After spending my first 7 days in Baltimore, Maryland, I grew up in Charlottesville, Virginia. For my undergraduate study, I attended George Washington University in Washington, D.C.  Starting out as a political science political science major (what else would one do in D.C. in the 60's?), by my sophomore year I came to my senses and found my true academic calling in American Studies. I then pursued graduate study the doctoral program in English at Cornell University, with a concentration in 20th century British and American literature. Since 1979 I have been a faculty member in the Department of Writing at Ithaca College, where I have been teaching argument, nature writing, and composition, and, until last year, directing the Ithaca College Writing Center. In addition to rhetoric and nature writing, other research interests include Native American Culture and Literature, Maya Studies, and Detective Fiction. My private passions include my dog Sophie, traveling in Guatemala and the American Southwest, dressage riding, and gardening.  

Areas

     •  rhetoric

     •  writing center theory and practice

     •  composition  

     •  Native American studies/literature

     •  writing about nature and environmental issues

Degrees

     •  A.B.D. in English, Cornell University, Ithaca, NY 

     •  M.A. in English, Cornell University, 1971

        Honors: Cornell University Humanities Fellowships, 1970-72

     •  B.A. in American Studies, The George Washington University, 1968

        Honors: Phi Beta Kappa

                     Graduated with Distinction and Special Honors

Other Activities

     •  Director, Ithaca College Witing Center, 1988-2008

     •  First-Year and Intermediate Seminars, Ithaca College Honors Program, 1999-present