Bio...a little bit about me!

photoI was born in Pennsylvania and lived north of the capital, Harrisburg, throughout my school years. After graduating from Susquenita High School I attended Houghton College in NY. Originally majoring in biology, I became interested in the biological bases of behavior and eventually finished my time at Houghton with majors in psychology and sociology. Why include sociology?  I guess I just found it too interesting to pass up!

Now what to do?

Frankly, I didn't have much of a clue of what I could do with my B.S., so I decided to attend graduate school.  I moved to Fayetteville, AR to attend the University of Arkansas-Fayetteville. Northwest Arkansas is a beautiful place even while pursuing intensive graduate education! While at UofA, I became interested in cognitive-social psychology and eventually earned my M.A. and Ph.D. in that specialty.

What to do......again?!

Just prior to graduation from UofA, I received a call from nearby John Brown University informing me that they had a position in psychology. I was offered the position and am still located at JBU 30 years later. I currently teach Introductory Psychology, Honors Introductory Psychology, Developmental Psychology, Social Psychology, and Behavioral Neuroscience.

Professional Activities

During my career I've tried to remain professionally active. During the early years I worked on several research projects in my content area. However, I eventually found great satisfaction working on the "Scholarship of Teaching and Learning." Much of my professional activity in the past 25 years focuses on psychology education (as can be seen in my vita). In addition to a large number of publications and presentations I spend a lot of time serving psychology organizations. In 2000-2001, I served as president of the Society for the Teaching of Psychology, Division 2 of APA (STP).  Alas, I am considering retirement in a couple of years! That will provide me with a lot more time for the stuff in the next paragraph!

Leisure Time

Not that I have a lot of leisure time....but when I do, I like to read, "play" with electronic gadgets, work on my photography skills and sometimes help out my wife with her craft projects. We are also members of the Society for Creative Anachronism and have been enjoying the activities of our Kingdom (Calontir) and local Shire (Shire - March of Grimfells).

socpsy.com

dave © 2007