an online learning software company developed by Cornell University students Stephen Gilfus and Daniel Cane, to create Blackboard Inc. CourseInfo had already developed a product and found a market fit by selling to 15 premier institutions. The company renamed CourseInfo's Interactive Learning Network Product into Blackboard CourseInfo. Between 1997 and 2008, Pittinsky served in several roles at the company, including chairman and CEO, co-CEO, and executive chairman. He was responsible for building the Blackboard brand along with Chasen through conferences, list-serves, marketing and networking. Pittinsky also shaped corporate strategy and product strategy, and oversaw the company’s relations with the education community. In 2002, while at Blackboard, Pittinsky co-wrote and edited a book called The Wired Tower on e-learning and the internet's impact on education. Pittinsky helped take Blackboard public in June 2004. The first day of trading raised US$70 million for the company, becoming the second most successful technology IPO of the year. Academia Pittinsky left Blackboard in 2008 after completing his Ph.D. in Sociology of Education from Columbia University through Teachers College. After earning his Ph.D., he was hired as an assistant professor of sociology at Arizona State University in January 2009. His academic research specialized in economic sociology, sociology of education, and social network analysis. While at Arizona State, Pittinsky created a research project that used data collected from student ID cards to track student transactions and understand student social and academic activities. As of March 2014, Pittinsky is still affiliated with Arizona State as an assistant research professor. Parchment While at Blackboard, Pittinsky became interested in creating a company to help users manage academic credentials. He was later introduced to Docufide, a company founded in 2003 that specialized in the online transfer of academic transcripts from high schools to colleges and universities. In January 2011, Pittinsky invested in Docufide and was hired as the company's CEO. In April 2011, the company rebranded as Parchment and Pittinsky helped launch Parchment.com, the company's consumer site, later that year. Under Pittinsky's leadership, the platform has grown from 800,000 users in 2011 to approximately 1.6 million users in 2014. He has led the company through three rounds of financing which, as of March 2014, have brought in a total of $45 million in investments. He has also helped expand Parchment's services to allow users to store and transfer transcripts, use academic data such as test scores and GPA to find matching