Nathan Hawk
Texas A&M University - Download Profile/Vita

Vita/biographical statement:

Nathan Hawk earned his PhD in educational studies, specializing in educational technology from The Ohio State University. Prior to his doctoral degree, he completed a Masters in Education and Human Development from The George Washington University, specializing in educational technology leadership. Finally, he received a Bachelors of Arts degree in mathematics from Carthage College, where afterwards he served as a high school mathematics teacher for over 15 years in various nontraditional and distance education high school programs. Currently, he is a Clinical Assistant Professor in the Teaching, Learning and Culture Department at Texas A&M University-College Station. He serves as a faculty member in the Technology and Teacher Education program. His teaching focuses on the integration of technology within the K-12 classroom, taking primary responsibility for the management and development of the department’s educational technology course required of all preservice teacher students. He is also serving as the department’s program coordinator for University Peer Mentor-Technology. In part, his research interests include the role of technology and technology integration into K-12 education, inservice and preservice teacher education.


Relevant to this role, Nathan has extensive experience serving as a treasurer and financial representative for community or professional organizations. He has served as a treasurer for over eight years for a small community organization, directly responsible for financial management and financial report dissemination. He also served as a treasurer in his graduate student organization.

Candidate Statement

This letter represents my candidate statement for the AECT Treasurer position.

Educational and Leadership Background

I am currently a Clinical Assistant Professor in Technology and Teacher Education in the Department of Teaching, Learning and Culture at Texas A&M University-College Station. In this role, I serve as the lead faculty member for our department’s required general educational technology course for our preservice teachers, where I am currently overseeing more significant programmatic changes in this course and preservice teacher educational technology preparation as a whole. Also, I serve as the Program Coordinator for the Undergraduate Peer Mentors in Technology program. This program pairs exemplary and recommended peer mentors to assist in the educational technology course referenced above.

I received my Doctor of Philosophy in Educational Studies, with a concentration in educational technology at The Ohio State University in the Summer 2021 semester. Prior to my doctoral degree, I completed a Masters in Education and Human Development from The George Washington University, specializing in educational technology leadership. Finally, I received a Bachelors of Arts degree in mathematics from Carthage College, where afterwards I served as a high school mathematics teacher for over 15 years in various nontraditional and distance education high school programs.

Currently and in the past, I have had several leadership positions that may be of interest to the committee. First, as referenced above, I serve as the Program Coordinator for the peer mentor program. In this role I supervise 4-6 undergraduate students, develop programming and initiative to strengthen this program within the technology course, and work within specified budget to improve the functioning of the program and the space we are allotted on campus. This role includes cooperating with both students and faculty peers in coordinating these mentoring efforts. Second, I was nominated and agreed to serve as the program representative for one of my college’s curriculum and program development committees, providing expertise related to, and service to, my program. This role included work and cooperation among various stakeholders across my department and college. Third, in the past, I was nominated and placed on the ballot in three separate positions with the American Educational Research Association: Web Secretary (Graduate Student Council), Secretary/Treasurer (Instructional Technology SIG), and Program Chair-elect (Technology as an Agent of Change in Teaching and Learning SIG).

Finally, I have served as a treasurer in two other organizations. I served my graduate student program as our organization's treasurer for much of the span of my doctoral degree program. Also, I served as treasurer for eight years for a local community band in central Ohio. In this role, I compiled and presented financial reports, led the preparation of annual budgets, directed our investment accounts, paid bills, and received and processed donations from members and from the community. I was the primary executive board member to handle all financial accounts.

Involvement in AECT

I have been actively involved with AECT for the past 3-4 years. I was a member of the AECT Graduate Student Assembly, and a current member of the Distance Learning, Teacher Education, and Technology Integrated Learning Divisions, an annual convention proposal peer reviewer, and a presenter of multiple accepted conference proposals. For instance, I served as a peer reviewer for AECT 2022, completing reviews across two separate proposal units. Since the 2019 AECT Annual International Convention, I have had the opportunity to present a conference presentation across multiple Annual International Conventions, including roundtable sessions, concurrent sessions, and as a presenting author of a panel session recently (2021 Annual International Convention).

Vision for AECT

My vision for AECT, as the primary financial communicator, is to promote financial transparency where possible, legal, and appropriate. In this manner, I feel it is important for the treasurer to serve as an important communication tool for the organization, clearly disseminating financial reports and action items, but in a clear, concise manner. Additionally, my vision for AECT, as a member in a leadership role, is to promote an organization that can continue to bridge the gap between research and practice, and continue to find ways for early career professionals or graduate students to be more involved in the organization, through further opportunities for leadership, or use of funds to support this aim.

Justification for Role

Finally, I believe I would be a good candidate for AECT Treasurer for the following reasons. First, having early career faculty or industry professionals serving in various leadership positions such as AECT Treasurer may help to promote diverse perspectives and further outreach to members at large and bridge any gaps between regular and student membership. Second, as a primarily clinical faculty member, focused on undergraduate teaching, having a perspective that helps to bridge the gap between research and practice in decisions made at the association level would be an asset to the organization’s membership. Third, I have a background in mathematics and considerable skills in mathematics and database/spreadsheet software, an asset I think would be useful in this role. Finally, as referenced above, I have prior experience volunteering as a treasurer. Although there are certain differences in the roles I served in the past and the expectations for this leadership position, having prior experience would be an immense asset to the membership and organization.