Oliver DeMille

Oliver DeMille
Oliver Van DeMille
Born Oliver Van DeMille
c. 1968
Residence Enoch, Utah, USA[1]
Known for Author of A Thomas Jefferson Education, founder of George Wythe University
Home town Hurricane, Utah, USA
Spouse Rachel (Pinegar) DeMille
Children 8
Website
http://www.oliverdemille.com/

Oliver Van DeMille is an American author and educator. He is known for his writings on education as it relates to freedom, including A Thomas Jefferson Education, and as a founder and previous president of George Wythe University.

Contents

History

DeMille was born and raised in Hurricane, Utah and attended Brigham Young University on an Air Force ROTC scholarship.[2] He took a two-year hiatus from his studies to fulfill an LDS mission in Barcelona, Spain,[3] and subsequently married Rachel Pinegar in 1989.[4] He and his wife have eight children.[5]

As an undergraduate student at Brigham Young University, DeMille undertook additional outside studies in search of greater rigor and depth to his education.[6][7][8] He was personally mentored by and worked independently with Cleon Skousen and submitted[9] this work to Coral Ridge Baptist University (CRBU), which awarded him a B.A. (Biblical Studies) and M.A. (Christian Political Science) in 1992, and then a PhD (Religious Education) in 1994.[10] CRBU was a Bible college with a philosophy of close mentorship and intense studies, and the objective to train its graduates for service in military chaplaincy, education and ministry. DeMille's doctoral project entailed helping found and establish the curriculum and instructional design of George Wythe College.[9] In 1994, DeMille returned to BYU and completed his B.A. in International Relations from BYU,[1] with the intent of enrolling in an accredited graduate school, as he believed holding an accredited post-graduate degree would improve the credibility of the fledgling college which he helped found.[6]

On his eponymous website, DeMille characterizes his educational history as "a search for a truly great education – experiencing private and public universities, technical and religious schools, corporate and international educational institutions, prestigious colleges and worthless diploma mills; he literally sampled the best and the worst that modern education has to offer, and virtually everything in between."[10] He described his work with personal mentors as the "best," and relates the "worst" by detailing his experiences of being defrauded.[6]

According to his personal blog,[6] DeMille submitted coursework to the Technical Institute of Biblical Studies (TIBS), which awarded him a PhD Upon learning that TIBS was a diploma mill that had not actually reviewed the merit of his academic submissions, he publicly acknowledged that he had been duped, and called himself "an idiot." He also states that he studied law at LaSalle University (Louisiana),[11][12] which, based on its familiar name and credible marketing, he assumed to be a legitimate school. He learned later that this LaSalle was actually a diploma mill for which some students, including DeMille,[6] "did real [course]work, even though they didn't have to."[13] DeMille has said that he "unequivocally regret[s]" his interactions with TIBS and LaSalle, and that he is "glad that [his] 'controversial' choices, both good (leaving a successful private university experience to work with a personal mentor) and bad (learning first-hand about the way students can waste their time and even be taken advantage of by straying too far from the beaten path) were motivated by an earnest search for an education."[6]

Researcher and Writer

During his undergraduate studies at BYU, DeMille worked as a seminar presenter, researcher and writer at the Meadeau View Institute,[14] a constitutionalist organization in Duck Creek, Utah, for which he wrote pamphlets on international relations and political science[15] that were later published in an anthology entitled The Constitutional Paradigm and the New World Order.[14]

DeMille is co-founder of The Center for Social Leadership, an action organization "dedicated to healing society, preserving freedom, and ensuring peace and prosperity for humanity,",[16] with its motto, "Empowering Ordinary Citizens to Make an Extraordinary Difference."[17] His recent writings in the genre of political commentary reflect a self-described[18] independent political view,[19][20] with frequent advocacy of entrepreneurship[21] and education[22] as solutions to various economic and societal ills. His non-political writings have recurring themes of leadership,[23][24] family,[25][26] education,[27] freedom[28] and prosperity.[24]

Career as an educator

In 1992, DeMille was a principal contributor to the founding of George Wythe University,[7] an institution designed to teach statesmanship, which the University defines as "men and women of virtue, wisdom, diplomacy and courage, who inspire greatness in others and move the cause of liberty."[29] Over the course of almost twenty years he served there as a mentor, board member,[30] department chair, Professor of Law and Politics,[31] provost, president, Director of Graduate Studies, and chancellor.

