DONALD  C.  SAMSON, JR.

English Department, Radford University, Radford, Virginia 24142 (540) 831-5284

5317 Curry Ford M-201, Orlando FL 32812  (407) 282-8487     

TEACHING EXPERIENCE

 Professor

Radford University (1992--).  Teach Technical Writing, Science Writing, Business Writing, Technical Editing, American Literature survey, and Shakespeare.  Tenured 1996; promoted 1997.

 Associate Professor

Eastern Michigan University (August 1989 - December 1990).  Taught Advanced Technical Writing and Shakespeare; developed technical communication courses.   

 Assistant Professor

University of Tennessee (1985-1989).  Taught Advanced Technical Writing and Technical Editing at undergraduate and graduate levels, and Film Studies.  Directed M. A. theses.

University of Central Florida, Orlando (1982-1983).  Taught Technical Report Writing and Advanced Expository Writing.  Chaired committee to redesign upperclass Business Writing course. 

Meredith College, Raleigh, NC (1976-1982).  Taught British Literature, American Literature, Advanced Expository Writing, Literary Research, and Composition (regular/remedial).

 Instructor and Teaching Assistant

Rollins College, Winter Park, FL (January 1991 - May 1992).  Taught Advanced Expository Writing to reentry/nontraditional students.

William Peace College, Raleigh, NC (1974-1976).  Taught British and American Literature and Freshman Composition.

University of North Carolina, Chapel Hill (1970-1974).  Instructor one year, Teaching Assistant three years.  Taught Shakespeare, Advanced Expository Writing, Introduction to Drama, Contemporary Literature, British Literature survey, and Composition.

EDUCATION

PhD in English, University of North Carolina, Chapel Hill.  Major: Renaissance.  Minor: Drama. Dissertation: Shakespeare's Early Tragic Structure. Written examinations in medieval, American, and twentieth-century literature.  Oral examination in Renaissance literature and English, American, and world drama.  Reading proficiencies in German and French.   

MA in English, UNC-Chapel Hill.  Major: Renaissance.  Thesis: Woe and Wonder: The Emotional Effects of Hamlet. 

BA in English, Cornell University.  Major: English.  New York State Regents Scholarship in Cornell University, New York State Regents Scholarship, New York State Scholar Incentive Award.  Course work included calculus, chemistry, and physics; documentary film; Latin, Spanish, French.

MBA program, Florida Institute of Technology.  Courses in financial accounting, managerial accounting, and personnel.

North Carolina State University, courses in educational psychology and social foundations of education.

PUBLICATIONS

 Books:

Professional Writing in Context: Lessons from Teaching and Consulting in Worlds of Work (with J. Frederick Reynolds, Joyce Magnotto, Carolyn Matalene, and Lynn Sadler).  Lawrence Erlbaum & Associates, March 1995.

Editing Technical Writing  (Oxford University Press, 1993).  A technical editing text for use by students in graduate and advanced undergraduate courses in technical editing, and by communication professionals in business and government. 

 Articles in Collections, Journals, and Conference Proceedings:

“Learning and Teaching,” to appear in Carol Geller, ed., Excellent Teaching at Radford University, Pearson Publishing, 2007.

“What First-Year Composition Textbooks are Beginning to Say about Writing in Business,” to appear in the Proceedings of the Association for Business Communication (ABC) annual conference, 2007.

“Teaching Writing for the Workplace,” Virginia English Bulletin, 56, 2 (Fall 2006), 56-69.

"A Native-American Bad-News Message from 1805," Proceedings of the Association for Business Communication Annual Conference 2006.

"Teaching and Explaining Punctuation," Proceedings of the Society for Technical Communication (STC) Annual Conference 2006.

"How to Edit a Sentence," Proceedings of the STC Annual Conference 2006.

"Writing about Science in Newspapers and Magazines," Proceedings of the 2006 STC Atlanta chapter Currents conference.

"Workplace Behavior Recommendations for Interns and New Hires," Proceedings of the STC Annual Conference 2005.

