Oliver DeMille
Oliver Van DeMille | |
|---|---|
| Born | Oliver Van DeMille c. 1968 |
| Known for | Author of A Thomas Jefferson Education, founding member of George Wythe University |
| Spouse | Rachel (Pinegar) DeMille |
| Children | 8 |
Oliver Van DeMille is an American author and educator. He is known for his writings on homeschooling, including A Thomas Jefferson Education, and along with Don Sills, is a co-founder and previous president of George Wythe University.
Personal life and education
DeMille was born and raised in Hurricane, Utah and attended Brigham Young University on an Air Force ROTC scholarship.[2] He took a two-year hiatus from his studies to fulfill an LDS mission in Barcelona, Spain,[3] and subsequently married Rachel Pinegar in 1989.[4][5] He and his wife have eight children.[6]
DeMille was mentored by, and studied independently with Cleon Skousen and submitted[7] this work to Coral Ridge Baptist University (CRBU), which awarded him a B.A. (Biblical Studies) and M.A. (Christian Political Science) in 1992, and then a Ph.D (Religious Education) in 1994.[8] CRBU was an unaccredited bible college. His doctoral dissertation entailed helping found and arrange the curriculum of George Wythe College.[7] DeMille also obtained a Juris Doctorate from La Salle University and a Ph.D.[7] from the Technical Institute of Biblical Studies — both confirmed diploma mills — which he later denounced, calling himself "an idiot"[7] and "an unwitting fool"[7] for pursuing the degrees.[9] In 1994, DeMille received a B.A. in International Relations from BYU[1] with the intent of pursuing an accredited Ph.D.[7] His educational endeavors since 1994 have focused on an extensive, self-directed program of reading literary classics from around the world along with more recently published works in the overlapping disciplines of government, politics, history, and economics.[citation needed]
Career as an educator
In 1992, DeMille was a principal contributor to the founding of George Wythe University,[10] an institution designed to teach statesmanship. He served there as a mentor, board member,[11] department chair, Professor of Law and Politics,[12] provost, president, Director of Graduate Studies, and chancellor. He was succeeded as president by Shannon Brooks. He continues to serve as a board member and as the mentor in charge of graduate and doctoral programs.[13][14] DeMille is also a regular speaker in a "Face-to-Face With Greatness" seminar series designed to introduce parents and students to historical examples and methods of improving one's self-education experience.
Works
During his undergraduate studies at BYU, DeMille worked as a seminar presenter, researcher and writer at the Meadeau View Institute,[15] a conservative think tank in Duck Creek, Utah, for which he wrote pamphlets on international relations and political science[16] that were later published in an anthology entitled The Constitutional Paradigm and the New World Order.[15] While with the institute he also wrote Constitutional Answers to Modern Problems,[citation needed] a discussion of the impact of free trade on domestic security, regional politics, and societal freedoms. His other writings[clarification needed] included research on the biblical roots of the ideas of the American Founding Fathers.
At this time, DeMille's personal research and writing included topics of conspiracy and apocalypse, as reflected in his 1992 publication, The New World Order: Choosing Between Christ and Satan in the Last Days. He later expressed regret for having published this title, saying that his subsequent studies had drastically revised his views.[citation needed] DeMille performed directed research under the supervision of Cleon Skousen and George Wythe co-founder, Donald N. Sills, suggested that this mentored research, could be recognized as academic credit at Coral Ridge Baptist University (CRBU).
In 2000, DeMille self-published A Thomas Jefferson Education (TJEd), the work for which he is best known. The book presents his view that the state of modern education is not favorable for reliably producing principled leaders of the caliber of Thomas Jefferson, while also conveying an overview of his philosophies and prescriptions for how individuals can either provide themselves with a superior self-education of select an institution that will deliver a superior learning experience. He has since co-authored two follow-up books on the subject, A Thomas Jefferson Education Home Companion (2006) and Leadership Education: The Phases of Learning (2008). Other publications include The Coming Aristocracy (2009), The Mentor[citation needed] (2009), and an audio series called "Core and Love of Learning: A Recipe for Success" (2004). DeMille regularly speaks at religious- and secular-oriented homeschooling conferences.[citation needed]
References
- Brooks, Shanon (2005), The First Fifteen Years (PDF), Cedar City: George Wythe College.
