(One of the highlights of a 2005 trip to Toronto was our visit to
The Hockey Hall of Fame. Julia, Riley, and I were thrilled to see the NHL's
most coveted prize, the Stanley Cup. [Unfortunately, I learned immediately after
this picture was taken that we are standing next to a replica!])
The youngest of five kids, I grew up in South Bend, Indiana, a stone's throw from the University of Notre Dame, where I worked each summer in college and graduate school. Several of my family members are ND alums, but I decided to attend Indiana University, where I got my B.S. in English education. After that, I got my M.A. in English (rhetoric and composition) from Indiana State University and my Ph.D. (also in rhetoric and composition) from Ball State University.
So, how did I pay back all of those student loans? Well, after working as the Director of Peer Tutoring at Butler University, I've now returned to my hometown and work at the University of Notre Dame as the Associate Director of the University Writing Program. My areas of specialty are writing pedagogy and contemporary rhetorical theory, or, to be more precise, argumentation theory. I am especially interested in the structures and functions of natural-language arguments (how we construct them and assess their validity, for instance).
When I'm not teaching (or grading papers), I enjoy spending time with my family and watching or playing hockey. I'm not sure why, but I've not yet been contacted by the Canadiens or the Leafs. Wouldn't a middle-aged hack like me be an invaluable addition to one of their rosters?