Tina Stavredes, PhD
A long and valued acquaintance died January 3rd, 2024. Dr. Stavredes was a preeminent advocate for quality online teaching and I am proud to say that my role in her many career choices was important.
Tina met biology at Normandale Community College attending an introductory course for non majors, which I always enjoyed teaching in the evening because it attracted older students like Tina. The course Contemporary Biology included an audio-tutorial lab-lecture, which provided students with a mild range of flexibility. Tina, then a single parent, realized she needed education to improve her own and her daughter’s lot in life. Her initial intent enrolling at Normandale was to take business courses but biology was more attractive and she completed chemistry and calculus with ease to prepare for transfer to the University of Minnesota, where she completed a biology major, was qualified and obtained admission to the UMN medical school.
Facing the challenges of medical school as a single parent was daunting … so she expanded her part-time business cleaning homes and offices. On one visit to Normandale she told me “I now have several crews cleaning and I drive around in my BMW supervising them. They take pride in meeting my high standards.”
Tina met Jim Stavredes while vacationing in northern Minnesota. They married and moved to Chicago. About ten years later, Tina and Jim returned to Minnesota and she came to Normandale, knocked on my office door and asked “Do you remember me?”
“yes,” I replied, “of course, I remember you.” and we began a long and important collaboration. When she asked about what she could do, connected with biology, I suggested she go to UMN and pursue a PhD in molecular biology. Following this suggestion, Tina found faculty to be both ageist and sexist. Fortunately Normandale needed a laboratory assistant, and Tina was hired. Together with other assistants, we pursued development of the Contemporary Biology course. Our objectives were two-fold. We wanted to introduce students to laboratory research techniques in cellular and molecular biology, and, to do so using the five preeminent model organisms molecular research biologists, globally, preferred for their studies.
I knew about how a community college in California was supporting molecular biology laboratory exercises in high schools in the San Francisco bay area. I met with Christine Case, a microbiologist, at Skyline Community College near San Francisco who was a leader of the program and I returned to Normandale with an optimistic belief that NCC could do for Minnesota what Dr. Case had done in California. Tina quickly shared my enthusiasm and we went to work on mastering the details and teaching the protocols.
Tina and I learned that a professor at Iowa State in Ames had done similar regional support work with high schools. After a joint visit to ISU, Tina said, “Let’s do that. “
I said “Tina, you could lead the project, but you need a graduate degree.”
She asked “Where can I get one?”
After some inquiry, Tina decided that Minnesota State—Mankato, would not be a suitable mix for her.
So we went on with our designing and development work at Normandale. Along the way I obtained grant support and hired an instructional designer, Dr. Simon Hooper, an expert with software called Authorware. When Tina met Hooper, she decided to pursue a Master’s degree at UMN and convinced another lab assistant, Mary Jacobson, to join her. They both received Master’s degrees and moved on from Normandale. Tina continued work at UMN and pursued a doctorate in educational psychology. Meanwhile I left Normandale, moved to northwestern Wisconsin, and became engaged as a consultant to school districts, colleges, small businesses and environmental non-profit organizations. The molecular biology effort with model organisms never did materialize. I had concluded that Normandale, in too many ways, was not yet ready.
Completing her PhD, Tina developed a close relationship with the new Capella University, which was pioneering the online model for graduate education. Over the next decades, from Florida to Singapore, Tina and I kept in touch and I never ceased to be amazed at her enthusiasm, creativity, innovative efforts and commitment to pursuit of quality for her student’s online higher education. I had the privilege of reading early drafts of both of her books published by Wiley. In all of my experience Tina was truly an amazing human being. Ever since she told me of her cancer diagnosis, I have hoped for the best outcome. I am greatly saddened that her optimism and grit did not, this time, prevail.