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AU Teaching and Learning Center Support Team Banner

The AU Teaching & Learning Center Team includes government and contractor personnel with expertise in learning technology, educational development, instruction, communication, research, and other related fields.

The following teammates are government personnel.
 

Meet Our Team

Mr. Michael Tate, Acting Director & Educational Support Specialist
Mr. Michael Tate
Acting Director & Educational Support Specialist
Mr. Douglas McCarty, Instructional Systems Developer
Mr. Douglas McCarty
Instructional Systems Specialist
Mr. Michael McKim, Instructional Systems Developer
Mr. Michael McKim
Educational Support Specialist
Ms. Meg Varney, Lead Writing Specialist
Ms. Meg Varney
Lead Writing Specialist

Mr. Michael Tate, Acting Director & Educational Support Specialist

Mr. Mike Tate, MBA, is the Acting Director and an Educational Support Specialist at the Air University Teaching & Learning Center (TLC). He is responsible for the TLC's outreach and communications within Air University as well as externally to academia and the local community. This includes implementation of TLC events, courses, and seminars to strengthen and enhance learning experiences, as well as promote relationship building amongst academic colleagues. He is a retired Air Force Navigator and served as an instructor/evaluator in several operational flying squadrons to include the Replacement Training Unit for the E-3 Airborne Warning and Control System (AWACS). He served as Chief of Professional Journals at the Air Force Research Institute and Editor in Chief of the Air & Space Power Journal from 2011-2015.  Mr. Tate holds an MBA from Touro University and a BS in Aerospace Administration from Middle Tennessee State University.


Mr. Douglas McCarty, Instructional Systems Developer

Mr. Douglas McCarty, MA, serves as an Instructional Systems Developer at the Air University Teaching and Learning Center with emphasis on Learning Technology research and adoption. In this role Mr. McCarty assists faculty, students, and staff to learn and integrate existing and emerging technologies into their teaching practices and learning environments. Mr. McCarty has served as a PME instructor, curriculum developer, instructional consultant, and institutional effectiveness representative at the Barnes Center for Enlisted Education. He also served as course director for a civilian professional development program and taught selected Officer Training School lessons at the Holm Center for Officer Accessions and Citizen Development. He taught new instructor training courses at both Holm and Barnes Centers. Mr. McCarty holds a MA in Educational Technology Leadership from The George Washington University and a BS in Corporate Training and Development from Wayland Baptist University. Mr. McCarty retired honorably from active duty in the United States Air Force after serving 21 years.


Mr. Michael McKim, Educational Support Specialist

Mr. Michael McKim, MS, is an Educational Support Specialist at the Air University Teaching and Learning Center with emphasis on Learning Technology research and adoption. In this role Mr. McKim assists faculty, students, and staff to learn and integrate existing and emerging technologies into their teaching practices and learning environments. Mr. McKim has served as a PME instructor, curriculum developer, instructional consultant, and digital exercise writer at Squadron Officer School, Air Command and Staff College, and Air War College. He also taught electives and online research methods at the Air Force Historians' Course, the Air Force JAG school, and other Eaker and Lemay Center courses.  He created the first PC-based wargame at Air University (AU) and 24 more wargames and group exercises.  He created the first school website at AU.  He wrote the first strategic education technology plans for SOS, ACSC, and HQ AU.  He created the first AU nonresident studies wargames and electives. He also co-created the first AU-wide technology council. Mr. McKim holds an MS in Psychology from Auburn University, an MS in International Relations from Troy University, and a BS in Astronautical and Aeronautical Engineering from Purdue University.  Mr. McKim retired honorably from the United States Air Force after serving 30 years as an officer.


Ms. Meg Varney, Lead Writing Specialist

Ms. Meg Varney, MA, is the Lead Writing Specialist in the Teaching and Learning Center, supporting student communication-skill development across Air University’s schools and centers. As part of this support, Ms. Varney oversees the Comm Lab coaching team, conducts individual and group appointments, and plans programming for student learning and faculty development. Prior to AU, Ms. Varney taught composition and served as the Second Language Coordinator for the Writing & Speaking Center at Colgate University. She also spent four years in Japan at Ritsumeikan Asia Pacific University teaching English as a Foreign Language—including advanced writing courses—and training tutors in the Self-Access Learning Center. Ms. Varney holds an MA in Teaching English to Speakers of Other Languages from Columbia International University and a BA in English - Writing from Purdue University. She is a veteran of the Army National Guard.



 
 


Air University Teaching & Learning Center
600 Chennault Circle
Building 1405
2nd Floor of AU Library
Maxwell AFB, AL 36112