Samantha S. Birk has more than 25 years experience in higher education as a teacher, administrator, and project manager. Prior to joining IMS she was the Associate Director for Instructional Technologies at Indiana University - Purdue University Fort Wayne (IPFW).  She was fully responsible for several successful projects that made IPFW a leader in mobile computing and digital curriculums.

As a faculty member, she earned honors faculty status at IPFW and developed her first online course in 1996. In 2000 she was honored as Associate Faculty of the year. 

Sam holds a BA degree in Fine Arts from the University of Northern Colorado, and  a MA/MFA in Art History from Ohio University. Besides her career in the academy, she worked in the museum field for 13 years, including holding the position of Curator of Education with the Fort Wayne Museum of Art for 11 years.