"Science Writing and Scientific Comunication: Audiences, Purposes, and Techniques," Proceedings of the STC Annual Conference 2005.

“Preparing Students to Work with Technical Staff,” Proceedings of the STC Annual Conference 2001.

“Writing about Science for General Audiences,” Proceedings of the STC Annual Conference 2001.

"Writing and Editing Good Sentences," Proceedings of the STC Annual Conference 2000, 514-517.

"Preparing Composition Students for Career Writing," Reforming College Composition: Writing the Wrongs, ed. Jackson, Lewis, and Wallace, Greenwood Press, 2000, 123-135.

"Preparing to Teach Technical Writing," Proceedings of the STC Annual Conference 1999, on CD.

"Teaching Science Writing," Proceedings of the STC Annual Conference 1999, on CD.

"Producing Effective Electronic Resumes," Twentieth Annual Practical Conference on Communication Proceedings (Society for Technical Communication, 1996), 81-95.

"Helping Students Learn about Workplace Writing," Extra Credit (Tennessee Council of Teachers of English), September 1995, 18. 

"The GMAT Analytical Writing Assessment," Proceedings of the Association for Business Communication Southeast Regional Conference, Nashville, March 1995, 14-16.

"Degrees and Levels of Edit," Intercom (Society for Technical Communication), May 1995, 14.

"Editing to Degrees," Dateline Houston (Houston Chapter, Society for Technical Communication) January 1995, 9.  (Second part of two-part article.)

"Keep It Simple with Degrees of Edit," Technically Speaking (Arkansas Chapter, Society for Technical Communication) January 1995, 1.  (Reprint of Dateline Houston article, December 1994.)

"Degrees of Edit," Dateline Houston (Houston Chapter, Society for Technical Communication) December 1994, 9. 

"Degrees of Edit," Proceedings of the STC Annual Conference 1993, 175-178. 

"Teaching Audience in Technical Communication," Proceedings of the STC Annual Conference 1993, 248-251.

"Effective Technical Graphics," Proceedings of the STC Annual Conference 1993, 548-551.

"Career Opportunities for Humanities Majors," Humanities in the South 77 (Spring 1993), 9-10.

"The Audiences of Technical Documents," Sixteenth Annual Practical Conference on Communication Proceedings (Society for Technical Communication, 1992), 5-9.

"Writing Assignments for a Graduate Course in Technical Writing," in Journal of Technical Writing and Communication 22, 2 (1992), 211-219.

"Teaching Technical Editing," Proceedings of the STC Annual Conference 1992 , 553-556.

"Common Flaws in Technical Graphics," Proceedings of the STC Annual Conference 1992, 246.

"Graduate Technical Writing Course Writing Assignments," Proceedings of the STC Annual Conference 1992, 569-572.

"Macro and Micro Editing," Fifteenth Annual Practical Conference on Communication Proceedings (Society for Technical Communication, 1991), 55-60.

"Tutoring Technical Students in the Writing Center," in Jeanne Simpson and Ray Wallace, Expanding and Changing the Writing Center: New Directions (Garland Press, 1990).

"Worth Far Less than 1,000 Words: Technical Illustrations Gone Awry," Fourteenth Annual Practical Conference on Communication Proceedings (Society for Technical Communication, 1990), 51-56.

"An Editing Project for Teaching Technical Editing," in Technical Communication 37, 3 (August 1990), 262-267.

"Technical Writing Situations in the Workplace," The Technical Writing Teacher XVII, 2 (Spring 1990), 114-118.

Review of Larry Riney, Technical Writing for Industry: An Operations Manual for the Technical Writer, in Journal of Technical Writing and Communication 20, 2 (1990), 215-216.  (With Scott Wells, an undergraduate student at the University of Tennessee.)

"Collaborative Writing of Technical Proposals," in Richard Louth and Ann Scott, eds., Collaborative Technical Writing: Theory and Practice (Association of Teachers of Technical Writing, 1989), 61-69.

