David Churchman
Encyclopedia
David Churchman is a California State University
Professor and Chairman Emeritus of Behavioral Science and Professor of Humanities recognized for numerous educational innovations.
, he completed his bachelor’s and master’s degrees at the University of Michigan
and his doctorate at the University of California, Los Angeles
. Before accepting the appointment at California State University, he served as an infantry lieutenant, social worker, high school teacher, research associate at University of Southern California
, and program officer at National Science Foundation
. He has lived in or traveled to over 100 countries as an educator, researcher, or tourist. He taught in Morocco, received a doctoral fellowship from the U.S. Department of State and has been a Fulbright Scholar in Cyprus
and Ukraine
and a Malone Scholar in Saudi Arabia
, conducted research on zoo visitors in Australia and Singapore. He is married to Altantsetseg Agvandorj, originally from Mongolia.
While teaching in Pennsylvania
, he developed an eleventh-grade curriculum that integrated topics across all subjects. While at UCLA, working with non-profit Tribal American Corporation, he designed a preschool curriculum that used characteristics of American Indian culture to teach basic skills and devised the evaluation system for National Drug Abuse Training Center. While at USC he was on the team that created the Emmy-winning PBS-TV program, Freestyle, which encouraged young girls to study mathematics and science.
While at California State University, he initiated the first graduate degree in the country in Conflict Management
in 1982. Ten years later, he again broke new ground by combining interactive television and the Internet to make the degree accessible worldwide, enabling his department to produce 10% of all degrees awarded by the university with 2% of the faculty budget. In addition, he helped to initiate the California Academy of Mathematics and Science
and to design and initiate a degree in Travel and Tourism, and modernized the masters program in gerontology. In 1982 with Millicent Wood-Harris he co-founded Wildlife on Wheels, which presents live wild animal environmental education programs to approximately 100,000 children each year in the Los Angeles
basin. He is a founding director of Birute Galdikas’ Orangutan Foundation and was the environmental representative on the California Citizens’ Advisory Panel of the Bureau of Land Management
. For a dozen years, he wrote a bi-monthly column on theoretical and applied military problems for Fire and Movement under the pseudonym of the Armchair General. He is the author or co-author of over 150 papers, articles, chapters, and books, and of over $6 million in successful grant proposals.
California State University
The California State University is a public university system in the state of California. It is one of three public higher education systems in the state, the other two being the University of California system and the California Community College system. It is incorporated as The Trustees of the...
Professor and Chairman Emeritus of Behavioral Science and Professor of Humanities recognized for numerous educational innovations.
Biography
Raised in Teaneck, New JerseyTeaneck, New Jersey
Teaneck is a township in Bergen County, New Jersey, and a suburb in the New York metropolitan area. As of the 2010 United States Census, the township population was 39,776, making it the second-most populous among the 70 municipalities in Bergen County....
, he completed his bachelor’s and master’s degrees at the University of Michigan
University of Michigan
The University of Michigan is a public research university located in Ann Arbor, Michigan in the United States. It is the state's oldest university and the flagship campus of the University of Michigan...
and his doctorate at the University of California, Los Angeles
University of California, Los Angeles
The University of California, Los Angeles is a public research university located in the Westwood neighborhood of Los Angeles, California, USA. It was founded in 1919 as the "Southern Branch" of the University of California and is the second oldest of the ten campuses...
. Before accepting the appointment at California State University, he served as an infantry lieutenant, social worker, high school teacher, research associate at University of Southern California
University of Southern California
The University of Southern California is a private, not-for-profit, nonsectarian, research university located in Los Angeles, California, United States. USC was founded in 1880, making it California's oldest private research university...
, and program officer at National Science Foundation
National Science Foundation
The National Science Foundation is a United States government agency that supports fundamental research and education in all the non-medical fields of science and engineering. Its medical counterpart is the National Institutes of Health...
. He has lived in or traveled to over 100 countries as an educator, researcher, or tourist. He taught in Morocco, received a doctoral fellowship from the U.S. Department of State and has been a Fulbright Scholar in Cyprus
Cyprus
Cyprus , officially the Republic of Cyprus , is a Eurasian island country, member of the European Union, in the Eastern Mediterranean, east of Greece, south of Turkey, west of Syria and north of Egypt. It is the third largest island in the Mediterranean Sea.The earliest known human activity on the...
and Ukraine
Ukraine
Ukraine is a country in Eastern Europe. It has an area of 603,628 km², making it the second largest contiguous country on the European continent, after Russia...
and a Malone Scholar in Saudi Arabia
Saudi Arabia
The Kingdom of Saudi Arabia , commonly known in British English as Saudi Arabia and in Arabic as as-Sa‘ūdiyyah , is the largest state in Western Asia by land area, constituting the bulk of the Arabian Peninsula, and the second-largest in the Arab World...
, conducted research on zoo visitors in Australia and Singapore. He is married to Altantsetseg Agvandorj, originally from Mongolia.
While teaching in Pennsylvania
Pennsylvania
The Commonwealth of Pennsylvania is a U.S. state that is located in the Northeastern and Mid-Atlantic regions of the United States. The state borders Delaware and Maryland to the south, West Virginia to the southwest, Ohio to the west, New York and Ontario, Canada, to the north, and New Jersey to...
, he developed an eleventh-grade curriculum that integrated topics across all subjects. While at UCLA, working with non-profit Tribal American Corporation, he designed a preschool curriculum that used characteristics of American Indian culture to teach basic skills and devised the evaluation system for National Drug Abuse Training Center. While at USC he was on the team that created the Emmy-winning PBS-TV program, Freestyle, which encouraged young girls to study mathematics and science.
While at California State University, he initiated the first graduate degree in the country in Conflict Management
Conflict management
Conflict management involves implementing strategies to limit the negative aspects of conflict and to increase the positive aspects of conflict at a level equal to or higher than where the conflict is taking place. Furthermore, the aim of conflict management is to enhance learning and group outcomes...
in 1982. Ten years later, he again broke new ground by combining interactive television and the Internet to make the degree accessible worldwide, enabling his department to produce 10% of all degrees awarded by the university with 2% of the faculty budget. In addition, he helped to initiate the California Academy of Mathematics and Science
California Academy of Mathematics and Science
The California Academy of Mathematics and Science is a public magnet high school in Carson, California, United States focusing on science and mathematics...
and to design and initiate a degree in Travel and Tourism, and modernized the masters program in gerontology. In 1982 with Millicent Wood-Harris he co-founded Wildlife on Wheels, which presents live wild animal environmental education programs to approximately 100,000 children each year in the Los Angeles
Los Ángeles
Los Ángeles is the capital of the province of Biobío, in the commune of the same name, in Region VIII , in the center-south of Chile. It is located between the Laja and Biobío rivers. The population is 123,445 inhabitants...
basin. He is a founding director of Birute Galdikas’ Orangutan Foundation and was the environmental representative on the California Citizens’ Advisory Panel of the Bureau of Land Management
Bureau of Land Management
The Bureau of Land Management is an agency within the United States Department of the Interior which administers America's public lands, totaling approximately , or one-eighth of the landmass of the country. The BLM also manages of subsurface mineral estate underlying federal, state and private...
. For a dozen years, he wrote a bi-monthly column on theoretical and applied military problems for Fire and Movement under the pseudonym of the Armchair General. He is the author or co-author of over 150 papers, articles, chapters, and books, and of over $6 million in successful grant proposals.