DeMille also speaks at seminars and conventions,[32][33][34][35] and is a featured presenter with the "Face-to-Face With Greatness" seminar series designed to introduce parents and students to historical examples and methods of improving one's self-education experience.[36][37][38] In recent years, due to illness, DeMille's work has primarily been as an author[39] and blogger.[40][41]

Works

DeMille is noted for his promotion of an educational paradigm popularly known as Thomas Jefferson Education,[42] Leadership Education or TJEd (pronounced "tee-jay-ed"). Most of his works, whether philosophical, political or educational, promote his view that the state of modern education is not favorable for reliably producing principled leaders of the caliber of Thomas Jefferson, while also conveying an overview of his philosophies and prescriptions for how individuals can provide themselves with a quality self-education and/or select an institution that will deliver an excellent learning experience. He asserts that a classical, mentored education empowers the individual to successfully meet the challenges of the time—whether as an educator, an entrepreneur, a community leader or a parent.

His notable works include:

  • A Thomas Jefferson Education: Teaching a Generation of Leaders for the Twenty-first Century[43] (1st edition, softbound, 2000; 2nd edition hardback 2006; 2nd edition softbound 2009; published by TJEdOnline)
  • A Thomas Jefferson Education Home Companion[44] (2006, with Rachel DeMille and Diann Jeppson; published by George Wythe University Press)
  • Leadership Education: The Phases of Learning[45] (2008, with Rachel DeMille; published by George Wythe University Press)
  • The Coming Aristocracy: Education and the Future of Freedom[46] (2009; published by The Center for Social Leadership)
  • Thomas Jefferson Education for Teens[47] (2009, with Shanon Brooks; published by TJEdOnline)
  • The Four Lost American Ideals[48] (audio CD, 2009; published by The Center for Social Leadership)
  • FreedomShift[49] (2010; published by The Center for Social Leadership>
  • The Student Whisperer[50] (2011, with Tiffany Earl; published by TJEdOnline)
  • Various monographs and audios

Websites

References

  1. DeMille, Oliver (2000), A Thomas Jefferson Education, Cedar City: George Wythe College Press, ISBN 0967124611 .
  2. DeMille, Oliver (2001), Oliver Van DeMille Curriculum Vitae, George Wythe College, archived from the original on 2001-11-04, http://web.archive.org/web/20011104052815/www.gwc.edu/Abt_Faculty.html, retrieved 2008-09-24 .
  3. DeMille, Oliver (2006), Oliver Van DeMille Curriculum Vitae, George Wythe College, archived from the original on 2006-09-23, http://web.archive.org/web/20060907170052/www.gwc.edu/faculty_odemille.asp, retrieved 2009-04-10 .
  4. DeMille, Oliver (2006), A Thomas Jefferson Education: Teaching a Generation of Leaders for the Twenty-first Century, George Wythe College Press, ISBN 096712462X .
  5. DeMille, Oliver; DeMille, Rachel; Jeppson, Diann (2006), A Thomas Jefferson Education Home Companion, George Wythe College Press, ISBN 0967124638 .
  6. DeMille, Oliver; DeMille, Rachel (2008), Leadership Education: The Phases of Learning, George Wythe College Press, ISBN 0967124646 .
  7. DeMille, Oliver (2009), Let me answer some questions you probably didn't think to ask.., tjedonline.com, http://www.tjedonline.com/olivers-update.php?id=6, retrieved 2010-02-24 .