"Exploring Democratic Values in the Teaching of Julius Caesar, Hamlet, and Macbeth," The Leaflet (New England Association of Teachers of English) 88, 1 (Winter 1989), 37-42.

"Helping Technical Staff Write Better," Twelfth Annual Practical Conference on Communication Proceedings (Society for Technical Communication, 1988), 35-40.

"The Role of Rhetoric in Academic Inquiry: The Philosophy and Effect of the Writing to Learn Program at The University of Tennessee, Knoxville," Teaching-Learning Issues (Learning Research Center Publications, University of Tennessee, 1988).

"A Publications Department's Role in Marketing," Institute of Electrical and Electronics Engineers Transactions on Professional Communication 31, 2 (June 1988), 88-92.

"Humanities Education and Technical Communication," Proceedings of the 35th International Technical Communication Conference (STC, 1988), RET 134-137.

"Ten Tips on Proofreading," Institute of Electrical and Electronics Engineers Professional Communication Society Newsletter 32, 2 (April 1988), 11.

"The Final Product," in Timothy Whalen, Writing and Managing Winning Technical Proposals (Artech House, 1987), 130-142.  (On writing, editing, page makeup, layout, final review, printing, and binding of proposals.)

"The Importance of Writing Skills in Civil Engineering," Foundations (American       Society of Civil Engineers, University of Tennessee Chapter, 1987), 7-20.  (With Alice Templeton, a graduate student at the University of Tennessee.)

"Before the Writing Begins: Proposal Work for the Technical Communicator," Proceedings of the 34th International Technical Communication Conference (STC, 1987), WE 36-39.

"Editing Technical Proposals Well," Tenth Annual Practical Conference on Communication Proceedings (Society for Technical Communication, 1986), 35-43.  (Reprinted in Whalen.)

"Basic Problems in Writing and Editing Technical Proposals," Ninth Annual Practical Conference on Communication Proceedings (Society for Technical Communication, 1985), 141-148.  (Reprinted in Whalen.)

"Using the Tarot in Composition Classes," Exercise Exchange (1977), reprinted in Writing Exercises from Exercise Exchange Vol. 2, ed. Charles Duke (1984), 19-22.

"'Romer' in Rich's Farewell to Military Profession," The Explicator 34 (1975), 1-3.

"Fellini: Autobiography and Art," An Introduction to Film Criticism (University of North Carolina, 1973), 200-205.

"The Structure of Bergman's The Seventh Seal" (with Dr. Joan Plummer), An Introduction to Film Criticism  (University of North Carolina, 1973), 263-268.

PRESENTATIONS

(Excludes papers published in Proceedings)

"A Bad-News Message from Philadelphia, 1776," to be presented at the Association for Business Communication conference, Washington, DC, October 2007.

“What Composition Textbooks Are Beginning to Say about Writing in Business,” to be presented at the Conference on College Composition and Communication (4 C’s), New Orleans, April 2008.

“Writing Teachers as Consultants in Business and Government: How to Prepare for, Identify, and Successfully Apply for Positions,” Conference on College Composition and Communication (4 C’s) conference, San Francisco, March 2005.   

“Effective Letters of Application,” Virginia Association for Health, Physical Education, Recreation and Dance (VAHPERD) Conference, Reston, November 2004. 

“Punctuation Made Easy: Guidelines for Writers and Teachers,” Association for Business Communication (ABC) Conference, Boston, October 2004. 

“Guidelines for Effective Sentences: A Presentation and Workshop,” ABC Conference, Boston, October 2004.

“Better Ingredients, Better Writing: Guidelines for Effective Sentences,” ABC Spring Conference, La Jolla, April 2004.

“Student/Teacher Partners in Research on Shakespeare,” National Council of Teachers of English (NCTE) Conference, San Francisco, November 2003.

“Shakespeare and the Standards of Learning,” Virginia Association of Teachers of English (VATE) conference, Charlottesville, November 2002. 

“Writing a Good Letter of Application,” VAHPERD Conference, Richmond, November 2002. 

