Mark Selle

Introduction

I love education and always have. Teaching is my first love, and over a 35-year career, I have taught children of all ages in K-12 settings and adults in three universities. I currently work at Whitworth University. I also love to lead and have served as the Chief Executive Officer of four organizations–one private enterprise where I rose to the position of President, two public school districts as Superintendent, and a private school as Head of School. I have developed a variety of areas of expertise over my career with a particular focus on the following:

Teaching, Learning, Study, Research, and Knowledge

My love of teaching arises directly from my love of learning. As a child, I immediately wanted to teach whatever I had learned. As an adult, I pursue the ideal of lifelong learning through my studies. The pursuit of knowledge and the art of teaching inspires my study and research. My research agenda focuses on the philosophy of education. I am passionate about reform aimed at restoring education as a cooperative art in which the teacher, as an artist working in the medium of life, helps learners to shape the growth of their hearts and minds by cooperating with nature just as gardeners, farmers, and doctors, also artists working in the medium of life, cooperate with nature to produce growth and healing.

Public Speaking

My lifelong impetus to teach motivates my speaking and writing. My high school counselor, who also taught my public speaking class, had a profound impact on me because he told me that I had a future as a speaker. Consequently, I exercised those skills through debate and speech competitions. As an adult, I enjoy public speaking and presentations immensely. Of course, I speak most passionately about education.

Imagination and Creative Problem Solving

Others often tell me that I think “outside the box.” I love problem solving and have a gift for imagination, conceiving multiple solutions, and creative thinking. I developed this gift early on through mathematical problem solving, and it has been very fruitful in my teaching and work as an educational leader.

Vision and Leadership

Teaching involves creating an exciting vision of the future in the mind of a learner. Leadership involves this same skill—inspiring others to reach for something compelling. A compelling vision can be as simple as personalizing learning, as it was in my first leadership opportunity. In subsequent leadership experiences, it has involved expanding access to quality education regardless of geographic limitations through online learning, honoring parents as the first and most important educators of their children, enhancing safe and efficient transportation for students through cooperation, providing early childhood education for an economically disadvantaged community, and ensuring equal access to quality education regardless of financial circumstances or learning differences.

Entrepreneurship and Solid Fiscal Management

I build for the future and have a gift for broadly conceiving and planning projects. To this end, I have launched four educational programs and completed five capital campaigns resulting in the expansion and modernization of facilities and new construction on two campuses amounting to $28 million. I have a strong grasp of finance and I have improved the overall financial position of each organization I have served.