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Dennis L Lester

Associate Provost
Faculty Administration

Phone: (831) 656-3432

Overview

Dennis “Denny” Lester joined the Naval Postgraduate School (NPS) team in December 2018 and reports to the Provost and Academic Dean. He has served in a variety of leadership, management, technical, and instructional positions in government, industry, and academia. He started his professional career in the United States Air Force. During his military career, he was an instructor pilot, flight examiner, and commander. He led programs that developed leading-edge technologies supporting research, system development, training, testing, and experimentation.

After completing his Air Force career, Denny was employed by The Johns Hopkins University Applied Physics Laboratory, Scientific Research Corporation, Modern Technology Solutions, Inc., and Clemson University. In his most recent roles at Clemson, he was assigned as Associate Director for Science and Technology at the Watt Family Innovation Center, Research Professor, and Interim Director of Clemson Online. In these positions, he was responsible for managing research projects; overseeing building construction and operations; developing partnerships with industry; integrating new learning technologies into the Watt Center, and advancing distance learning programs. Additionally, as a faculty member at Clemson, he taught the capstone course in business strategy to graduating seniors in the College of Business. Prior to his assignment at Clemson, he taught graduate and undergraduate courses in team building, strategic management, and instructional use of computer simulation at the University of New Mexico.

At NPS, he serves as the Associate Provost for Graduate Education and Director of Graduate Education Advancement and teaches courses in strategic management and strategic marketing for the Graduate School of Defense Management.
NPS Experience
  • 2021 - current: Associate Provost for Graduate Education
  • 2018 - current: Director
Other Experience
  • 2017 - 2018 Interim Director, Clemson Online, Clemson University
  • 2015 - 2017 Adjunct Faculty, Clemson University
  • 2014 - 2018 Research Faculty and Project Manager, Clemson University
  • 2010 - 2013 Adjunct Faculty, University of New Mexico
Research Interests
Organizational Development, Performance Appraisal, Learning Technology, Learning Environments, Survey Instrument Validation
Teaching Interests
Strategic Management, Instructional Use of Computer Simulation, Program Management, Quantitative Methods in Education, Statistics, Team-building, Organizational and Individual Assessment

Awards

  • 2020 - Nominee, Rear Admiral John Jay Schieffelin Award for Teaching Excellence 2019 Academic Year, NPS Provost and Academic Dean

Scholarly Work

Publications
  • Journal Articles
  • Watt, C., & Lester, D. L, (2015). Clemson University's New Innovation Center Features 21st Century Educational Advancements. International Test and Evaluation Journal, 4(36), 267-271.
Presentations
  • Oral Presentations
  • Lester, D. L., Distance Resources to Improve Pedagogy (DRIP), "Course Site Design - Continual Work-in-Progress," Graduate Education Advancement Center, DRIP workshop series, CA, United States. (July 15, 2021).
  • Lester, D. L., Distance Resources to Improve Pedagogy Series, "Engage! Adding Real Interactivity to Online and Hybrid Courses," Associate Provost for Graduate Education, Naval Postgraduate School, Faculty development forum, CA, United States. (November 10, 2020).
  • Lester, D. L. (Presenter), & Speziale (Presenter), 2016 Next Generation Learning Spaces Conference, "Fostering Cross-Disciplinary Learning with Technoloogy-Rich Environments". (January 1, 2016).
  • Lester, D. L.,Floyd (Presenter), & Vargo (Presenter), 23rd Annual Education Technology Conference, "Clemson's High-tech Student-focused Innovation Center". (January 1, 2016).