- DeMille, Oliver (1992), The New World Order: Choosing Between Christ and Satan in the Last Days, Dakota Productions
{{citation}}: Unknown parameter|coauthors=ignored (|author=suggested) (help). - DeMille, Oliver (1999), Oliver Van DeMille Curriculum Vitae, Coral Ridge Baptist University, retrieved 2008-07-18
{{citation}}:|archive-date=requires|archive-url=(help). - DeMille, Oliver (2000), A Thomas Jefferson Education, Cedar City: George Wythe College Press, ISBN 0967124611.
- DeMille, Oliver (2001), Oliver Van DeMille Curriculum Vitae, George Wythe College, retrieved 2008-09-24
{{citation}}:|archive-date=requires|archive-url=(help). - DeMille, Oliver (2002), Oliver Van DeMille Curriculum Vitae, George Wythe College, retrieved 2009-04-10
{{citation}}:|archive-date=requires|archive-url=(help). - DeMille, Oliver (2006), Oliver Van DeMille Curriculum Vitae, George Wythe College, retrieved 2009-04-10
{{citation}}:|archive-date=requires|archive-url=(help). - DeMille, Oliver (2006), A Thomas Jefferson Education: Teaching a Generation of Leaders for the Twenty-first Century, George Wythe College Press, ISBN 096712462X
{{citation}}: Cite has empty unknown parameter:|coauthors=(help). - DeMille, Oliver (2006), A Thomas Jefferson Education Home Companion, George Wythe College Press, ISBN 0967124638
{{citation}}: Unknown parameter|coauthors=ignored (|author=suggested) (help). - DeMille, Oliver (2008), Leadership Education: The Phases of Learning, George Wythe College Press, ISBN 0967124646
{{citation}}: Unknown parameter|coauthors=ignored (|author=suggested) (help). - DeMille, Oliver (2009), Let me answer some questions you probably didn't think to ask..., www.tjedonline.com, retrieved 2009-04-15.
Notes
- ^ a b "BYU Alumni Directory". BYU. Retrieved 2008-06-01.
- ^ Mattie Glasson, "HHS graduates receive scholarships", The Daily Spectrum, 5/27/86
- ^ Brooks (2005), p. 7.
- ^ DeMille, Oliver (2009-02-12). "An Update on George Wythe University". Oliver's Update. www.tjedonline.com. Retrieved 2009-02-14.
{{cite web}}: Cite has empty unknown parameter:|coauthors=(help) - ^ Brooks (2005)
- ^ http://www.amazon.com/Thomas-Jefferson-Education-Generation-Twenty-first/dp/096712462X/ref=sr_1_1?ie=UTF8&s=books&qid=1239410486&sr=1-1
- ^ a b c d e f DeMille (2009).
- ^ Brooks (2005), p. 4-5
- ^ See also Brooks (2005), p. 9, ¶ 2, where Brooks describes getting these degrees as one of two glaring mistakes DeMille made in his early 20s.
- ^ Brooks (2005)
- ^ "George Wythe Foundation Articles of Incorporation". State of Utah. 1999-09-23. Retrieved 2009-04-10.
- ^ DeMille (2001).
- ^ "Board of Trustees". George Wythe University. Retrieved 2009-04-10.
- ^ "Faculty". George Wythe University. Retrieved 2009-04-10.
- ^ a b http://openlibrary.org/b/OL1470069M/constitutional-paradigm-and-the-new-world-order
- ^ "The Constitutional Paradigm", "Germany, the European Community and World Order", "Mexico and World Government", "Africa and the World Bank", "The U.N. War on South Africa" and "India: National Socialism vs. International Socialism"