Signum University

Departments: Strategy Council

  • Sharon's huge professional responsibilites and skills did not prepare us for a wide smile, flowing red hair, and hands tucked into blue-jeans pockets. She's clearly a roll-up-the-sleeves and let's get it done together type of woman. She's got European ancestry and cheery red cheeks. We suspect that this photo was taken in her beloved outdoors!

    Sharon Hoff

    Sharon serves as Signum’s Doorward, a rather rarified and yet suitably Tolkienian title for our general factotum. As the first point of contact for Signum, she helps direct traffic and does her best to get things done behind the scenes. You can expect a willing and helpful reply when you contact her. As part of…

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  • Malcolm Harden disguises himself as a chill Hawai'ian, sporking a patterned blue shirt, a trimmed beard, and dark sunglasses. Do not let this fool you — he's from London, so, International Man Of Mystery.

    Malcolm Harden

    Malcolm spent most of his career in university administration at London Metropolitan University in the UK where he originally took his degree in English Literature. He served in a variety of roles, finishing as Management Information Officer in the university’s Planning Office, providing statistical data and information to a diverse range of internal and external…

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  • Keli Fancher is smiling directly at us, wearing his signature straw hat with black band, and a particularly jaunty fuchsia and blue bow tie. His blue shirt has pinstripes of printed edelweis chains and his green eyes and bearded smile somehow convey that he is a really fun dad!

    Keli Fancher

    Keli Fancher is a software developer at RescueTime, Signum’s Dean of Digital Campus, and an amateur YouTuber. Keli’s relationship with Signum began with the original Tolkien Professor podcast feed which led to him joining Signum as an MA student for its second semester several years later. Shortly thereafter Keli began aiding Signum as a class…

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  • Dr. Faith Acker clearly looks at home in the depths of the forbidden region of arcane libraries, with her professional jacket and serious glasses, but that smile just invites everyone along for the adventure!

    Faith Acker

    Faith Acker first joined Signum in 2011, serving as a preceptor for the inaugural course “The Great Tales: Tolkien and the Epic.” She has precepted for several additional Tolkien courses as well as Latin I and II, and is co-lecturer for “Shakespeare and the Middle Ages” and sole designer of “The Life and Times of…

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  • Corey Olsen's snow white beard and glasses might hint at his serious academic standing... but there's no way to hide that grin of delight, discovery and adventure. He's clad in dark colors before a dark background, but his eyes are shining.

    Corey Olsen

    Dr. Corey Olsen is the President of Signum University and Mythgard Institute. In addition to teaching classes on J.R.R. Tolkien, Chaucer, and modern fantasy literature for Signum, Dr. Olsen has extended the concept of the digital classroom to include non-traditional outlets. Through the Mythgard Academy, he offers free weekly lectures on works of speculative fiction…

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