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UMUC faculty member earns Who's Who listing

Nora Carrol

By Chip Cassano

She might not be your stereotypical university professor, but Nora Carrol - newly listed in the 2002 edition of the prestigious Who's Who in America and owner and president of FirstForward.com, a successful communication and interactive learning company based in McLean, Va. - brings just the sort of professional expertise and experience that UMUC students have come to expect from their instructors. In addition to having taught more than 75 courses in management, marketing, and entrepreneurship - both in the classroom and at a distance - she has worked as a copywriter, copy chief, marketing manager, and entrepreneur.

"I approached UMUC about teaching," Carrol said, "but did I know in January of 1995 what was going to happen in terms of Web course development? No. I don't think anyone did." By 1997, though, when the popularity of Web-based instruction really exploded, the work she was doing with her company had helped prepare her for the shift, Carrol said.

"I was not somebody who had to be dragged kicking and screaming into it," she said. "I was already enthused."

As time passed, that enthusiasm only increased, and Carrol found that her professional and academic pursuits were nearly perfect complements for one another.

"I spent years in the direct-response marketing business," said Carrol, who completed a specialized master's program at Syracuse University, focusing on adult education and innovation management. "Direct-response marketing depends on response and action from consumers, so it was relatively easy for me to move into interactivity on the Web. It's a lot different than if your background were, for instance, in traditional print journalism."

Her expertise benefited UMUC in other ways, as well, as Carrol developed the course content for four Web-based courses and served as a peer reviewer on three others. Twice she has been awarded teaching innovation grants, and she has published widely - with PBS, in Distance Learning magazine and the International Journal of University Adult Education, and elsewhere.

Although her free time is understandably scarce, Carrol—a native New Yorker who earned her BFA in painting and exhibited in NYC—has returned to her art work after a 10-year absence and is pulling together a collection of paintings and drawings to submit for jurying. She is a member of The Art League, a fan of the new D.C. Millennium Arts Center, and also enjoys traveling and the local steeplechasing circuit.

Given the demands on her time, Carrol said, it is fortunate that she doesn't have a family to look after - unless you count her three-pound dwarf rabbit, Dudley.

"I have occasionally referred to him as e-Rabbit, to the amusement of my students," Carrol said, laughing. "One of these days we'll be able to stream in sizeable graphics, so I'll be able to put him in charge of a couple of moderated discussions—maybe toward the end of the term when everybody's stress level is getting pretty high."

Faculty forum is a new series highlighting the work of UMUC faculty. To be included, e-mail Pamela Witcher, Center for Teaching and Learning, at pwitcher@umuc.edu.