"Tools and Tutorials for Students and Novice Technical Writers," Society for Technical Communication (STC) Annual Conference, 2000.

"Literacies for the Electronic Workplace: Tips, Tools, and Tutorials," South Atlantic Modern Language Association (SAMLA) Conference, Atlanta, November 1999.

"Writing for Publication in a Professional Journal," VAHPERD Conference, Williamsburg, November 1999.

"Science Writing," STC Annual Conference, Cincinnati, June 1999.

"Shakespeare at the Movies,” National Council of Teachers of English (NCTE) Conference, Nashville, November 1998.

"'I Can Write!': Tips and Strategies for Turning Great Ideas into Published Articles," VAHPERD Conference, Newport News, November 1998.

"As They Want It: Commercial Success of Film Adaptations of Shakespeare’s Plays," Popular Culture Association of America Conference, Orlando, April 1998.

"Creating an Effective Resume," VAHPERD Conference, Richmond, November 1997.

"Teaching Grammar," VATE Conference, Williamsburg, October 1997.

 "Effective Resumes" and "Effective Letters of Application," STC Region 3 Student Conference, Melbourne, FL, April 1997.

 "Developing Technical Backgrounds in Teachers of Technical Writing," CCCC, Phoenix, March 1997.

 "Why Teach Shakespeare Any More?" NCTE Conference, Chicago, November 1996.

 "It's Resume Writing Time!" VAHPERD Conference, Roanoke, November 1996.

 "Shaking-Out the Canon: Shakespeare and the 1990's," Tennessee Council of Teachers of English (TCTE) Conference, Gatlinburg, September 1996.

 "Effective Business Graphics," Association for Business Communication Southeast Regional Conference, Kiawah, South Carolina, March 1996.

 "Teaching Teachers of Professional and Technical Writing," CCCC, Milwaukee, March 1996. 

 "Teaching Non-College-Bound Students to Write in Their Work," NCTE Conference, San Diego, November 1995.

 "The GMAT Analytical Writing Assessment," Association for Business Communication National Conference, Orlando, November 1995.

 "Why Teach Shakespeare Any More?" VATE Conference, Roanoke, October 1995. 

 "Non-Traditional Teachers Teaching Business Writing," Association for Business Communication Southeast Regional Conference, Nashville, March 1995.

 "Lessons from Consulting in High-Tech Firms," CCCC, Washington, DC, March 1995.

 "Audience and Purpose in Writing for Work," VATE Conference, Charlottesville, October 1994. 

"Preparing Students to Write in Their Work," TCTE Conference, Nashville, September 1994, and VATE, Roanoke, October 1993. 

"Writing Problems and Solutions in High-Tech Firms," Society for Technical Communication East Tennessee Chapter, Oak Ridge, Tennessee, March 1994.

"English Departments and Programs in Professional and Technical Communication," CCCC, Nashville, March 1994.

"Defining Purpose, Selecting Faculty, and Establishing Credibility for Professional and Technical Writing Programs," SAMLA Conference, Atlanta, November 1993.

"Science, Technology, and Technical Communication Students," Council for Programs in Technical and Scientific Communication, Charlotte, October 1993.

"Mixed Signals: Common Weaknesses in Graphics for Written Texts," CCCC, San Diego, April 1993.

"Professional Opportunities for Humanities Majors in the Post-Bush Economy," SAMLA Conference, Knoxville, 1992.

"Collaborative Writing in Business Settings," SAMLA, Knoxville, 1992.

"The Editing Course in Programs in Scientific and Technical Communication," STC Region 4 Conference, Bowling Green, Ohio, 1990.

"Teaching Editing," CCCC, Chicago, 1990.

"Peer Tutoring with Technical Communication Students in the Writing Center," Sixth Conference on Peer Tutoring in Writing, Youngstown, 1989.

"Developing Writing Skills of Non-College-Bound Students," NCTE Spring Conference, Charleston, 1989.

