Corey Olsen

Upon graduation from Columbia University, Olsen obtained teaching positions at Temple University, Columbia, and Nyack College. He then proceeded to his longest standing position to date, Assistant Professor of English at Washington College with a specialty on J.R.R. Tolkien, Arthurian Literature, Chaucer, and Sir Thomas Malory. It was at Washington College that Olsen was first able to teach a literary class on Tolkien.[6] In 2013 Professor Olsen left Washington College to focus on Signum University and the Mythgard Institute, online learning environments offering courses in language and literature, especially on the works of J.R.R. Tolkien, as well as fantasy literature and Germanic philology.[7][8]

In June 2009, Olsen launched the Tolkien Professor podcast.[9] The podcast was originally created to explore the works of J.R.R. Tolkien, primarily The Hobbit, with later episodes focusing on The Silmarillion. The podcast achieved over a quarter of a million downloads in its first year alone.[6] It expanded to cover the history of fairy stories and their influence on modern fantasy along with supplementary podcasts on the movie adaptations of the works of Tolkien. The supplementary podcasts, often co-hosted by former students, were recorded under the title Riddles in the Dark.[10][11] Another infrequent aspect of the Tolkien Professor podcasts was the Tolkien Chat call-in shows.[12] These were hosted through Skype where listeners could call in and ask Olsen questions directly. The shows were then edited and published as podcasts. Olsen published several of his Washington College courses, including Faerie and Fantasy[13] that covered some of the well known works of Middle English such as Sir Orfeo, Sir Launfal, and The Wedding of Sir Gawain and Dame Ragnelle.[14] To go along with his book Exploring J.R.R. Tolkien's "The Hobbit", Olsen published a series of lectures on The Hobbit with chapter reviews and interpretation of its story, poetry, and prose.[15]

With the success of his podcasts, Olsen founded the Mythgard Institute and Signum University, where he is now President.[3] These institutes offer a range of classes on Latin, the world of J.R.R. Tolkien, Creative Writing, and fantasy and science fiction literature (such as "The Story of The Hobbit").[16] Olsen founded Signum University and the Mythgard Institute because "We at Signum University believe that this kind of academic experience should be available to 'everyone, everywhere'."[17] Several of the courses offered at the Mythgard Institute have been made available as free downloads through iTunes U; the first was "The Lord of the Rings 1: The Road Goes Ever On".[18] In 2018, Corey announced that Signum University was to be formally entered for state certification via the New Hampshire Department of Education. Following some days of crowdfunding they raised the $23,720 required,[19] and later in 2018, it began the ascension process.[20] In 2019, the New Hampshire Department of Education accepted Signum University's request to do business in the state.[20][21]