Notes

  1. ^ a b "BYU Alumni Directory". BYU. https://alumni.byu.edu/sections/services/alumniloc/searchfrm.cfm?CFID=3420313&CFTOKEN=17b4ea9b2ffce93f-456F4137-BCDC-B961-3F609644DEEF9992. Retrieved 2008-06-01. 
  2. ^ Mattie Glasson, "HHS graduates receive scholarships", The Daily Spectrum, 5/27/86
  3. ^ Brooks (2005), p. 7.
  4. ^ DeMille, Oliver (2009-02-12). "An Update on George Wythe University". Oliver's Update. tjedonline.com. http://www.tjedonline.com/olivers-update.php. Retrieved 2009-02-14. 
  5. ^ ASIN 096712462
  6. ^ a b c d e f DeMille states: "As a young man, I deliberately left a fully accredited university, BYU, where my costs (and more) were entirely paid by dual full-ride scholarships, and instead engaged a private mentor and a non-traditional school. Why? Because it afforded me a significantly better educational experience. I would do the same thing again. This is not to disparage the education I was receiving at BYU, for it met its purposes, and I had several professors at BYU who took special interest and time with me, and who contributed great value to my education. It's just that the closely-mentored guidance through original sources was so much better in terms of helping achieve my personal educational goals. I did some work with other mentors, but mainly Dr. W. Cleon Skousen; and the quality of my student experience with him I count as the best of my life up to that time. see: http://www.tjedonline.com/olivers-update.php?id=6
  7. ^ a b Brooks (2005)
  8. ^ DeMille [2009] A Thomas Jefferson Education: Teaching a Generation of Leaders for the Twenty-first Century, TJEdOnline, p. 15
  9. ^ a b DeMille (2009).
  10. ^ a b Author, Speaker, Educator, Consultant. Oliver DeMille. Retrieved on October 18, 2011.
  11. ^ Not to be confused with LaSalle University
  12. ^ Oliver's Update. TJEd Online.com (April 10, 2009). Retrieved on October 18, 2011.
  13. ^ See history of LaSalle University (Louisiana) at http://books.google.com/books?id=k67XC_7y5xEC&pg=PA273#v=onepage&q=&f=false
  14. ^ a b http://openlibrary.org/b/OL1470069M/constitutional-paradigm-and-the-new-world-order
  15. ^ "The Constitutional Paradigm", "Germany, the European Community and World Order", "Mexico and World Government", "Africa and the World Bank", "The U.N. War on South Africa" and "India: National Socialism vs. International Socialism"
  16. ^ The Center for Social Leadership. Thesocialleader.com. Retrieved on October 18, 2011.
  17. ^ About Us | The Center for Social Leadership. Thesocialleader.com. Retrieved on October 18, 2011.
  18. ^ The Age of Overseers: Technology, Politics, & the Future. Oliverdemille.com (December 27, 2010). Retrieved on October 18, 2011.
  19. ^ “Mr. Head Democrat”: The Future of American Politics. The Coming Aristocracy. Retrieved on October 18, 2011.
  20. ^ America’s Seven-Party System, Part I: The New Politics | The Center for Social Leadership. Thesocialleader.com (November 24, 2009). Retrieved on October 18, 2011.
  21. ^ The 5 Types of Producers, Part 4: Investors & Entrepreneurs | The Center for Social Leadership. Thesocialleader.com (September 11, 2009). Retrieved on October 18, 2011.
  22. ^ Reconnecting With True & Effective Education | The Center for Social Leadership. Thesocialleader.com (August 27, 2009). Retrieved on October 18, 2011.
  23. ^ Part V: 21st century Leaders Must Think Biologically in 7 Areas | The Center for Social Leadership. Thesocialleader.com (August 3, 2009). Retrieved on October 18, 2011.
  24. ^ a b True Abundance: The 5 Types of Producers, Part 1 | The Center for Social Leadership. Thesocialleader.com (September 8, 2009). Retrieved on October 18, 2011.
  25. ^ Oliver's Update. TJEd Online.com (April 14, 2009). Retrieved on October 18, 2011.
  26. ^ Oliver's Update. TJEd Online.com (November 29, 2009). Retrieved on October 18, 2011.
  27. ^ see "Works" section of this article
  28. ^ see The Coming Aristocracy: Education and the Future of Freedom, ISBN 978-1615399925; and www.thecomingaristocracy.com
  29. ^ George Wythe University – GW.EDU – Home. GW.EDU. Retrieved on October 18, 2011.
  30. ^ "George Wythe Foundation Articles of Incorporation". State of Utah. 1999-09-23. https://secure.utah.gov/bes/action/index. Retrieved 2009-04-10. 
  31. ^ DeMille (2001).
  32. ^ 2009 TJEd Forum Presenters. TJEd Marketplace. Retrieved on October 18, 2011.
  33. ^ http://www.homeschoolblogger.com/Utah/486913/
  34. ^ Becoming Statesmen: The New American Founders of the 21st century. Nccs.net (July 2, 1998). Retrieved on October 18, 2011.
  35. ^ 2007 Anual Convention. Art of Womanhood. Retrieved on October 18, 2011.
  36. ^ Cycles from the Classics (Face To Face With Greatness Seminar Series): Oliver DeMille: Books. Amazon.com. Retrieved on October 18, 2011.
  37. ^ World Views & The Emerging State the Face to Face with Greatness Seminar Series: Oliver DeMille: Books. Amazon.com (September 9, 2009). Retrieved on October 18, 2011.
  38. ^ The Seven Keys of Great Teaching (Face To Face With Greatness Seminar Series): Oliver DeMille: Books. Amazon.com. Retrieved on October 18, 2011.
  39. ^ see "Works" section
  40. ^ “Mr. Head Democrat”: The Future of American Politics | The Center for Social Leadership. Thesocialleader.com (September 24, 2009). Retrieved on October 18, 2011.
  41. ^ Health Care Reform in the Era of the Expert Plan. The Coming Aristocracy (October 7, 2009). Retrieved on October 18, 2011.
  42. ^ http://www.tjedonline.com
  43. ^ ISBN 978-0967124612
  44. ^ ISBN 978-0967124636
  45. ^ ISBN 978-0967124643
  46. ^ ISBN 978-1615399925
  47. ^ ISBN 978-1615399949
  48. ^ ISBN 978-1615399932
  49. ^ ISBN 978-0983099604
  50. ^ ISBN 978-0983099611

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