Matthew Basham

Contributing Faculty
Richard W. Riley College of Education and Human Sciences
Doctor of Education (EdD)

Hello!
I have had a different career than most. I started off an Engineering major (electromechanical) but, seeing my engineer friends not get jobs, I switched to technical writing. I graduated from Oakland University with a degree in Communications and enough credits for a minor in mathematics. I also attended summer school at Oxford University where I studied Rhetoric and Persuasive writing and speaking. I was also in the United States Navy as an electromechanical technician, fixing computers, radars, and weapons systems. I was approved for Officer Candidate School up until the time I blew my knee out playing softball. So, not knowing what I wanted to do with the rest of my life I went to graduate school at the University of Florida. I students Mass Communications Research, meaning a lot of statistics, research, and writing. I even published a couple of peer reviewed papers with my professors.

From there I went to work in a packaging machinery plant as a technical writer and computer engineer technician. I also worked on designing machines. I then went to work in a technical school building an industrial machinery program that was highly successful. I was recruited to the local community college where I was asked to take over a CISCO networking academy. Within a couple of years I built it into the largest most pre-eminent program in the world. I also published textbooks on CISCO engineering and security. We stopped counting after 20,000,000 e-book downloads in the first six months and over 100,000 hard copies.

Then, I was off to my PHD at the University of Florida, was promoted to what now is a Dean position, and I ran multiple disciplines, about 11,000 students, and more than a 100 faculty and staff. I went and taught in a couple of doctoral programs while building and selling several companies. My last company was a third-generation wireless charging device that was bought out in the second round of venture funding. That allowed me to retire and focus on doing what I love best: helping students with research and writing.

So, that is it in a nutshell, but there is much more!!!

Education

PhD, University of Florida

Doctoral Certificate, University of Florida

MA, University of Florida

BA, Oakland University