After graduating from UMKC in 1989 with a BA in Mathematics, Doug opted for
graduate school in lieu of actual employment. Luckily, PhD work in
mathematics was a good fit. He learned how to prove theorems for a living and,
in a stroke of further good fortune, landed a job doing just that for Boise
State University. (A priori probability = 0.10, for those of you considering this
career path.)
After joining Boise State University in 1995 he continued to prove
theorems and teach math, spending the years from 1997 to 1999 on an NSF postdoc
at the George Washington University and the University of Maryland. Over time
the theorems have waned and the teaching has become more central (as planned).
Not planned was the slow drift towards administrative service, leading to his
appointment as Chair of the BSU Math Department in 2007, a post he has held ever
since. Now 44 years of age, he is, like so many post-secondary degree holders,
primarily a beleaguered middle manager.
