Faculty Profile

Name:

Brandon Olson M.A.



Title:

Asst. Professor



Department:

Computer Information Systems



What is your field of expertise, and what makes you interested in this field?

My areas of expertise in the IT field are software engineering, data modeling, and project management. I also have a growing interest in knowledge management. These areas are of interest to me because of my affinity for providing order and structure to chaos. I also enjoy discovering analytical approaches to problem solving. The field of knowledge management provides new challenges in organizing large volumes of entropic information.

Can you briefly introduce the academic program (or department) you are in to our prospective students?

The Master of Arts in IT Leadership looks at how information technology is used to help organizations reach their goals. We focus on studying business trends, problems and opportunities and assessing and recommending technology solutions to address these needs. The IT Leadership program does not involve learning how to write computer programs. Rather, we teach our students how to be confident and ethical leaders and how to apply information technology to help organizations transform in this constantly changing business environment.

What distinguishes St. Scholastica/your program from other good colleges and universities?

The Master of Arts in IT Leadership is a unique program for two reasons. First of all, we are an online program. This provides a lot of scheduling flexibility to our students and offers this educational opportunity to many student that would not, due to geographical limitations, have access to a graduate education. Secondly, our program is unique in that we do not fit in a typical IT education mold. We study information technology as it relates to the organization rather than simply focusing on the technology itself; technology is useless unless we know how the apply it and can execute projects that result in positive and enduring change.

What do you like best about St. Scholastica?

I really enjoy being a member of the St. Scholastica community. The College has deep roots in our Benedictine heritage. This heritage has shaped our values of community, hospitality, respect, stewardship, and love of learning. These values are exhibited by everyone at the College. It shapes the way we work and interact with others. The values are very apparent in both our traditional and our online classrooms. These values create a wonderful learning environment and make St. Scholastica something that people want to be apart of.

What's your advice for prospective students?

My advice for prospective graduate students is to first understand where you want to go in your life. Decide what is important to you and understand how a graduate education will help you. If you decide that attributes of the IT Leadership program will help you reach your aspirations then make the commitment and investment of a graduate education.