Steve Gardner

Dr. Steve Gardner is a 24-year veteran of the United States Air Force. He entered the University of Idaho in Moscow, Idaho, in 1976 following an initial three years in the USAF working as an electronics technician on Intercontinental Ballistic Missiles. He received his Bachelor of Science in Electrical Engineering from the University of Idaho in Moscow, Idaho, in 1979. Following his B.S.E.E., he reentered the Air Force and flew fighter aircraft for approximately 15 years. During this time, he also completed his Masters of Education in 1991 from the University of West Florida. In 1993, Dr. Gardner began his work in Research and Development for the USAF as an engineer and Program Manager, concentrating in new weapons systems, sensors and sensor systems, and camouflage, concealment, and deception systems. He retired from the USAF in 2001 at Fort Walton Beach, Florida, moved to Baltimore, Maryland, to take a job with Northrop Grumman Electronic Systems in Sensor Systems, including weapons, bio-medical equipment, and other electronic applications. He received his Doctor of Education (Ed.D) in 2005 from the University of West Florida. After retiring from Northrop Grumman in 2015, he moved to Ada and began teaching at ECU as an adjunct professor in the spring of 2016. He teaches three classes a semester, primarily in the Project Management, Entrepreneurship, and Management Information Systems areas, where his background in Electrical Engineering, Project Management, Business, and Education give him a wide variety of skills to draw from. Dr. Gardner is an active member of the local community in the Ada Sunrise Rotary Club and the Veteran's Rally Point, an organization, whose goal is to reduce the number of veteran suicides. He also teaches and counsels on a weekly basis for the Southern Oklahoma Addiction Recovery Program.