UWC is a free academic support service for currently enrolled ATSU students. Its goal is to help students become better writers in the health care professions. The UWC offers document review for papers, main discussion posts, case studies, and other assignments; English-as-a-second language writing assistance; individual chapter review of dissertations, doctoral research projects, and other final projects; and a tutorial on the proper use of sources (by referral only). The UWC is typically open from 12 am Mondays to 8 pm Saturdays (Central Time).

      Schools and Colleges

      Arizona School of Dentistry & Oral Health – Prepares dental students with a strong foundation of critical inquiry, evidence-based practice, research, cultural competency, an orientation to prevention, and interdisciplinary healthcare experiences.

      Arizona School of Health Sciences – Offering a variety of accredited master of science, doctoral, and online programs, the School is committed to educating and preparing its students to practice at the forefront of a dynamic healthcare system.

      College for Healthy Communities – Educates students to become community-oriented physician assistants who will provide whole person primary care to the nation's underserved communities.

      College of Graduate Health Studies – Educates and prepares healthcare professionals with management and administrative online healthcare degrees for a variety of settings.

      Kirksville College of Osteopathic Medicine – Educates students to become osteopathic physicians and related health professionals and to preserve and advance osteopathic principles, practice, and philosophy.

      Missouri School of Dentistry & Oral Health – Prepares students to become leaders in dentistry who have an in-depth understanding of and a desire to serve populations in need.

      School of Osteopathic Medicine in Arizona – Unique curriculum and teaching methods emphasize cutting-edge technology and individualized, active, and self-directed learning. In addition, students spend three of their four years training in community health centers located across the country.

  • Reporting unit leaders +

    • Tracey Lantz, MBA
      Director
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      Tracey Lantz, MBA, works remotely from North Carolina as the director of ATSU’s University Writing Center. She previously served as the UWC’s assistant director. In her 10 years with the UWC, she has worked with many students, reviewing over 9,900 papers, helping finalize over 120 dissertations, and assisting over 130 students with the Proper Use of Sources tutorial.

      In her previous ATSU life, Ms. Lantz worked 14 years in the President’s Office as assistant to two presidents, secretary to the Board of Trustees, and the University’s accreditation liaison officer. She also served on several accreditation site visit, focused visit, and self-study steering committees, and was the liaison for the Board’s presidential search in 2012. In 2010, she received the Kirksville Osteopathic Alumni Association Living Tribute Award; in 2008, the ATSU Distinguished Service Award; and in 2004, she received the Board of Trustees’ George Windsor Award.

      Prior to ATSU, Ms. Lantz worked for Truman State University in Kirksville, MO, West Virginia University School of Medicine in Morgantown, WV, and Andrews Industrial Controls, Inc. in Carnegie, PA. She has a master’s degree in business administration from William Woods University and a bachelor’s degree in organizational management from Alderson-Broaddus University.

      Hal Bright, MLS, AHIP
      University Library Director
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      Harold “Hal” S. Bright IV, MLS, AHIP, is the University Library Director for the A.T. Still Memorial Library. Formerly, he was the Electronic Resources Librarian.

      Mr. Bright earned his bachelor of arts in Spanish from the Arizona State University and his master of arts in library science from the University of Arizona.

      Mr. Bright began his career in public libraries in 2000 working for several libraries in Connecticut. Mr. Bright joined ATSU in 2008 as the library’s electronic resources librarian supporting the technology behind the library’s vast digital collections. Mr. Bright was appointed University Library Director of the A.T. Still Memorial Library in 2019.

      Mr. Bright is a member of the Association of Health Information Professionals (AHIP). His scholarly interests include resource discovery and the connection of practitioner interaction with health information systems. He is an active member of the CABL, AZHIN, MLGSCA and MLA where Mr. Bright has held officer positions, and served on many local and national committees, including national conference committees and co-chair of a regional conference committee. He also serves on several university committees including having served as president of the university staff committee.

      Quincy Conley ​Quincy Conley, PhD
      Director, Teaching & Learning Center
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      As a dedicated instructional designer and curious educational researcher, Dr. Conley has led, supported, and mentored educators from all disciplines with the central mission of investigating how to design exceptional learning experiences that can positively impact an individual’s potential to learn more. Dr. Conley specializes in combining biometric research technology with existing rigorous research methodology to discover ways learners can benefit from new educational techniques and technologies as they become more readily available. Dr. Conley earned his PhD in educational technology from Arizona State University, and both his MA in instructional design & technology and BA in aerospace science from the University of North Dakota.

