Bill Stifler

Education

I was born in northeast Maryland, and grew up in York County, Pennsylvania, attending Red Lion Kindergarten, Canadochly Elementary, and graduating in 1972 from Eastern York High School. While a senior in high school, I attended Lancaster Bible College part-time in the evenings. I came to Chattanooga, Tennessee, in 1972 to attend Tennessee Temple University, where I received a Bachelor of Arts degree in 1976 (Major: Biblical Studies, Minor: Psychology). I received a Master of Religious Education: Christian School Administration in 1981 from Temple Baptist Theological Seminary, and in 1991, a Master of Arts in English: Writing from the University of Tennessee at Chattanooga.

I began teaching at Chattanooga State as an adjunct in 1989 and full-time in 1992 in Developmental Studies. Prior to my retirement, I taught mythology, composition, and, occasionally, Intro to Humanities and creative writing in the Humanities & Fine Arts division. I also served for many years as the webmaster for the original site of the Meacham Writers' Workshop.

Academic Projects

Work Prior to Retirement

• Taught in Humanities & Fine Arts - I taught primarily composition, computer-assisted composition (including the online version of first year/first semester composition, which I developed in 2000; converted and revised for WebCT in 2002; and converted and revised again for D2L in 2007-9), and world mythology; I taught creative writing and had taught a science fiction class Fall 2004. In the past I taught remedial/developmental writing, and Psychology of Learning (a Developmental Studies course designed to assist students with generalized academic weaknesses).
• Experimented with Internet-based education/educational support and participated in a variety of on-campus programs to expand the use of technology. Developed a WebCT based Composition one class and a World Mythology class. I was also involved in several hybrid and supplemental Internet course projects. In 2007, I modified the World Mythology class for Desire2Learn, and I modified and revised the ENGL1010 course to reflect changes made as a result of the departmental revision of ENGL1010. The ENGL1010 content was made available to all sections of ENGL1010, online and on-ground.
• Chattanooga State coordinator and webmaster for the Meacham Writer's Workshop, a local free writer's conference first begun at University of Tennessee at Chattanooga from an endowment funded by the late Jean Meacham in honor of her husband.
• Tutored students in writing in the Don Andrews Reading & Writing Center

Previous Projects

• Web-editor for the Humanities web site and the Reading and Writing Center web site.
• Web-editor for the Phoenix, the Chattanooga State student arts and literary publication
• Copy editor for the Academic Exchange Quarterly, 1997-May 2001.

The Academic Exchange Quarterly is a publication begun at Chattanooga State in 1997 which, in cooperation with other educational institutions across the United States, seeks to promote teaching and provide a forum for the discussion of practical issues facing teachers in all levels of education. My own role with the AEQ evolved over time to copy editor, responsible to review and ready all publication materials for design and layout. I resigned as copy editor of the journal after finishing the Summer 2001 issue. As the journal expanded, the copy editing expanded beyond what I felt I could reasonably do given my other commitments (the Summer 2001 issue is nearly five times the volume of the premier issue).
• Past webmaster for our campus Institute for Teaching and Learning committee. The web site provided information and campus support to faculty and staff for teaching, particularly using technology.
• Assisted the Parent Volunteer Organization at Tyner Academy (1999-2000) by producing its monthly newsletter, and maintaining and developing its web site, the Parent Ram-Page (as support to Chattanooga State's partnership with Tyner Academy, our local technology magnet school)
• Pilot project under the direction of Matt Smith to explore an argument/persuasive writing-based EN111 as an alternative to traditional literature-based composition classes (1999-2000)
• Kaplan^® AAPP and Compass Test Preparation Workshops
• Served as co-editor of the Developmental Studies newsletter, Right Direction September 1992 to May 1998
• Served as secretary of the Chattanooga State Faculty Senate from August 1994 to May 1997, and was instrumental in the 1997 revision of the Faculty Senate Constitution
• Involved in use and extension of technology on campus
• Developed Developmental Studies division web pages
• Assisted Distance Learning in early forays into computer-assisted distance education classes (set up a simple BBS program for offering classes)
• Taught Instructional Televised Fixed Services classes

Background

I am the oldest of six children. Growing up in Pennsylvania, I spent most of my teen years laboring hours in the neighbors' fields, baling straw and hay; planting, spearing and hanging tobacco; and picking potatoes and tomatoes; helping out on our twelve acre truck farm; or shoveling manure for my father (who flies homing pigeons). While growing up, I attended Windsor Church of God, and, although I never officially joined the church, I count it as my home church. I also spent several summers working with a local Christian mission organization, Teen Encounter, where I worked as a camp counselor, office assistant, and general gopher. When I wasn't working, which was often enough, I was either reading (my idea of summer vacation was a hammock on the front porch and a stack of books, mostly light fiction as well as serious fiction and books about science), memorizing Scripture, or fiddling with chemicals, rockets, telescopes, electronics, and a variety of other scientific miscellany as I assisted my mad scientist partner and neighbor, Dennis Myers. I was, in fact, a nerd.

