The Jesuit Tradition

I was born and raised in Philadelphia, and graduated from the local Jesuit high school, St. Joseph’s Preparatory School, in 1962.  I then entered the Maryland Province of the Jesuits, and in 1968 graduated from Fordham University with specializations in Classics, Philosophy, and English.  I received a full doctoral fellowship from The University of Southern California and received the Ph.D. degree in English in 1975.  I also studied at the Jesuit School of Theology at Berkeley, and was ordained in 1975.  After ordination, I accepted the position of Assistant (and later Associate) Dean of The College of Arts and Sciences at Gonzaga University in Spokane, Washington, where I remained until 1986.I then accepted a tenure-track position in English at Spring Hill College, and am currentlyAssociate Professor of English. My primary teaching interests are in The Great Books, Irish Literature, and The English LanguageIn addition to teaching, I am deeply involved with students outside the classroom.  Both at Gonzaga and at Spring Hill, I have lived with students in the residence halls.  I am also a member and faculty adviser to three student organizations: Alpha Sigma Nu, The Lambda Chi Alpha Fraternity, and The Knights of Columbus.  I was asked to take over the moribund local chapter of Alpha Sigma Nu in the mid-1990s, and it is now a flourishing organization. Working and living with students outside the classroom has been an honor as well as a challenge, and I have gotten to know students in ways I never dreamed of.  I am blessed indeed!