Andrew Jackson University || Accredited Online Degrees

President's Message

University Namesake

Accreditation

Management Team

Faculty

Mission and Purpose

Contact Information

Management Team

L. Joseph Schmoke
Chief Executive Officer

Mr. Schmoke was elected to Andrew Jackson University’s board of directors and appointed as Chief Executive Officer and Corporate Secretary on June 10, 2005. He is responsible for developing and implementing Andrew Jackson University’s strategic direction and supervising AJU’s executive management team. His long and distinguished business career includes an early stint on Wall Street, then over thirty years as an entrepreneur and advisor specializing in rapid growth companies. He founded and built several companies and also served as advisor to venture capital companies, private investment companies, NASD broker-dealers, and other entrepreneurs. He specializes in the structuring, strategizing, financing, and then directing or assisting in the operations of companies that have strong growth prospects.

He has also served as advisor to the board of directors of CyberGate, the Southeastern U.S.’s fastest growing Internet service provider, and Musa Motors Moscow, Eastern Europe’s largest independent franchised auto dealership group. While at Musa Motors, Mr. Schmoke established business relationships in Moscow, Riga Helsinki, Paris, Frankfort, London and Geneva. He also served on the boards of SECOM General, a publicly held company, and Auto University, a private training organization.

Mr. Schmoke is a published author, Vital Business Secrets for New and Growing Companies (Dow Jones-Irwin, 1989), and has been designated Distinguished Lecturer by The Graduate School of Business at Florida Atlantic University. He has served on the international board of directors and as an officer of the Association for Corporate Growth, and at the request of the Florida Department of Commerce, founded and was the first president of the Gold Coast Venture Capital Club. His formal education includes the University of Detroit (Finance) and Wayne State University (non-degree Law Studies).

E. Donald Kassner
President

Mr. Kassner brings over twenty years of financial and operations management to the Andrew Jackson team. Until moving to Alabama in 2005 with his family to join the University, Mr. Kassner managed financial operations and developed companies in many different industries including web development, software development, web hosting, computer manufacturing, data infrastructure and construction management.

In addition to his duties at Andrew Jackson University, Mr. Kassner owns University Development and is CFO for UCI Web Group and Onlinefocus Development, LLC.

Mr. Kassner earned his BA and MA in Economics from San Jose State University where he has served as a departmental advisor since 1997 and has been a member of the faculty since 2003.

Since he joined Andrew Jackson University, Mr. Kassner led the effort to convert the University to an online entity, has developed key strategic partnerships and has restructured the University's operation so that all departments have a student focus. In addition, Mr. Kassner represents the University at all accreditation meetings and serves as a member of the DETC educational standards subcommittee and was recently appointed to the business standards review team.

Mr. Kassner lives in Hoover Alabama with his wife Tammy - who works at the university - and his son Mike.

Larry V. Flegle, D.B.A.
Director of Education

Dr. Larry Flegle has over 27 years of teaching experience and has taught courses in 81 distance education programs. He is an advocate for and a pioneer in distance learning. He is committed to providing students with educational options and believes in helping students achieve their dreams through education. Dr. Flegle has written over 50 college courses (graduate and undergraduate) for online delivery.

Dr. Flegle’s extensive background in education includes Lead Faculty for Track C – Introduction to Business in the School of Business at Kaplan University. He hired instructors and oversaw their training and development and managed this team of professors for two years. Dr. Flegle also served on several re-accreditation teams, which has given him insight into the value of accreditation and importance of meeting the standards.

As Director of Education Dr. Flegle oversees the hiring and training of faculty. Dr. Flegle manages faculty activity, monitoring productivity, and ensuring that faculty follow University policy. He mediates any student grievances with faculty and/or grade disputes. He maintains the faculty communication portal and conducts monthly faculty meetings. He directs AJU’s faculty development program. Additionally, Dr. Flegle oversees instructional design of AJU courses and is the final sign-off on course approval. He interfaces with all departments in an advisory capacity.

Andrew Jackson University is accredited by the Distance Education and Training Council. The DETC is listed by the U.S. Department of Education as a nationally recognized accrediting agency.