Pierce Sanute Ph.D.

Instructional Designer

Pierce started working as an instructional designer at World Campus in July of 2013. Currently, Pierce works with a portfolio that includes courses in M.Ed. Educational Technology, Horticulture, and Communications.

Pierce is a recovering band director of 25 years, followed by six years of design work, all in the Johnstown, Pennsylvania area. Prior to working at Penn State, he designed courses for the National Guard Bureau, USNORTHCOM, the Department of Combat Medic Training, the Office of National Security Advisor in Nigeria, EDMC Faculty Development, and GenOn Power. He was also an adjunct faculty member at Pennsylvania Highlands Community College, teaching Humanities, Education, and Student Experience courses, in addition to teaching through the Center for Excellence in Workforce Development at PHCC with Conemaugh Hospital Doctors, Lockheed Martin, Conemaugh Hospital, and PennLink. Pierce is still active in the music world, adjudicating performance groups and providing clinic design and instruction, and occasionally guest conducting. He is currently Education Director for the National Judges Association, the largest Performing and Pageantry Arts judging organization in the country. He also serves as Scholarship Chair, overseeing a scholarship program awarding over $35,000 in scholarships to students each year.

In his spare time, Pierce enjoys perennial gardening; stained glass design, manufacture, and installation; studying film underscore music; and studying music scores. He enjoys reading—his favorite authors include Terry Pratchett, Tim Dorsey, and Christopher Moore. Pierce enjoys movies, especially off-beat and dark comedies. Music wise, Pierce is obsessed with the late Baroque and early Classical periods, and the late 1950s through the late 1960s.

Pierce earned a B.S. in Music Education, M.A. in Adult and Online Education, and Ph.D. in Post-Secondary and Adult Education. He fondly and gratefully remembers participating in Distance Education courses through Penn State via the U.S. Postal Service in the late 1980s to fulfill Permanent Instructional Level II certification. Ah . . . the good old days?