Dr. Shaner is focused upon strategy, business development, organizational development, and management training. He is the originator of the Seven Arts change process that draws upon lessons learned from world-class athletics, cross-cultural approaches to performance improvement, as well as cross-disciplinary approaches based upon an understanding of the biological basis of behavior (sociobiology).

Dr. Shaner also serves as Professor emeritus at Furman University in Greenville, South Carolina where he taught for thirty years. He is a former world-class skier, an internationally recognized martial artist, an author of four books, and an editor of thirty-seven volumes in his “Philosophy and Biology” book series with SUNY Press.

Dr. Shaner’s interest in performance excellence and international business began as a result of international travel and competition as a member of the Olympic Valley U.S.A. Ski Team in the early seventies.

After his skiing career, he attended graduate school for his M.A. and Ph.D. degrees at the University of Hawaii where he specialized in Japanese Philosophy. His doctoral thesis on Japanese Bodymind Development was written at Harvard University under the direction of Thomas Patrick Kasulis.

As a martial artist, Dr. Shaner is an 8th Degree Black Belt (Hachidan) and has trained for 50 years in the Japanese arts of Ki Development and Aikido. Shaner “Sensei” is the Chief Instructor of the Eastern Ki Federation (Eastern United States) and is the Japan Headquarters’ Advisor to the Eastern Europe/Russia Ki-Aikido Federation where he has taught each year since 1999.

After completing his doctorate in 1980, Dr. Shaner served as a sworn Deputy Sheriff Law Enforcement Officer in Aspen, Colorado where he developed the first Ki-Aikido based arrest control and quarterly qualification program in Colorado.

In 1981, Dr. Shaner founded The Far East Fact Sheet, a Washington DC based monthly newsletter focused upon Asian business practices. He also served as a management consultant with the Alexander Proudfoot Consulting Company, which specialized in improving manufacturing productivity and overall organizational efficiency.

In the summer of 1982, Dr. Shaner was a Fulbright Scholar in India and then began teaching and writing at Furman University, Greenville, SC.

In 1985 and 1986, Dr. Shaner received a “Harvard-Mellon Faculty Fellowship in the Humanities” where he taught in the Department of East Asian Languages and Civilizations and the Department of Philosophy at Harvard University.

In 1986-87, Dr. Shaner founded his book series with the State University of New York Press with emphasis upon understanding the biological basis of productive learning and behavior. To date, thirty-seven volumes have been released. Contributing authors are from all over the world including Austria, Australia, Canada, Czechoslovakia, Israel, Japan, The Netherlands, Peoples’ Republic of China, and New Zealand.

In 1988, Dr. Shaner was honored with a personal audience with His Majesty, Emperor Akihito in Akasaka Palace. In 1979 he was granted the title “Crown Prince Akihito Scholar.” In July 2009, Dr. Shaner (along with other Akihito Scholar alumni) participated in a celebration with His Majesty in Honolulu, HI. The celebration commemorated His Majesties’ 50th wedding anniversary as well as the 50th anniversary of the Crown Prince Akihito Foundation.

Dr. Shaner is a frequent speaker in the U.S., Japan, Europe, and Russia. He has appeared on National Public Television, CNN, and NBC as a commentator upon U.S./Japan cultural and business relations.