      Jan BaumJan Baum, MA
      Director, Continuing Education
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      Jan Baum, MA, is the director of continuing education at A.T. Still University, and works with the continuing education steering committee, composed of members from various ATSU departments, to help coordinate collaborative continuing education programs and meet the accreditation standards

      Ms. Baum brings more than 20 years of continuing education experience to ATSU including hospital and medical education in the private and for profit sector. She has worked with various medical organizations to provide accredited continuing medical education programs for physicians and other healthcare learners. In addition, she has experience with both the American Osteopathic Association’s continuing medical education accreditation requirements as well as those of state medical associations, and the Accreditation Council for Continuing Medical Education. Ms. Baum was instrumental in achieving AOA's Accreditation with Commendation award for our Continuing Education Certification.

      Prior to joining ATSU, Ms. Baum was the director of education for the American Urological Association in Linthicum, MD, and continuing medical education coordinator and medical librarian at John C. Lincoln Health Network in Phoenix, Ariz.

      Jan Baum holds a master’s degree in advanced adult education from Washington University in St. Louis, Mo., and holds an advanced certification in media and library science from the University of Missouri, Columbia, Mo.

      Elton Bordenave, PhD, M Ed ​Elton Bordenave, PhD, M Ed
      Interim Director, Interprofessional Education and Collaboration

      Dr. Elton Bordenave is an associate professor, the interim director of Interprofessional Education and Collaboration and the director of the Center or Resilience in Aging at ATSU. He received his B.B.A. (Bachelor of Business Administration) from the Baylor University, his M.Ed. from Grand Canyon University, and his PhD from Northcentral University. He has over twenty years of experience teaching health care administration and regulation courses in the Arizona School of Health Sciences. He earned an Advanced Certification in Health Care Compliance. In the past decade, he managed 13 separate grants that funded interdisciplinary community-based programs focused on health and health related concerns including dementia, heart failure, falls prevention, transitional care, and support for family caregivers. His grants were awarded by local and national foundations and the Centers for Disease Control. Students from all disciplines can participate in interprofessional teams in the Center’s contextual learning experiences.

      During his tenure, the Center’s programming has received awards locally as well as national recognition. The Still Standing Falls Prevention Outreach, which he initiated in 2008, is the largest sustained falls prevention program in Arizona. In 2015, the Still Standing Fall Prevention Outreach was honored with Empowerment System’s Community Impact Award and was reported on in the Wall Street Journal in 2016.

      Dr. Bordenave is actively engaged in the community in several leadership roles. He served on the Arizona Attorney General’s Office Task Force on Elder Abuse and the Arizona Department of Health’s Healthy Aging Advisory Board. He is currently on the board of directors for the Area Agency on Aging, Region 1 and the leadership council of the Arizona Falls Prevention Coalition. He is a founding member of the Arizona Falls Prevention Coalition and was recognized by the Coalition in 2019 with a leadership award.

      Chris Crismon ​Christopher Crismon, MSP
      Director, Office of Assessment & Accreditation
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      Christopher Crismon, MSP, is director of the Office of Assessment and Accreditation (OAA). He works closely with Academic Affairs and manages his team to foster best practices and ensure ATSU’s quality higher education through developed processes in assessment and accreditation.  He is a member of the University-Wide Assessment Committee (all subcommittees), member of the HLC Steering Committee, and the lead active role in assessing, addressing, maintaining, and archiving all ATSU assessment and accreditation projects. He started working at A.T. Still University, in the OAA, in April of 2024.

      Christopher has accumulated 20 years of experience in leading accreditation and regulatory compliance efforts in both the for-profit and public sectors of higher education working towards obtaining or reaffirming accreditations with three institutional accreditors and nine programmatic accreditors across multiple disciplines. He serves as a peer reviewer for the Accrediting Bureau of Health Education Schools and the Association for Advancing Quality in Educator Preparation. Previously, he has worked with Educause as a Professional Pathways Advisor to executives in higher education. Christopher is currently enrolled in a Juris Doctorate program with an expected graduation date of January 2027. He has a Master of Science in Psychology and a Bachelor of Science in Management from the University of Phoenix. In his free time, Christopher enjoys spending time with his wife and daughters doing a number of activities, including swimming, hiking, and travelling.