Personal information

Some of my poems

Memberships & subscriptions.

I belong to the International Communication Association (whose conferences I usually attend) and Speech Communication Association (whose conferences I occasionally attend). I regularly read Communication Research, Journal of Communication, Human Communication Research, Communication Monographs, Communication Theory, The Economist, Scientific American. I browse and sometimes read Journal of Personality and Social Psychology, Journal of Experimental Social Psychology, Public Opinion Quarterly; less regularly browse other journals in social psychology, cognitive psychology, political science and sociology.

Personal Biography:

I grew up on a farm in Idaho; I'm a first generation college graduate (Reed, 1965). My first job was as a social worker (Children's services). Faced with VietNam era draft, I joined the navy and became a navigator. I worked as a city planner, economic consultant, credit officer, and corporate planner before starting doctoral studies at age 40. I received the PhD from Stanford in Mass Communication, taught at the University of Wisconsin and University of Puget Sound before coming to PSU in 1990. My wife, LaJean Humphries, also grew up on a farm, and is also a first-generation college graduate. She is a law librarian; we have no children.

Both my wife and I love to read, and read our favorite books over and again. Some of my favorite books are: Bronte, Wuthering Heights; Mark Twain, Tom Sawyer, Huckleberry Finn; Tolkein, The Hobbit, Lord of the Rings; most good sci fi (if it's either hard science or speculative, not dressed-up anachronistic fantasy); Wind in the Willows; Bruce Catton's histories of the civil war; Tom Robbins, Skinny Legs & All, Jitterbug perfume; Austin Tappan Wright's Islandia; most Ursula LeGuin, Kate Wilhelm, Arthur C. Clarke, David Brin, Frank Herbert; the Hitchhiker's Guide series.

We also enjoy sitting down to a good movie. The good ones, we watch over and over. Some of our favorites are: Casablanca; Ruggles of Red Gap; Hard Day's Night; Fantasia (and the other classic Disney animated features); Nightmare Before Christmas; all Marx Brothers; Some Like it Hot; Bus Stop; Walkabout (whenever I can find it playing somewhere!); Red River; The Good, the Bad, and the Ugly; It Happened One Night; old Astaire & Rogers movies; the "Thin Man" series; Mary Poppins.

In addition to reading and watching old movies, I enjoy the outdoor life (one of the main advantages of living here!) I get in at least one back-packing expedition each year (recent expeditions have been in the Seven Devils and the Selway- Bitterroot, in Idaho). I enjoy down-hill skiing and boogie-boarding. We enjoy listening to music (classical, jazz, blues, folk, especially jug-band and celtic, pre heavy-metal rock), watching ballet and opera; reading and occasionally writing poetry. Both my wife and I enjoy cooking and eating.

Romantic trivia:

I met my wife when she played piano at my sister's wedding. We have the same birth day (August 5); I have published three poems, all inspired by and dedicated to my wife. You will find them under Poems.

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Last updated December 12, 1997

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