A: “I thought I would be in the production business and that’s what I did on my sabbatical but I didn’t like it. Being a professor worked out so well, I would probably be a high school teacher.”

Q: Which Communications course do you enjoy teaching the most and why?

A: “I enjoy teaching so much, so every area of communications. They all have a different challenge, so they all give a different attraction for me.”

Q: Since you grew up in a less technologically advanced era, what amazes you about technology today?

A: “What amazes me is how much it is taken for granted. Access to information is easier and faster but it doesn’t motivate students. I’m also amazed by the production technology that’s on campus compared to when I came to Millersville.”

Q: What is the best book you’ve read recently?

A: “I just finished reading ‘Blink: The Power of Thinking without Thinking’ by Malcolm Gladwell. “It’s about making snaps judgments about people without knowing anything about them. Being as though I teach Communications it was fun to read. “

Q: What is your favorite television and radio show?

A: “The Good Wife’ and ‘Men of a certain Age,’ I DVR those so I can watch them all the time. Dan Patrick on ‘Sports Talk’ is my favorite radio show.”

Q: Do you feel accomplished being a Professor at Millersville?

A: “Oh my God, yes you bet! I am making a difference and that’s what matters to me.”

Q: What do you do in your spare time?

A: “I like to write, do some woodworking, and playing golf. My wife and I travel a lot. We like to hang out together. I am very lucky.”

Q: What do you see yourself doing when you retire?

A: “I am at least six years away from retiring. That way I can see at least three more freshman classes all the way through. But I will travel by car with my wife. Spend more time in the Outer Banks of North Carolina, and spend even more time with my grandkids.

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Q. Where do you look for inspiration?
A. “Travel has always been something that I have drawn not inspiration but energy from. Going to museums in Paris and school there for a summer, Vienna, Summer Academy in Salzburg, extended stays in places. I visit New York regularly and it is always an inspirational shot in the arm to visit many of the galleries and museums I have come to love. It’s more about the energy I draw from these places than inspiration, that really comes from within me; I don’t really need to look for it. I also used to scuba dive quite a bit and have always loved being near the ocean, it has a very relaxing regenerative effect on me.”

Q. Do you have a favorite art gallery?
A. “Gallerie Neue in New York, it is a small gallery that shows exclusively Austrian art, Klimt, Scheile, etc. It has the most wonderful Austrian restaurant Sabarsky’s Cafe on the ground floor, so you can actually feel like you are in Vienna. The décor: Authentic reproductions of the 1900′s Fin de Siècle.”

Q. Who are some of your favorite artists?
A. “Contemporary: I love Xenia Hausner, and was fortunate enough to take a course with her in Salzburg. I also am a fan of David Hockney, Jim Dine, and Hung Liu. Past of course Matisse, Soutine, Klimt, Lautrec, and I am probably leaving out many others that I love like Larry Rivers, who I was also fortunate enough to go with a group to his studio during a course at South Hampton College. He has influenced me tremendously, of course I am also inspired by my students, who never cease to surprise me !”

Q. What were you like as a child?
A. “I was very quiet, and spent a lot of time off drawing and making things. I did, however, have a lot of friends and played outside a lot. I also was a serious student of dance and attended classes twice a week and a private lesson on Saturdays for most of my junior high and high school years. I probably would have continued on that course if my parents had not insisted that I go to college. Art college seemed the logical choice. I was able to combine my two loves: Drawing, painting and at Moore (Moore College of Art and Design) we had a modern dance class as well.”

Q. What do you feel is the hardest aspect of your job?
A. “All the preparation outside of class, particularly for my lecture course. I also teach at the Barnes Foundation in Merion, two lecture courses, so it can often become all encompassing. Not having time in my studio becomes for me, very energy depleting.”

Q. What are some of your hobbies and interests?
A. “Well between my teaching, and trying to paint, there isn’t time for much else, however, I am an avid reader, belong to two gyms, love going to the opera, and movies, but love an eclectic mix of music.

