About Dr. Jonathan Brennan

A national expert in high school and college student success, Dr. Jonathan Brennan holds graduate degrees in psychology, English, ethnic studies and education. He is the author of two previous books, has taught both high school and community college students, and has presented student success workshops to thousands of high school and college educators. He is the chair of the On Course National Conference, an effectiveness coach for peak performers, and father of two children in middle and high school.

For the last two decades, Dr. Brennan has conducted research on student success, motivation and best practices in learner-centered education. He has designed and presented experiential learning workshops to educators from middle schools, high schools, colleges and universities across North America.

He is the former Chair of the English Department at Mission College in Santa Clara, CA, and holds a BA and MA in English (UC Berkeley), an MA in psychology (University of Santa Monica) with a focus on motivation and creating peak performers, a PhD in Ethnic Studies (UC Berkeley), and an EdD in Educational Leadership and Change (Fielding Graduate University), with a focus on developing and implementing campus and workplace success programs, including e-course design and development in career effectiveness.

He designed and coordinated an On Course Program at Mission College that has significantly improved the retention and academic success rate of students in developmental English, Mathematics, Reading, and ESL. He served on the program task force for the middle college (high school collaboration) program and has trained numerous high school educators in implementing student success strategies. He has served as Chair of the Student Success Committee, the Learning Outcomes Committee, and Accreditation, as Vice President of the Academic Senate, and teaches composition, African and Native American literature, and life skills classes. He has served as director of an academic mentoring program for basic skills students, developed the freshman seminar Learning Communities project, and directed research grants for the state of California's Fund for Student Success and Fund for Instructional Improvement programs.

Dr. Brennan was voted Faculty of the Year at Mission College, and was awarded a NISOD Teaching Excellence Award. In April, 2005, he was awarded the Stanback-Stroud Diversity Award from the California State Academic Senate and in 2008 received the state Hayward Award for Excellence in Education. He also received the Dorothy Rosenberg Memorial Prize in Lyric Poetry from UC Berkeley.

Dr. Brennan has worked closely with many leading student success and personal development facilitators and researchers, including Dr. Skip Downing, author of On Course and the creator of the innovative On Course success workshop series, Dave Ellis, author of Becoming a Master Student, Falling Awake and Career Planning, and Ron and Mary Hulnick, founding faculty at the University of Santa Monica.

His publications include two previous books: Mixed Race Literature from Stanford Press and When Brer Rabbit Meets Coyote, from University of Illinois Press.