I taught my first class of adults in a literacy program in Northern Saskatchewan in 1972/73, and I have been in the field for over 30 years.  The first 15 years were in Saskatchewan and Alberta as an Adult Education Teacher, Community Developer, Community College Director, and later, as the Administrator for the GED, ABE and ESL with the Government of Saskatchewan; and then as Director of the University Affairs Office of the Saskatchewan Department of Continuing Education.

I completed my doctoral studies at Northern Illinois University and joined Penn State University in 1987.  At Penn State, I was involved in establishing a Graduate Center in East Pittsburgh and was the Director (and one of the founders) of the graduate program in Adult Education at that center.  I was at Penn State from 1987-1997.

Coming to St. FX in 1997, I was asked in May, 1998, to Chair the Department of Adult Education--a role that was renewed in 2000 for a second term.  During this period, the Department has been engaged in a number of initiatives, including putting a major literature database and selected course materials on our departmental web page for wide student access, and the addition of a 4th faculty member.

Coming to St. FX, I was also invited by the Canadian Association for the Study of Adult Education to take on the role of Editor-In-Chief of The Canadian Journal for the Study of Adult Education, Canada’s major journal of research in the field of Adult Education.  This journal was housed at St. FX and edited with the help of 3 faculty and 2 staff members of our Department from 1987 to 2002. The CJSAE moved to the University of British Columbia in January 2002.  In the spring of 2001, I was invited by the President of St FX to assume the editorship of The Antigonish Review.  This term ended in 2005 and I am still a member of the Editorial Board. TAR is St FX's major journal and its ambassador to the literary world. It consists of fiction and poetry with a history dating to 1970. It has been funded by the Canada Council and the province of Nova Scotia, as well as by St FX and subscribers, worldwide.

I am currently a consulting editor for 3 refereed journals, a past board member of the Commission on Adult Learning and Educational Credentials in Washington, D.C. (which is part of the American Council on Education), and the Advisory Board of the GED Testing Service before that. My service to the local community includes past board membership on the Antigonish County Adult Learning Association (ACALA) which is responsible for literacy and adult basic education classes in the Antigonish region, and I am currently serving a second term on the Planning Advisory Committee for the town of Antigonish.

At Penn State University, where I taught for 10 years, I served on numerous university committees in addition to helping found the Graduate Center where I was located.  I was active on professional boards and committees in my field, including Chair of the Research Unit of the American Association for Continuing and Adult Education, a board member of the Commission of Professors of Adult Education, and a board member of the GED Testing Service in Washington, DC.  I gave invited testimony to 2 hearings on literacy legislation and served on several state-level committees.  I was also a board member of the Greater Pittsburgh Literacy Council as a representative of Penn State University.