Middle Tennessee State University has hired Trey Martindale as chief online learning officer, a newly created position that will focus on maximizing a growing area of instructional delivery for Blue Raiders both near and afar.

With more than two decades of experience in instructional technology and online learning, Martindale comes to MTSU from Mississippi State University, where he most recently served as an associate professor and department head in Instructional Technology and Workforce Development and was developing a completely online doctoral degree.

Dr. Trey Martindale

Dr. Rick Sluder

Martindale also served various leadership roles during 12 years at the University of Memphis, including a three-year stint as that institution’s first fellow for the Center for Innovative Teaching and Learning and four years as program coordinator for instructional design and technology.

Rick Sluder, MTSU’S vice provost for student success and dean of University College, touted Martindale’s wealth of experience as a professor, administrator and consultant in developing online degree programs across disciplines. Martindale will play a principal role in facilitating the development of additional online programs, a key strategic priority at MTSU.

Martindale will lead MTSU Online, a team of professionals that includes a director, instructional designers and support staff.  This unit is responsible for facilitating the work of faculty in developing online courses and programs, and coordinating supports for students enrolled in online courses.

“MTSU has been involved in online education for more than two decades and even before the pandemic the number of online courses and students enrolled in those courses was increasing about 10 percent each year,” Sluder said.

“With the pandemic, online education has become even more important, something that will continue in the future. Dr. Trey Martindale has a national reputation, a proven track record, and arrives at MTSU at exactly the right time to accelerate our development of additional online programs to serve students.”

Martindale has contributed to the creation of three fully online master’s degree programs at three universities, and a fully online doctoral program. He has developed and taught dozens of online courses and has pioneered the effective use of social software tools for enabling collaborative learning environments

Martindale has an Ed.D. in instructional technology and bachelor’s in exercise and sports sciences from Texas Tech University, while earning his master’s in exercise physiology from Texas A&M.

MTSU Online is housed in University College, a unit focused on meeting the student-centered access, retention and partnership goals of the university. University College provides support to a diverse crop of students transitioning to MTSU from high school, other institutions, the military or the workforce. Today, MTSU offers 16 online (graduate and undergraduate) programs, and nearly 800 courses are offered in the spring and fall semesters. Over 23,000 student enrollments in online courses were recorded this Fall 2020 semester.

— Jimmy Hart (Jimmy.Hart@mtsu.edu)