Welcome statement (teaching/research/personal interests): Perpetually curious about what it takes to write well, for over thirty years I have wrestled with questions and teaching strategies based on two core beliefs: that anyone can write well and that any piece of writing can become effective. As our Writing Center Director, I have invested those beliefs most in helping SU undergraduate writing consultants learn skillful means of helping students successfully negotiate all sorts of writing tasks. Beyond my work at SU, I am very invested in bringing writing center professionals into dialogue, which I most enjoy lately as a founding board member and current President of the Pacific Northwest Writing Centers Association. Assignment design, writing assessment, service learning, and the impact of writing center work on undergraduates are some of my current research interests. Though my interest in writing across the curriculum is well informed by my having taught most of the types writing courses offered on American college campuses, beyond my writing center work, as a teacher I am most intrigued with teaching creative non-fiction. Besides teaching writing, I have also enjoyed teaching introductions to literature, acting, and readers’ theater. As a writer, I am most engaged in exploring connections between mediation and personal writing, mainly through poetry and creative non-fiction. Beyond Seattle University and writing, I most relish time with my wife and son, as well as gardening, reading, building, and travel.

Current and Recent Courses: English 390: Tutoring Writing: Theory and Practice (available only to new writing consultants) English 304: Expressive Writing

Dream or Future Courses: A reflective writing course. A team-taught English/psychology interdisciplinary course focusing on literature, writing, and men’s identity development. A theory-based writing course on the nature and best uses of narrative.