Former Illinois resident Michael Hoadley joins Eastern’s faculty under the newly created position of assistant vice president for academic affairs for technology.

The position came about as a part of Eastern’s initiative to stay up to date with technology, said Blair Lord, vice president for academic affairs.

“We needed someone that could lead academic initiatives for faculty so that they could better serve their students. Because of the demand for such leadership, this has been an extended search process, but we feel Dr. Hoadley will develop our initiatives forward,” Lord said.

Hoadley, the former chair of the Education’s Division of South Dakota University Technology for Training and Development and professor of health studies, is a graduate of the University of Illinois Urbana-Champaign, where he also received a doctorate in health and safety education and a master’s degree of science in school health education.

Hoadley will make $ 96,500 per year as AVPAAT, according to his three-year contract, which will end Aug. 18, 2005.

“Hoadley will hold the primary responsibility for leading the university’s commitment to technology-enhanced and technology-delivered education and, more generally, for assuring the effective engagement of technology in the academic mission,” Lord said in an earlier press release.

Hoadley’s wife, Diane Hoadley, is also joining the Eastern faculty. She was hired for the position of dean of the Lumpkin College of Business and Applied Sciences.

Hoadley could not be reached for comment