Meet the MTSU Online Team

Tonya Dowd
Assistant Coordinator, Student Services
615-904-8391
[email protected]

Championing Online Student Success

Tonya is the essential first point of contact for our online students, playing a pivotal role in their academic and personal success. With a commitment to fostering a supportive and engaging virtual learning environment, Tonya provides personalized guidance, resources, and support to help students navigate their educational journey. She is devoted to helping each student thrive in their online studies and beyond.

RaeAnne Pardue
Administrative Assistant
615-904-8013
[email protected]

Embracing Community and Excellence

RaeAnne provides essential support to the Associate Vice Provost for Online Learning, the MTSU Online Director, and the entire MTSU Online unit. She excels in performing administrative and clerical tasks, ensuring exceptional service to students, faculty, staff, and the public.

Her commitment to excellence makes her an invaluable asset to MTSU Online, contributing to its continued success and impact in online education.

Carol Hayes
Coordinator, Faculty Services
Online course audits and evaluations Coordinator
615-898-5332
[email protected]

Elevating Online Faculty Excellence

As the primary point of contact for online faculty, Carol collaborates closely with faculty while monitoring and evaluating course quality and effectiveness. Carol provides comprehensive resources and support, ensuring faculty can deliver high-quality, engaging courses.

Dr. Karen K. Hein
Instructional Designer
615-898-5680
[email protected] 

Pioneering Faculty Development

Dr. Karen Hein brings over 20 years of higher education experience to the MTSU team, starting her journey as a librarian and information technology specialist before advancing into faculty development. Dr. Hein empowers educators to create engaging, high-quality courses rooted in the best practices of online education. Her extensive expertise and dedication to innovative teaching make her an invaluable asset to our university community.

Dr. Tim Oneal
Instructional Designer
615-898-2121
[email protected]

Elevating Online Learning

Dr. Tim Oneal brings over 15 years of higher education experience. As a specialist in instructional design, Dr. Oneal collaborates closely with faculty to develop online courses that embody the principles of adult learning and effective instruction. His dedication to creating engaging and goal-oriented content ensures that each course is both captivating and aligned with its objectives. He has extensive experience in film and video production, having produced two documentaries for Prairie Public, a PBS affiliate.

Tara Perrin, M.A., COI
Instructional Designer
615-898-2274
[email protected]

Championing Dynamic and Inclusive Online Education

Tara collaborates closely with faculty to craft top-tier online courses. She aims to ensure that students and faculty enjoy an engaging, enriching, and successful online learning experience. Tara’s dedication to creating inclusive and dynamic educational environments has earned her a very positive reputation for high-quality support and innovation.

Hangmin Zhang
Instructional Designer
615-898-3593
[email protected]

Innovating Online Learning

With a rich background spanning higher education and K-12 settings, Hangmin Zhang has excelled as an eLearning developer, hybrid educator, and reading instructor. She is dedicated to collaborating with faculty and instructional designers to create engaging and interactive online courses, ensuring students and faculty achieve their goals.

Dr. Trey Martindale
615-494-8909
[email protected]

Trey Martindale has served in higher education since 1998 as a professor and administrator. His leadership and supervisory roles have included Program Coordinator, Associate Department Chair, Center Director, Teaching Fellow, Accessibility Coordinator, Department Head, Chief Online Learning Officer, and Associate Vice Provost for Online Learning.

His career has been marked by pioneering and entrepreneurial work designing, studying, and implementing online degree programs. This work includes developing one of the nation’s first online master’s degrees in instructional technology and one of the nation’s first online doctoral degrees in instructional technology.  

His research expertise is in the design of online learning environments, as well as the affordances and constraints of such environments. His external funding ($5,200,000 for 24 projects) has come from agencies including the U.S. Department of Defense, the U.S. Department of Education, the U.S. Veteran’s Administration, the U.S. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, the National Science Foundation, multiple state governments, and corporations such as Microsoft, IBM, Cengage, and International Paper.  

He is a frequent national and international speaker and consultant to industry and educational institutions related to online learning environments. In 2019, he served as President of the flagship international scholarly organization in his field, the Association for Educational Communications and Technology (AECT). His most recent book (2024) is the Handbook of Research in Online Learning from Brill Publishing.

For further information, please visit his MTSU faculty profile and curriculum vitae.

David Babb
615-904-8276
[email protected]

Leading Innovation

David brings a wealth of expertise in educational strategy and curriculum development. He oversees our dedicated staff and directs every facet of our operational procedures, including faculty partnerships for online course design and institutional strategies for quality assurance in online education.

David’s passion for education extends beyond the classroom. He has developed impactful educational plans for community programs and charter schools, and he actively contributes to University Curriculum Development Committees. A sought-after speaker, David has presented at prestigious conferences such as NISOD, DLA, and eLearn, focusing on training new faculty and mobile learning.