Q. Could you name your top musical artists? Or maybe one (or more) that you are particularly interested in at this time?
A. “Well, I do love opera, and of course classical, Schubert, Chopin, Beethoven, Bach and Mahler…….Clara Schumann, wife of Schumann is less well known but a beautiful musician. My favorite women in rock are Patti Smith, Tina Turner and Annie Lennox.
Groups currently are Radiohead, Coldplay, still love Pearl Jam and REM, but I like Muse and U2 also. Old music I listen to: Klaus Nomi, Jethro Tull and Alan Stivell (Celtic)”

Q. Do you have a form of dance which you prefer over others?
A. “I love Modern now. There was a time in my life when it was ballet, but now I find choreographers like Twyla Tharp, Edouard Lock and Lar Lubovitch much more interesting, more expressive, like a de Kooning or a Soutine painting.”

Q. If you could give one message to the world, what would it be?
A. “If I had advice to give it would be to appreciate what you have in life because it is fleeting. And to try to help other people when ever possible. To value your friendships and work at them and to be aware about the protection of animals and the earth, we are only the temporary caretakers of it and should value and protect it.”

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Q: As the Director of the Undecided Program at MU, what would you say is the most rewarding part of your job?
A: Seeing students who were undecided graduate.

Q: How long have you worked at Millersville University?
A: 38 years

Q: Did you work in any other departments on campus?
A:I was chairperson of the Department of Teacher Education Services in the School of Education.

Q: How did you become affiliated with WIXQ, and how did you achieve your nickname “Doc Roc”?
A: J.J. Williams, program Director saw me DJ a dance tne Galley and gave me a radio slot. He said one day he was the “Duke of Soul” and I responded that I was “The Doc of Roc.” Over time it was shorten to “Doc Roc” and Mama joined me as “Mama Roc” in September of 1979. We have been together on the air for 30 years. She is my “Earth Angel.”

Q: What is your favorite on-campus food?
A: A hot dog and diet Pepsi from the Pucillo concession stand.

Q: Often, students are under the impression they are the only ones who do not know what they want to do. Do you think students would be surprised to know how many undecided students there are on campus?
A: Right now there are 486 undecideds and next year’s class is already close to 400! I usually start the academic year with about 800.

Q: What pastime could you never give up?
A: WIXQ, Oldies, biking, announcing MU basketball, traveling and most of all helping students succeed.

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Q:  What other schools have you taught at, and what did you teach there?
A: As a graduate teaching assistant, I taught at Binghamton University (creative writing) and the University of Rhode Island (composition, technical writing, British Literature 1798 – present and American Literature 1865 – present). As an adjunct professor, I taught at Kean University in New Jersey (composition, creative writing and World Literature) and Berkeley College of Business (composition and business writing).

Q: What was/is the most challenging course for you to teach?
A: Creative writing, without a doubt! Students’ interests and levels of experience are wildly variable, and it’s always a challenge to keep the whole class interested and provide helpful feedback to everyone.

Q: Who is your favorite music group?
A: Rush. They were my favorite when I was in high school, and they’re my favorite now. In between, I’ve had a bunch of other favorites. But Rush has managed to stay in the business for more than 30 years, always to strive to be better than they were before and to learn how to make fun of themselves. That’s a rare combination.

Q: How do you generally spend your summers?
A: I spend time with my children and I write. I write as much as I can. This summer I’ll be working on the first draft of a new novel. I’ll set a goal of at least 2,000 words a day until the draft is done.

Q:  Describe a college experience that is most memorable to you.
A: It’s hard to pick just one. I do recall being completely blown away during my first couple of months in college by the fact that people took books and ideas so seriously that they might devote their lives to such things. I decided then and there that I had to try to become a college professor myself.

Q: Students sometimes feel forced to like particular authors because they are so well-known, such as Shakespeare. Are there any writers that you just never got into in college, but picked up later in life and enjoyed?
A: That’s a great question! In college I never liked Emily Dickinson or Ralph Waldo Emerson, but later I came to appreciate how original and influential they both are. In my philosophy classes, I never liked Hegel, but I’ve lately come to appreciate the magnitude of what he tried to do.

