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Hi. I'm Lynn Todd for GeoLearn and our guest today is Murray Rhodes. Murray Rhodes is a
Kansas City, Kansas native, whose entire career is in surveying. He was County Surveyor of
Wyandotte County for 30 years. Joe, one of GeoLearn's founders and Murray met over 30
years ago, when Joe was doing his Ph.D. studies and interviewed Murray.
Murray came to Joe's attention, because he was leading an effort to build one of the
earliest county-wide GIS in the country. This is one of the reasons Joe consider Murray
to be the Dean of Kansas Surveyors.
Murray, you came by today to get a behind-the-scenes view of GeoLearn before it actually launches.
What are your first impressions?
This is going to be a great opportunity for those who need to find distance learning,
or those who cannot afford to go to college right away. Certainly, this opportunity will
be able to expand their knowledge considerably. Particularly knowing that Joe has assembled
some of the finest instructors in the United States to be able to put together the kinds
of coursework that they need to have, in order to be able to practice.
I know that you know GeoLearn's founders, Joe Paiva and Bob Morris. What do you know
about them that would be helpful to our customers?
Well, Joe is a wonderful educator and he's always been in education. He's always been
involved in trying to educate those people who are involved in surveying and other areas
of technology for the surveyor's outcomes.
We, his abilities to bring together people who have a limited understanding about some
issues, and make those issues very plain and clear to them, is incredibly good.
Bob, on the other hand, is a very technically oriented fellow and he brings together all
kinds of new toys for us to be able to play with, so to speak, but learn from doing so.
Bob's abilities have been stretched back for many years.
Murray, what has been your connection with the education process for surveyors?
Well, for 20 years I was on the Kansas Board of Technical Professions. That's the Board
that regulates engineers, architects, landscape architects, land surveyors and geologists
in the state of Kansas. In addition to that, they set them for the examination, determining
whether or not they can sit for the national examinations for each of those disciplines.
In surveying the National Council of Examiners for Engineers and Surveyors, is the national
group that sets out the national tests for engineers and surveyors. I've been on their
EPS Committee for the past 15 or so years. That organization tests for minimal competence,
to be able to bring in engineers and surveyors. And the whole idea for it on a state level
is to make sure that they're protecting the health, safety and welfare of the public.
Obviously, we are still under construction, but what is your first impression of what
GeoLearn is?
Oh my. What a wonderful opportunity for those who can be able to take learning at distance,
which is something that most people that are involved in surveying have to do because of
their families or because of their long distances from universities.
So this offers such great opportunity, because of the people that Joe has put together, along
with Bob, to bring about good, sound instruction, probably some of the best in the nation. This
is going to be a really wonderful opportunity for everyone in the surveying profession.
Murray, thanks so much for coming in today. And thank you for joining us at GeoLearn.