Classes

Office Hours

Course	Location	Time
General	Arranged	M,Tu,W,Th,F 9:00am–2:00pm

Biography

My Name is Dan McAvoy.

I would like to take a few minutes to introduce myself, and let you get to know me a little better before we get started on the class.

I reside in Peoria Illinois, and have lived and worked in the Peoria area all of my life. I spent 30 years working for Caterpillar in a variety of technical, engineering, marketing, and management positions.

I retired officially from Caterpillar in 2002 but never really retired, as I continued to do consulting work on a part time basis for several years following retirement.

Thirty plus years is a long time to be in one place, both on the job, and in life, and while at first glance it might seem like a pretty simple existence, there have been a few adventures and misadventures along the way.

I spent two years in the military serving as an infantryman during Vietnam and returned to Central Illinois and started my college education at Illinois State University only to quit after a couple of semesters to pursue full time employment at Caterpillar. Soon after I started work at Caterpillar, in the factory, I realized my life would probably not get much better, nor would I have a chance for advancement, without a college education, so I went back to school enrolling at a local junior college at night. As time went by, I acquired more and more college credits, and I also moved from the shop floor into a series of more progressive technical assignments at Caterpillar. Before I realized what had happened, I was being referred to as an engineer, although I didn't have a formal education as an engineer, and about the same time I also received my first bachelor degree.

A few years went by, I changed positions again, and became involved in research and development of new products, and started to realize I needed more of a business background to advance any further. I went back to school again, and within a couple of years, graduated again with a second bachelor degree in business. The second go around of school really sparked an interest in learning just for the joy of learning, so I went on to get a double master's degree in Labor Relations and Human Resource Management.

Shortly thereafter I changed careers entirely at Caterpillar moving from engineering to marketing, where I worked for the last five years of my career as a Senior Marketing Consultant and as a Human Resources consultant.

During my thirty years at Caterpillar I traveled to virtually all parts of the world, received a great education, and met a great variety of interesting and unique people.

Since my retirement from Caterpillar in 2002 I have taught at three different universities and am currently teaching full time at Midstate College exclusively while also trying to find time for a little retirement enjoyment.

I enjoy many things such as riding my motorcycle, golf, travel, fine dining, and I also still enjoy learning.

To me, learning is enjoyable and another source of having fun. I hope you find my classes stimulating and a source of enjoyment as well learning.

I will do all I can to bring it to life by sharing my experiences and knowledge with you. Learning is meant to be enjoyable, challenging, adventurous, and life changing. I never tire of learning and I hope I can pass some of that enthusiasm on to you as we explore this material together.

Education

• M.A. Individual Option H.R. Management /Labor Relations, 1992
  University of Illinois
• B.A. Management, 1982
  University of Illinois
• B.A. Social Justice Professions, 1974
  University of Illinois

Work Experience

• Midstate College (2001–present)
  Instructor
• Caterpillar Inc. (1972–2002)
  Senior Marketing Consultant