Meet the Faculty

Direct:  503-821-1273
Grant is a 1987 Computer Science graduate of Oregon Institute of Technology, worked in the high-tech industry for 16 years before returning to Oregon Tech Portland as the IT Program Director.  His industry career included stints as a network engineer and technical marketing engineer at Intel, and product marketing for home networking, DSL and broadband.  He holds an MBA from the University of Oregon.

Part-Time Instructor, Business Subjects.

Over 30 years’ experience in design and development of systems dedicated to message-switching, inventory control,  investments,  university library management, and energy accounting.     Managed financial systems for a major overseas grain-grower cooperative.    Served as a systems consultant in the gaming-applications industry.   Provided management of financial systems for a nation-wide insurance company.    Since 1996,  delivered both undergraduate and graduate courses in mathematics, economics,  and decision-support applications at Northwest tertiary institutions, including OIT.

Special interests:   Applications of modern forecasting techniques and analysis of publicly-traded securities.

Co.:      Providence Health Systems
John Cooper graduated with a degree in Medical Informatics, which included a teaching assistant position in databases, and an internship researching the design of a clinical data warehouse.  John comes to Oregon Tech with more than 20 years of experience in software, IT, and telecom projects, in implementation, development, and technical support.  His strongest concentration is in the database and data warehousing worlds, including employment with database vendors Oracle and Sybase.  Recently he has concentrated in healthcare applications, including certification in EpicCare Ambulatory EMR, expertise with Epic's Clarity database, and experience with GE Centricity EMR.

Mark Ahalt joins the Management Faculty after years of teaching a variety of Business courses in secondary education. Prior to teaching, Mark was an entrepreneur and local business owner. His practical business experience on a local and regional level brings a relevant and realistic dimension to his classes. It is watching students grow in self confidence and succeed after graduation that keeps Mark invigorated by teaching. In everything he does, Mark exhibits a contagious enthusiasm. Currently, Mark is the Faculty Advisor for the Oregon Tech Student Management Association. (OTSMA) Mark holds a BS in Business Management and a Masters in Public Administration.

Graduated from the Missouri School of Mines at Rolla with a B.S. in Civil Engineering (Honors) Completed an MBA in Finance (Honors) from Marymount University in Virginia. Served four years in the US Marine Corps. Fourth degree black belt and international referee in Tae Kwon Do. Retired from a 41-year career with Caterpillar Inc. with the primary areas of exposure and experience outside the U.S. in a wide array of roles in marketing, sales operations and country start ups. Spent five years in Washington, D.C. as an International Sales Manager for Caterpillar providing coverage to the World Bank, the Inter-American Development Bank (IAD), the United Nations Development Program (UNDP) and various departments of the US government, i.e., the Commerce and State Departments. While in Washington also served as an advisor on trade to various committees and business councils while in Washington, including the U.S.-China Business Council, U.S.-Vietnam Business Council; Sustainability Forest Committee of the Smithsonian Organization (now called the Tropical Forest Foundation); participated in the Senate Foreign Relations Committee Hearing on lifting the Vietnam Embargo and was part of the U.N.'s mine clearing effort on the ground in Cambodia. I was deeply involved and a member of a group of US firms that worked to lift the US embargo against Vietnam with the US Senate in Washington, and hosting visits with members of the US Senate and other business leaders into Hanoi from my base in Hong Kong. The embargo was lifted in 1994. Worked throughout Latin America for three years; in addition to living and working in Asia for twenty seven years in jobs that encompassed marketing, sales, product support, human resources and management development skills. The Caterpillar distribution model is Business to Business with independently-owned dealers. The role was to act as an interface between the dealers and the company. Typically, the annual revenues of these dealers ranged from US$200 million to $1 billion. I remained a senior manager in Asia in marketing until 2006 when I was given the development responsibility for: 1. Recruiting and developing management trainees from Asian universities, 2. Continuing education, development and retention of our general employees in Asia, and 3. Leadership development for our rapidly expanding Caterpillar dealers in Asia -- representing approximately $5 billion in annual revenues and employing over 7,000 people. Prior to retiring there were seventy five people in the new Caterpillar management development program from most of the countries in Asia, with a shift in demographics from 5% female to 45%. My family and I have lived in Hong Kong, Indonesia, Malaysia, Singapore and India. I speak Indonesian, some Spanish and Malay.

Dr. David M. Plum is a professor of management and past executive in corporate life. He has professional and academic experience, ranging from positions in academic research to practical teaching experience in management and science. He has a love for the impact of management and is an innovative teacher with a devotion to education. He holds a doctorate in Organizational and Management and undergraduate degree in science.