Campus is a new online two-year degree program in Business Administration created to give students an affordable and quality alternative to a community college education. They’ve partnered with Northwestern College to deliver a top-quality curriculum to students via weekly live online classes.
Teaching this curriculum is an inspiring faculty comprising of instructors who have years of teaching experience, especially with first-year and second-year college students. And of course, they all align with Campus’ mission to provide affordable and accessible education.
What may surprise you is that all of the professors that are part of the program are top professors from some of the leading colleges in the country, including Princeton, NYU, UCLA, Berkeley, Notre Dame, Vanderbilt, and Spelman. Learning from instructors with such caliber helps students gain a solid foundation in their education and catch a glimpse of what it is like to learn in a rigorous environment like that of a top school.
So who are these incredible instructors? Read on to get to know who you’ll be learning from when you enroll in the Campus-powered Associate of Applied Science in Business Administration (A.A.S.) degree program.
Campus scholars receive affordable and quality education delivered by expert instructors who also teach at top universities like Princeton, NYU, and UCLA.
Learn more about Campus here.Professor Darien Johnson
Professor Darien Johnson is a writing lecturer at UCLA, a faculty member at West Los Angeles College, and a Teaching Artist at the Geffen Playhouse in Los Angeles. He started his teaching career as a Teaching Assistant at Brown University while pursuing a Master’s degree in Fine Arts.
After over 12 years of teaching, Professor Darien is ready to bring his expertise to Campus, teaching Intro to College Success.
“I’m very interested in access to education for everyone. New technology platforms like Campus are making it possible for more people to get access to high-quality education. I’m excited to be a part of this opportunity.”
His interest in accessible education stems from experiencing first-hand the struggle of pursuing a quality education. Growing up, Professor Darien attended public schools, not having had a privileged background.
“I had to navigate [through] the disadvantages I experienced in the education system and the poverty I saw around me to go from a Big 10 school to eventually an Ivy League,” said Professor Darien. “So, I understand many of the struggles that many low-income/first-generation students face when trying to pursue [an] education.”
At the moment, he teaches first- and second-year Writing Composition and Public Speaking courses at UCLA. Professor Darien found his love for writing during his adolescent years. At first, it was simply a comfortable way of expressing himself, but he soon got into writing for school newspapers. It eventually open him up to public speaking, singing, and performing.
“I loved all of these things because they allowed me to express myself, and I felt alive in a way that I hadn’t before. So, I decided to study media [as an] undergrad and performance in grad school to have more control and specificity in my expression.”
A lover of the arts and performance, it’s not surprising that Professor Darien is renowned for the passion and energy he brings to the classroom. He enjoys talking to his students about their perspectives on various issues because it helps him to understand how they think and what motivates them. He is also known to give creative and practical assignments, like incorporating music videos and photojournalism in coursework.
Fun fact about Professor Darien? “I’m a huge thinker and interested in a lot of things, but when I relax and get out of my head, I watch reality TV. The junkier, the better.”
Dr. Steven Kelts
Dr. Steven Kelts is a political scientist and entrepreneur with over 19 years of teaching experience. He teaches Professional Development at Campus and lectures in Politics and the University Center for Human Values at Princeton University. His teaching career has seen him serve in several top schools, including teaching at Northwestern University, Washington University, and Stanford University.
Dr. Kelts is also a multi-decorated educator, winning several teaching accolades, such as the Bender Teaching Award and Nashma ton Award for the Faculty Member of The Year. He is also a member of the George Washington University Academy of Distinguished Teachers.
It’s this tried-and-tested passion for teaching that has brought Dr. Kelts to Campus. “Campus is focused on bringing together human relationships with the best technology available, all to enhance student learning. Those are three goals I believe in,” he said.
“All learning begins with a human connection and inspiration. Technology can help us bridge time and space and make even more of those connections, find more inspiration, experience more, learn more.”
As he ventures to teaching professional development in the Campus Scholars program, Dr. Kelts hopes to hone students’ critical thinking skills, one of today’s most in-demand skills in the workplace. “I’ve never wanted students to just tell me what a book says, or tell me what I lectured about,” he explained.
“I want them to find evidence that engages with a book, or makes a more nuanced point, or refutes a statistic or argument I used in lecture. When my students do that, they’re driving knowledge forward, not accepting it as it exists right now.”
His genuine passion for pursuing knowledge is also reflected in the way he teaches political science. For Dr. Kelts, teaching political science is a way of contributing to the American political space.
In his words: “I still believe, fundamentally, that increased knowledge of the American political system is necessary to support the system. Teaching brings me all sorts of joy, and I could give you other reasons for it as well. But at the highest level, I’m trying to do my part to maintain the American system that I love.”
Beyond politics, he aims to help his students develop relevant skills that will help them in other facets of life—argumentative, writing, and data analysis skills, among others.
“I focus on skills that transfer out of political science: Writing skills that will help them in other classes; data analysis skills that feed into in-demand jobs; argumentative skills that could lead them to law school; and so much more. My aim is to help students leave my classroom as better versions of the people they want to be.”
Dr. Kelts also has an eye for tech, and he is currently running research on tech corporations and how they are set up to design ethical machine learning algorithms.
Fun fact about Dr. Kelts? He is a die-hard fan of the New England Patriot football team. “I remember sitting in the cold with my Dad and brothers at games in the ‘80s and early ‘90s when (some years) they were one of the worst teams in the league. We would never leave until the end: there was always a chance the Patriots would win.”
Dr. Alyssa Lowery
Dr. Alyssa Lowery’s passion for teaching is driven by her love for philosophy and her desire to provide students with relevant skills to succeed as they advance in their careers. She is a decorated educator with nearly a decade-long experience in teaching philosophy. Her passion and efforts in the classroom saw her winning the Vanderbilt’s Berry Early Teaching Award.
She teaches first- and second-year students general and introductory philosophy courses at Vanderbilt University in Nashville, Tennessee, and will soon also be delivering instruction for Campus scholars.
Speaking of her journey to Campus, Dr. Lowery said: “In a perfect world, you wouldn’t be limited in the kind of education you can access by high costs or by where you live. Everyone deserves to learn with teachers who respect and care for them, and to learn about things that have meaning for and value to them.”
“Campus won’t solve that problem for the world, but I really appreciate that it may solve that problem for at least a few students, and hopefully hundreds.”
As she teaches Logic to students of Campus, she hopes to impart the same “world-expanding experience” she had when she learned about philosophy in college. “It gave me the chance to develop a new set of values and norms for myself, and in a really meaningful way, helped me see, understand, and care for other people more richly than I had before.”
“Now, I certainly don’t expect that will be the case for every student, [but] I hope it can be for some. And at the very least, I think the tools of thinking that philosophy has to offer benefit students no matter what they do after college.”
Fun fact about Dr. Lowery? If she could pick one food to eat for the rest of her life, it would be smoothies. “Lots of variety, super good for you, tastes great, hearty enough to be satisfying, and cold enough to be refreshing.”
Learn from Expert Instructors in the Campus Scholars Program
The Campus-powered A.A.S in Business Administration degree program helps students knock out the first two years of college and prepare them for the journey after graduation—whether to pursue a bachelor’s degree or to start their careers. Guiding their way are top professors from around the country, all accessible at community college tuition prices.
If you want to attend classes with these inspiring professors, go on and be part of the next cohort of the Campus-powered program today.
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