Course Credits and References

Laura Kauffman (BA, MA) received her BA in Elementary Education and completed her MA in Middle Level English at Furman University. She has been teaching at the university level for over 10 years, and has observed, guided, and supervised student teachers in the high school, middle school and elementary school settings. She has developed online educational presentations to enhance writing and grammar curriculum for any age student.

C. Michael ("Mac") McKenna (BA, MA, Ph.D.) is a passionate arts, humanities and history professor with over 15 years of teaching experience at the high school and college level. He is one of the most supportive instructors you'll ever have the pleasure of meeting! He engages all students in a thoughtful, intelligent discussion that will challenge their preconceived notions about history, art and mythology. While he will modestly deny that he has his own following of students--the truth is his students quickly become his "fans" and will seek out any course he instructs in order to continue their thought-provoking discussions. You will not want to miss any of his engaging assignments and video lectures. He is one of a kind, and we are very proud and fortunate to have him mentoring our UniversalClass students!

Dr. Bret Staples (BA, MS, Ph.D.) is a highly motivated, personable scientific professional with multiple college degrees and a successful 34-year track record of scientific research and publications. After completing his Ph.D. at the University of Maryland, he became a research chemist for the US Department of Energy. Dr. Staples has authored professional papers in scientific journals and reviewed other scientists’ publications and has performed scientific research in solution chemistry. Dr. Staples is extraordinarily talented in proofreading and editing journal publications, online course curriculum, as well as a strong knack for quickly mastering technology – using and programming computers since 1964.