Daniel Olson, Ed.D.

Associate Professor, Basic Sciences

Daniel Olson, Ed.D., joined National University in 2022 after teaching at Northern Illinois University (NIU) for 36 years. Specializing in gross anatomy, Dr. Olson has taught undergraduate and graduate anatomy courses, neurobiology and graduate-level pedagogy courses. He also served as an adjunct professor at Benedictine University.

“Anatomy is the study of relationships, and I love helping my students discover relationships to help them organize a great deal of anatomical material,” Dr. Olson said, adding that critical thinking is the central tenet to his teaching philosophy.

Over the years, he’s won multiple awards for teaching excellence, including a Certificate of Excellence in Online Teaching from NIU in 2022, the Dean’s Award for Teaching Excellence from Benedictine University in 2016, the 2005 Outstanding Teaching Award from NIU, and the 2000 Presidential Supportive Professional Staff Award for Excellence from NIU.

After retiring from NIU, Dr. Olson decided to teach at NUHS for the opportunity to work in a medical-school environment with state-of-the-art anatomy laboratory and cadaver-based anatomy courses.

“I love working with my students, fostering a climate of inclusivity in that Spine and Extremities Anatomy is ‘our’ course as we work together toward student success,” he said.

Dr. Olson holds a Doctor of Education in Adult Continuing Education from Northern Illinois University, along with a Master of Science in Anatomy from the University of Nebraska Medical Center, and a Bachelor of Science in Biology Education from the University of Nebraska-Lincoln.