Q:  What is some advice you give to your creative writing students who are caught up in the standards they were given in school, such the idea that all poetry does not have to rhyme, and all essays do not have to be five paragraphs?
A: Rules and standards are not helpful if you can’t understand the logic behind them. If you’re simply following a rule without asking or understanding why it exists, perhaps you should do some deeper thinking—or some research—that might just lead you to abandon the rule or to decide that it’s only useful in certain limited circumstances.

Q: How many states have you been to in the US?
A; 34, I haven’t been to Alaska or Hawaii, and I’ve missed most of the midwestern plains states and the Pacific northwest.

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Q: Have you ever traveled outside the United States ? If so, where and which location would you consider visiting again (and again and again!)?
A: Yes. I’ve been to Vietnam, England (several times), Canada, Russia, France, Latvia, Ukraine. Does New Jersey count as a foreign country? I’ve been there too. I would definitely return to England , especially London during World Cup time. Canada – Toronto is the best city in North America, Ukraine – particularly Odessa , a fabulous resort city on the Black Sea and  Kiev , the capital.

Q: What is your favorite type of cuisine?
A: That’s easy – Italian.

Q: What is the first thing you do when you get home from work?
A: Read the mail, then try to figure what I will eat for dinner

Q: Cats or dogs?
A:   Definitely dogs.

Q: Who was your most memorable professor, and why?
A:  If I answer this honestly, I’m bound to insult someone who taught me and is still on the faculty here. So, I’ll say:  Mel Allen,  Dennis Downey, Frank Bremer, Rita Smith Wade-el and John Ellsworth Winter – easily the most entertaining.

Q: What is your most unique hobby?
A: Playing guitar, keyboards and pedal steel guitar in a rock band.

Q: Being a history professor, what is the most memorable historical event that had the most impact on you?
A: The return of Classic Coke. The serious answer would be the Vietnam War.

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Q: Where did you attend school?
A: Undergrad: Moore College of Art, Phila. Pa.
Graduate: Pennsylvania Academy of the Fine Arts
I also took courses at Paris American Academy in the summer and Salzburg Summer Academy.

Q: What is the most important part about teaching art to your students?
A: That they gain an appreciation for the art that is the most difficult to understand and give it a chance.  I am interested in providing them with new experiences and opening their minds to THINK in ways that they have not previously.  I want them hopefully, to see the world in a slightly different and new way.  And that art can change, influence and enhance their lives in positive ways.

Q: Name two artists you admire and why?
A: Gustav Klimt – His ability to draw and his marvelous color and inventiveness.
Henri Matisse – His work has always just brought me sheer joy

Q: Do I have to limit this to two?
A: Xenia Hausner – I studied with her in Austria and I love her gutseyness and use of color.
Peirrre Bonnard – His color and application of paint.

Q: What inspires you the most for your own works?
A: People, animals and other artists (past or present)

Q: What is your favorite medium of art to teach?
A: Drawing, painting: watercolor, acrylic or oil.

Q: How do you think you got to where you are today?
A: By being compelled to do what I do…and making sure I had the education to pursue my goals and the determination to get there.  And I am still not there – I am constantly revising my teaching, every semester – how can I make this course better.  In my own work always setting higher goals for myself in my painting.

Q: What is a subject that interests you that students would be surprised to know about?
A: Scuba diving, animal rights, the environment and politics, but they may know this!

Q: Professors tend to say they learn from students just as students learn from them. What is something you learned from your art students?
A: Recently a student asked me a question that really made ME question the validity or importance of what I was insisting was important.  I spent several days discussing it with other artist friends and getting a variety of opinions.  I have also had students do independent research on something we discussed in class and give me more information. I always appreciate that and am thrilled that they care enough to bother to do that.

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Q: Where did you go to school?
A:  Undergraduate: Westminster Choir College (N.J.); Towson University (M.d.); Masters: Northwestern University (Ill.) – two degrees; Doctorate: University of Colorado at Boulder (Colo.).

Q: What would you say is the most unique part of your job?
A: Working continuously to teach people how to sing, and watching/hearing them do amusing things like lip bubbles, raspberries, panting like dogs, tongue twisters (“lips, teeth, tip-o-the tongue”) and the like.