"The Editor's Role in Business Writing," CCCC, Seattle, 1989.

"Collaborative Writing in Business and Government," SAMLA, Washington, 1988.

"Defining Democratic Values Using Shakespeare's Plays," New England Association of Teachers of English (NEATE) Conference, Nashua, NH, 1988.

"The Writing to Learn Program at The University of Tennessee," CCCC, St. Louis, 1988.       

"The Place of Humanities Graduates in Technical Communication," SAMLA, Atlanta, 1987.

"Preparing Students to Write in This Workaday World," NEATE, Nashua, NH, 1987. 

"Patterns of Tragedy in Shakespeare's Plays," Conference on Comparative Drama, Gainesville, 1986.

"Opportunities for Humanities Graduates in High-Technology Firms," Humanities and Technology Conference, Marietta, GA, 1983.

"Understanding Shakespeare through the Structure of His Plays," NCTE Southeast Regional Conference, 1980.

"Helping Weak Students in Freshman Composition: A New Strategy," North Carolina--Virginia College English Association Convention, Williamsburg, 1980.

"A Research Project for English Majors," North Carolina Baptist English Teachers of English Conference, 1980.

"Using Shakespeare's Sonnets to Teach Shakespeare's Plays," NCTE Conference, 1978.

"Let's Give Them a Reason for Writing: The Support Section Approach," NCTE Southeast Regional Conference, Birmingham, 1978.

"Students' Attitudes and the Evaluation of Teaching," Modern Language Association (MLA) Conference, Chicago, 1977.

"Community in Ellison's Invisible Man," Conference on Twentieth-Century Literature, Louisville, 1976.

"Generating Student Interest and Developing Ability in Composition: The Tarot Exercise," CCCC, Philadelphia, 1976.

"Solving the PhD Surplus," MLA Conference, New York, 1974.

SESSIONS CHAIRED AT CONFERENCES

"Humanities and the Job Market Discussion Circle," SAMLA, 1990.

"Discourse Communities in Collision: A Study of the Strengthening of Two Discourse Communities through their Interaction," CCCC, 1990.

"Employer Expectations and Technical Communication Education," 35th International Technical Communication Conference, Philadelphia, 1988.

"Teaching Shakespeare," MLA, 1975, 1976, and 1977.  (The first three sessions to be held on Teaching Shakespeare at the MLA Convention.)

"Evaluating Teaching," MLA, 1976.

 

TECHNICAL WRITING EXPERIENCE

Instructional Designer, GoCo-op Inc., Maitland, FL (July 2001-August 2001, as an independent contractor).  Designed the Enhancements Summary for the new version of the company’s procurement software (Procura).  Revised and created sets of procedures for User’s Guide.

Documentation Manager and Lead Technical Writer, OutStart Inc., Maitland, FL.  For this e-learning software developer, analyzed documentation processes and recommended revisions, updated the user guide using PaintShop Pro and FrameMaker, and documented publication processes.  Edited a new-business proposal and the OutStart capability statement.  Planned the conversion of user documentation from FrameMaker to OutStart’s authoring software (Evolution).  (March/April 2001.) 

Instructional Designer, GoCo-op Inc., Maitland, FL (July 2000-January 2001, as a contractor through Renaissance Worldwide).  For this e-commerce procurement software developer, served as the Team Lead for the Program Administrator’s Guide.  Redesigned all user documentation to make it task-oriented.  Wrote technical sections of a successful Business Plan for pre-IPO funding of $30 million (recognized by COO and CTO for contribution).  Documented the build process, the code drop process, and the RoboHelp file linking process. Advised GoCo-op on translation and internationalization issues.  Participated in Joint Application Development sessions with Business System Analysts, Developers, and Quality Assurance staff.  Created floor plans and organization charts in Visio.  Supervised writers.  Reviewed resumes and interviewed applicants for technical writer positions. 

Technical Editor, AT&T Solutions Documentation Systems and Information Management, Maitland, FL (Summer 1999, Contractor, through CIBER Information Systems).  Edited HTML-based online documentation for AT&T Support Center staff to use to monitor and maintain data networks AT&T sets up for large corporations.

