This is my personal page. It's where I share a little about my work, family, and hobbies. I talk about my vision elsewhere, so here I'll talk more about the day-to-day stuff that makes up my life.

Work and Family

I grew up in New Jersey - not far from New York City and the ocean. I now live with my wife and daughter in Fort Worth, Texas. We moved out here over twenty years ago to attend Southwestern Seminary, where I earned an M.Div degree. I became the seminary's second Website Administrator before accepting my current position as Academic Systems Manager.

In that role, I administrate the learning system software (Blackboard Learn), write manuals and produce tutorials, and develop model courses for various innovative programs. My wife Fran works at the seminary, also - that's her in the picture during a recent trip to Korea.

I'm a Blackboard Certified Trainer and enjoy giving presentations on various aspects of online learning. I've presented at BbWorld and at our annual Texas users group conference.

Blackboard at SWBTS

Since 1910, men and women have traveled from around the world to apply to one of Southwestern's many programs. Southwestern has five schools in Fort Worth and one in Houston. It has eight extension centers in Texas, Oklahoma, and Arkansas - and a ninth in Bonn, Germany. Southwestern is a fully accredited institution that offers undergraduate, graduate, and post-graduate degrees. To learn more about Southwestern, visit the school's web site.

We purchased Blackboard Basic in 2001. Before that, we had experimented with a conferencing application called WebBoard. Because WebBoard’s environment offered a limited set of tools (discussion boards and chat areas), we decided to expand to a full learning management system. Blackboard was chosen as the system that would best fit Southwestern’s needs. It wasn't long before we upgraded to Blackboard Enterprise and rolled out the application campus-wide.

Some Avocations

I enjoy reading, walking, old films, the Tuesday NY Times Science section, travel, art, collecting books by favorite authors (and reading them when I have the time), and raising Shetland Sheepdogs.

We have one Sheepdog (and a rowdy young terrier mix) who continually does his best to keep our attention focused on him. Our sheepdog Chance loves to pose for photographs - as you can see here.

A Few Favorites

Here are some (abbreviated) lists of favorite things. My wife and I tend to be eclectics in our tastes. Notice, for example, that Frank Sinatra resides comfortably next to the St. Louis Jesuits in the music category.

Music
Frank Sinatra, St. Louis Jesuits, David Wilcox

TV Shows
My Mother the Car (just kidding! - I actually don't watch a lot of TV)

Movies
Lawrence of Arabia, Dr. Zhivago, So Ends Our Night, I Know Where I'm Going, Brief Encounter, Julius Caesar, Much Ado About Nothing, Henry V, The Searchers, Rio Bravo, High Noon

Books
As You Like It, A Winter's Tale, Will in the World, A Shropshire Lad, Gilgamesh, Beowulf, Book of Psalms, The Song of Solomon, Genesis, Summer of the Red Wolf, Godric, The Passionate Life, Iron John, Traveling Mercies, The Seven Storey Mountain, The Intimate Merton, The Asian Journal of Thomas Merton, Finding Darwin's God, The Human Factor, The End of the Affair, Coming of Age in the Milky Way

That's it. I'd add more but this already is probably more than you ever wanted to know about me!

Well, maybe one thing more... Below is a photo of my daughter during a recent visit to the Atlanta aquarium.