Q: Do you play any instruments?
A: Yes. While voice is my primary instrument, I also play piano and pipe organ.

Q: As director of choral activities, do you sing around the house, while doing the dishes, mowing the lawn, etc?
A: I tend to sing a lot, especially scores that I’m preparing, but I probably spend more time conducting while walking around campus, walking the dog at home, etc. I do like to listen to my iPod and spend time singing along with it or conducting the performances I’m hearing.

Q: What kind of music do you listen to for fun?
A: I tend to listen to music from my high school/college years – those glorious 70s and 80s – and fortunately, my kids like to listen to the same repertoire! There’s nothing like Billy Joel, Elton John, Aerosmith, Chicago, B52s, Pat Benatar…even John Denver sometimes (my wife’s favorite: “Rocky Mountain High”).

Q: What is the best part your day?
A: While I love teaching and really enjoy the Millersville students, the best part of the day is the end of the day when I get to go home and see my family. Unfortunately, I tend to be pretty tired by the time I get there, but I can usually stay awake for at least a couple of hours to hang out with the wife and kids!

Q: If you could visit any place in the world, where would it be and why?
A: I’m dying to go to Alaska. Our family loves mountains and snow, and it seems like we might get a couple of blizzards if we visited there. It would also be cool to see large icebergs and fun to be in the middle of absolute nowhere and have to rub noses to keep warm.

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A: I came to Millersville in January of 2002.

Q: What was the defining moment in your life when you knew you wanted to teach music?

A: This is such a funny question. I don’t think that I have the ability to do anything else. I’m absolutely myopic. I can do one thing. I think that I can teach pretty well…and to be honest, I love teaching music. It’s a privilege. I don’t view it as a profession…I view it as more of a vocation.

Q: Can you play a number of instruments? What is your favorite?

A: I did study all of the brass, woodwind and string instruments. I’m not good at playing any of them. I’m a pianist…and if I practice…I’m pretty good. I have an incredible piano in my home. I wish that I had more time to play it. It’s absolutely beautiful and I’m lucky to own it.

Q: Was there ever an instrument or piece of music you wanted to learn but never got around to doing so?

A: I really wanted to learn to play the cello. It’s an incredible instrument. When you play it, you sort of cradle it. The tone is incredibly beautiful…and you get to hold it when you play it.

Q: Is there one musician or band that students would be surprised to know you listen to?

A: To be honest, I don’t listen to much popular music. I do listen to contemporary music and I listen to chamber music. Sometimes students give me music to listen to. I do listen to music that students give me. I actually appreciate the fact that they’d like me to hear it. To be honest, I usually really like it as well. I have a bunch of CDs that students have made for me.

Q: What was your greatest inspiration for your recently Oxford-published book, Kodaly Today?

A: That’s a great question. I teach graduate classes in different programs around the country during the summer.
I suppose that those students helped me formulate many things that I wanted to say in that book. The book is comprehensive. It makes a summation of where you should want to go in your teaching and how you should get there.

To tell you the truth, I’m very proud of that publication. I’m particularly proud of the fact that it’s an Oxford University Press publication.

Q: Who was your idol growing up?

A: I idolized my piano teacher Reynaldo Reyes who taught me at Peabody Preparatory Department and the Conservatory. I loved playing the piano. I idolized the Beatles and Rolling Stones and Elton John. I idolized Svatislov Richter, an incredible Russian pianist.

I idolized my music history professor in graduate school Cyrilla Barr. She also taught me how to cook. I suppose that’s one reason I like having some of my classes over to dinner…she did that for a number of her graduate students and it was always such a great time.

I vowed I would do the same thing for my students. This is such a funny question. I’ve never really thought about it before. I idolized a lot of people at different times during my life. I’ve just given you a random sample.

Q: What is the first thing you do when you have free time on your hands?