Documentation Writer, MultiMedia Medical Systems, Maitland, FL (Summer 1998, as a contractor through Renaissance Worldwide).  Designed the user manual for the U. S. Government version of a telemedicine software product.  Rewrote and revised sections, and wrote sections.  Edited and proofread the manual. 

Senior Writer/Editor, Lockheed Martin Aerospace (then Martin Marietta), Orlando, FL.  Wrote sections of technical proposals; edited proposals, papers, reports, and briefing materials.  Estimated costs, schedules, and staffing requirements for publications work on proposals and reports.  Supervised editors and support personnel.  (1983-1985)

Standards Engineer, Operation Sheet Writer, Crouse-Hinds Company, Syracuse, NY.  Reviewed engineering drawings, wrote and revised operation sheets for casting, machining, and assembly of traffic signal and outdoor lighting equipment.  Maintained reference file for costing work-in-process items.

 

TECHNICAL WRITING/EDITING FOR LOCKHEED MARTIN  

Proposal to the United States Department of Energy:

Oak Ridge Proposal, Community Involvement volume.  (Edited volume; wrote sections on Corporate environmental involvement, cultural activities in St. Croix, and philanthropic plans and accomplishments.)

Proposals to the United States Department of Defense:

Outer Air Battle Weapon System Proposal.  (Publications department lead and editor of technical volume.)

Supersonic Low Altitude Target Proposal, Logistics and Management volumes.  (Edited draft volumes on Electronics, Reliability, Maintainability, Safety, and Test and Evaluation.)

Multiple Launch Rocket System Terminal Guidance Warhead Proposal, Management and Joint Development Approach volumes.

HELLFIRE Modular Missile System All-up-Round Buy 4 Proposal, Cost volume.

Lake City Army Ammunition Plant Proposal, Transition Plan.  

Tailorable Coefficient of Thermal Expansion Multilayer Printed Wiring Boards Proposal, entire proposal.

Alternate Infrared High Value Target Acquisition Proposal, Management volume.

Low Altitude Navigation / Targeting Infrared for Night System Buy 1 Proposal, Cost volume (two sections).

Artificial Intelligence Applications to Army Aviation Systems Fault Isolation Proposal, entire proposal.

Reports to and Briefing Materials for the Department of Defense:

( (U) = Title of report unclassified; report classified.)

Composite Missile Control Fin (U).

Optical Counter-Countermeasures (U).

Target Identification at Tactical Ranges Using Laser Vibration Sensing (U).

Laser Effects Manual (U), Vulnerability and Hardening volumes.

Low-Cost Fiber-Optic Gyro (U).

Improved Temperature Capability RAS Materials (U).

Survey of Air Targeting Algorithms (U).

1990 Soviet Infrared Search and Track Capability in Central European Weather Environment (U).

Surface-to-Air Missile Kinematic Intercept Capability Against High Altitude Cruise Missiles (U).

Automatic Passive Terrain Map Generation (U).

 

OTHER EDITING AND PROOFREADING

Edited grant proposals, articles on Belarus, and a book manuscript on Russian agriculture for Dr. Grigory    Ioffe of the Geography Department, Radford University.

Proofread all articles for the Fall 1994 and Spring 1995 issues, and edited and edited and proofread all articles for the Fall 1995 through Fall 1999 issues, of The Virginia Journal, published by the Virginia Association for Health, Physical Education, Recreation and Dance.

Edited "The Economic Consequences of Non-Optimal Choice of Protection for Intellectual Property" and "Caveat Emptor, James Buchanan, and the Existence of Pure Accident," for Dr. Michael Hayes, Department of Economics, Radford University. 

Edited "Effect of Several Ions on Water Treatment by Sodium Silicate and Hypochlorite," for the Journal of the American Water Works Association.

Edited English translations of Japanese manuals for numerically-controlled machinery, Mori Seka Equipment Company, Orlando, Florida (1984).