During those long years working my way through college, seminary, and graduate school, I was a jack of all trades, working in a lumber yard and in two warehouses; I drove trucks and forklifts; operated a modified offset press; worked production, receiving, and order selecting; and spent quite a few years in charge of inventory control for a local dry grocery warehouse. During my years working inventory control, I

• maintained the accuracy of approximately $10 million of inventory at less than 0.001% variance as measured during bi-yearly inventory reviews
• assisted in analyzing, coordinating, developing, and implementing warehouse, distribution, purchasing, data processing, sales, and accounting procedures relevant to warehouse operation
• served as 3rd shift Systems Administrator for DCMCS (Dallas Inventory Management System) after the company instituted a computerized inventory system
• assisted in modifying and implementing DCMCS for use in the Health and Beauth Care department

I was married in 1974 to Kathy Miller of Leechburg, Pennsylvania, and have four children: Natalie, Brant, April, and Ben. I was divorced, after a lengthy separation, in March 2006. July 2007, I married Judy Yancy, a native Chattanoogan, who has two grown children, Chris and Brianne.

Personal Interests

I'm interested in most things that involve using my head rather than my hands, which means as a child and a teenager, I liked most academic subjects in school while not being particularly enthusiastic about sports or shop. I suffered nerve damage to my left arm at birth, which resulted in the gradual atrophy of my rotary cuff, deltoid and tricep muscles. When I was a year old, my father changed my hand orientation from left to right (This was not in response to the nerve damage but rather because, as a left-handed person himself, he wanted to spare me having to buy specialized tools for left handed people). Subsequently, I lacked upper body strength and had coordination issues. In recent years, I have lost most of the mobility in my left arm. It was only after I began losing mobility in my left arm when I was in my 40's that it occurred to me that I had been physically disabled all my life. In the last several decades, I have also lost acuity in my right ear and eye.

In addition to an avid interest in computer technology and an unhealthy lack of specialization, I love writing fiction and poetry, when I can make time for it. To date, I have only a few works published, including "On Writing," a poem published in Bridging English by Milner and Milner, MacMillan Press, 1993, and "Redeeming Time," a poem published in the 75th anniversary edition of Science News (1 Mar. 1997: S24).

I also enjoy singing and over the years have sung in several high school, college, and church choirs. My most active interests are

My wife Judy and I

• English-writing and literature: I write both poetry and prose, and have taught basic writing, creative writing, and composition, which includes some foundational literary analysis.
• Mythology: Mythology is one of those fields that crosses all disciplines, which is part of the attraction for me.
• Science, particularly the physical sciences: During most of my years in elementary school and high school, I was planning on a professional life in science. My best friend Denny Myers and I had our own science company, M&S Scientific. I considered astrophysics or teaching high school physics and math, but during my last three years of high school, my life took a different direction.
• Reading: Mainstream literature; literary studies; non-fiction, especially science, history, and philosophy; mysteries (a Nero Wolfe, Spenser, and Lew Archer fan), sci-fi (Heinlein, Norton, Del Rey, Silverberg, Herbert, and others), and fantasy (I did my graduate thesis on Stephen R. Donaldson).
• Computers and related topics: I am self-taught in using HTML and CSS, and have dabbled in programming, including a scripting language similar to C+, GWBasic (back when that was popular), some javascript and a bit of PHP. I will admit that I am more trial and error at programming than systematic. I sometimes slip into command mode to use some MSDOS.
• Psychology: I minored in psychology and considered counseling as a profession.
• Music: (I grew up listening to the 40's and '50's music of my mother (especially Pat Boone) and the pop and country my father enjoyed so I have mixed tastes--soft rock, especially Phil Collins; some country; classical, especially J. S. Bach; contemporary Christian, especially Steve Green; quartet music with a nice bass, and other styles). I sang in choir in highschool and in college, was a member of a male choir (Singing Men of Temple), have sung in various church choirs over the years, and sang in Chattanooga State's campus faculty/staff choir. I briefly directed a small church choir. Over the years, I have also sung solos, duets, bass in mixed quartets, and first tenor in an acapella Gospel quartet. I've had some musical training, but, unfortunately, I have not used it on a regular basis, so I have forgotten much.

Pictures and background on my family, PA, and childhood home