A: The order of this is going to be completely random. I play the piano, I watch the food channel, I read mysteries (usually when I’m on the elliptical trainer), I go back to D.C….and several other places and visit my closest friends. I write; I think about the things that I’d still like to accomplish in terms of scholarship and try to think about how I can possibly accomplish them, and I make travel plans.

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A: I began teaching for the Spring 2000 semester.  (My first day was a blizzard and midway through the day the school was closed and I had to get a room at the former motel right behind SMC.)

Q: Have you taught anywhere else?

A: I taught Introduction to theatre for a year at Messiah College

Q: What got you interested in communication?

A: I majored in speech communication and theatre at Mansfield University, as my undergrad degree.  I figured it would be beneficial for the career I was going into after college.

My Master of Divinity degree from Lutheran Seminary in Gettysburg, prepared me for being an ordained parish minister, from which I retired after 25 years of service.
One of the key responsibilities connected with the profession….is communication.

No matter what name you call it: speaking, preaching or talking, the communication of information has always been a part of my life.  My Doctorate in Religious Drama, as emerging from the Medieval Mass combined my two passions:  drama/proclamation  and theology.

For several years I was the resource person for helping pastors who need help with their ‘preaching.’

Q: What is one thing you could never leave the house without?

A:?If for the car: 3 things: I love caffeine beverages, a bottle of water and a CD to play in the car. Otherwise…a bottle of water.

Q: What was your “dream job” growing up?

A: Appearing on the professional stage. That was after being an astronaut, which went out the window when I got glasses in fifth grade and found out you had to have perfect vision to ‘blast into space!

Q:  You teach a speech class: What would you say to a student who is petrified of speaking in public?

A:?I would want to work with the student to narrow the scope of their fear by finding out what specific element of the speaking process caused the strong reaction.

What I would tell them is:  they have something important to say, and the public wants them to succeed.  Don’t allow the audience  to change their minds.  So prepare, organize, and practice.

Q: What was the most interesting and memorable topic a student has given a speech on?

A:?The most memorable, was a student who gave a speech on Lou Gehrig’s Disease, and after describing the disease, and the effects on the person and family, retold the opening story of a typical day in the life of a man with the disease, and ended with the last line:  “and I call him dad!”

I can’t recall any particular speech which could be classified as ‘most interesting.’
I am always pleasantly surprised with both the variety of topics submitted by the students, as well as the research and sources they use in their speech.

Q: The old saying goes, “you learn something new every day”; what did you learn today?

A: The new element of each day for me is the opportunity to re-start the day at anytime.  When I do that, the next 24 hours, not the television show,  becomes the new day.

What becomes new, is looking at what is causing me to start my day over and changing something so there is a new result.  Another old saying goes: ‘If nothing changes, nothing changes.’  That is true for anyone, including the petrified student.

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Q: What book do you believe every student should read at least once?
A: I don’t think there is one book that everyone needs to read.  However, there are certain authors who have been important in my education:  Milton, Dickens, Austen, Wordsworth, to name a few.

Q: What first interested you in English?
A: I’ve always loved reading

Q: Where did you attend school and what was your major?
A: I attended Pomona College in Claremont, California.  My major was English.

Q: Where do you call “home”?
A: Right now, I split my time between Brooklyn and Lancaster.

Q: Have you ever travelled outside the US? If so, which is the one place you could see yourself living?
A: London or Paris.  I’m most at home in big cities.

Q: You recently had a not-so-brush with cancer. Are you well on your way to recovery?
A: In March, I was diagnosed with cancer.  After undergoing chemotherapy, the cancer went away.  Unfortunately, in October, the cancer returned.  I am currently undergoing a second round of chemotherapy.  Right now, the treatment is going well, but with cancer, there are no guarantees.

Q: Was it difficult to juggle teaching while being sick and all of the things that go along with the disease?
A: It has been difficult, but I have been very fortunate in having the support of my colleagues and my students.   Being able to teach and keep busy has also been very important to me.

Q: What advice would you give to students about your struggle?
A: I don’t know what advice I can give except that you can’t let the disease take over your life.

Q: Lastly, name one author, living or deceased, that you would love to sit down and have lunch with?
A: Byron.  He’d have plenty of good stories.

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