Copyeditor, Southern Engineer, North Carolina State University, 1982.

Copyeditor, Work Incentive Program Eligibility Specialists' Procedures Manual, North Carolina Department of Human Resources, 1977.

Copyeditor, The Natural Areas Program in North Carolina, North Carolina Department of Natural and Economic Resources, 1975.  

GRANTS

McGlothlin Travel Award, summer 2007, to travel to London to arrange a study abroad program for summer 2008.

Competitive Faculty Professional Development Leave (sabbatical), Radford University, Spring 1999, to study science writing.

Competitive Released Time Award from the Office of Research Development, Eastern Michigan University, to write a proposal for a computer laboratory for Eastern Michigan’s technical communication program.

Competitive Sabbatical Award from The University of Tennessee to study recent developments in the technology of technical communication.  (Only Assistant Professor at Tennessee to be awarded a sabbatical that year.)

Competitive Sabbatical from the English Department at Tennessee to study the use of hypertext artificial intelligence, and expert systems in text generation by computer.

Competitive Equipment Funds Award from the College of Liberal Arts, The University of Tennessee, for computer hardware and software.

Competitive Faculty Development Award from The University of Tennessee to participate in the Massachusetts Institute of Technology Summer Session on "Communicating Technical Information."

National Endowment for the Humanities Grant to participate in a summer seminar at Princeton on "Shakespeare's Development as a Dramatist."

OTHER ACTIVITIES

For Southwest Virginia middle schools, I arrange Radford University campus tours with Admissions and conduct classes on writing and on Shakespeare (Fall and Spring).

Scorer, Educational Testing Service, for Advanced Placement Language and Composition, SAT-II Writing Sample, and GMAT tests. 

Radford University Committee activities: College of Arts and Sciences representative to the Provost Search Committee (Spring 2006); International Gateways Project Committee (Fall 2006 - present); Entrepreneurship Task Force (Fall 2006 - present); College of Arts and Sciences representative to Faculty Advisory Committee of the Adult Degree Program (1993-present); Faculty Representative to the Intercollegiate Athletics Committee, 2003-present); Planning and Budget Advisory Committee (1996-1998); English Department Representative, Faculty Senate (1996); Ad Hoc Committee on Faculty Evaluation (1997).

English Department Committee/Advising activities:

Radford University: Writing, Business and Technical Writing, Personnel, Hiring, Promotion, and Travel committees.  Supervise interns. Advise graduate and undergraduate English majors, business and technical writing minors, and other students.  Provide career information.  Designed and created the original English Department home page.

Eastern Michigan University: Helped found the student chapter of the Society for Technical Communication; Academic Advisor for the chapter.  Advised English and Engineering Technology majors on career opportunities.

University of Tennessee: Freshman English committee; Rhetoric search committee; Instructor search committee; Drop/Add coordinator; advisor to undergraduate and graduate students in technical communication; Outstanding Instructor Teaching Award selection committee (1987) and committee chair (1988); speaker on careers in technical communication at annual departmental job fair.

Author of user documentation for Microsoft Word on IBM computers in the Humanities and Social Science Computer Laboratory at Tennessee; user documentation for WordPerfect on IBM's at Eastern Michigan and WordPerfect on PC's at Rollins College and Radford University.

Radford University Rugby Football Club men's team faculty adviser and assistant coach, 1994-1995, 1997-present; United States national champions in Division II in 2003.  Formerly University of Tennessee Rugby Club faculty advisor and player/coach.

Consultant, Ford Foundation sponsored Writing to Learn project, The University of Tennessee (1987-88).  Author of the final report.

Director, Master's thesis by Tennessee student Laura Bresko, published as "The Need for Technical Communicators on the Software Development Team" in Technical Communication 38, 2 (April 1991), 214-220.

Designer and leader, workshops on effective writing for faculty and staff of The University of Tennessee College of Veterinary Medicine.  

REFERENCES          

Provided on request.    

January 2007