Science & Health
U NIVERSIT Y OF WIS CONS IN-L A C RO S S E CO LLE G E O F S C I E NC E A N D H EALT H N EW SL ET T ER
Q&A
V OL U ME 8, N U MBER 1
WINTER 2012-13
with
Dean Bruce Riley
He still likes his chalkboard, but he embraces iPads too!
Q. You arrived on campus in 1985. What was it about UW-L that made you decide “this was the place� for you? A. Of course, my decision to join the faculty at UW-L was based mainly on what I sensed through interactions with members of the Mathematics Department. I sensed a strong academic environment with a core group of faculty dedicated to teaching and scholarship, and good students engaged in their studies as well
as engaged in the university community. I have to admit that coming out of graduate school I was too inexperienced to recognize what UW-L had to offer a new faculty member. You see, I first interviewed for and was offered a position at UW-L in 1982, but I turned down the offer and instead accepted a faculty position at a small college, Plymouth State College, in New Hampshire. The college had a reputation for excellent teachers,
small class sizes, and lots of opportunity to teach/high teaching load. I thought that would be a good place for me. I enjoyed my time at PSC, and I learned a lot about the craft of college teaching from my colleagues. Regarding scholarship, while faculty scholarship was encouragingly talked about, research productivity was not really required at PSC, and this established a certain environment within the college.
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