Name: David Burris
Title: Computer Science Program Coordinator
Company: Sam Houston State University
Contact Info:
http://www.shsu.edu/~csc_dsb
How I organize my day: I arrive at 6:15 A.M. I am more productive without interruptions. It takes me about 2 hours outside of class to prepare for each hour in class. I typically teach 3 classes per semester that I have taught before and one class I will have never taught or not taught for several years. Class preparation is very time consuming. I make it a goal to make at least one major improvement to every class I teach every semester.
Amount of time spent working daily (at home and office): I arrive at 6:15 A.M. and go home about 4:00. I usually spend about 1-1/2 hours per night programming examples or writing notes for handouts or download.
What I do to get myself thinking creatively: No problem, I like what I do. It's harder to stop and do things that are not related to my job. I have been a baseball coach, speed skate coach, soccer coach, certified soccer referee, and scout master for my sons who no longer live at home. Now I devote most of my time to my classes or furthering the university as a whole.
My problem-solving strategy: Do not worry about the trees until you clearly grasp the forest.
What I do to relieve stress: Walking. It's not unusual for me to do more than 2 miles per day.
My hero, mentor, or person I most admire and why: Kurt Schember (deceased). He was a consummate teacher though I never had him for a class. Rather he provided me with what I need to learn to teach. Dr. McCoy (Sam Houston State University) provided a lot of material early in my career at SHSU. Dr. McCoy has never been recognized by the university for his contributions.
How a negative event changed my life in a positive way:
I have always wanted to teach. The best field when I was an undergraduate
was Physics, Sputnik, NASA, etc. My undergraduate degree was a double
major in Physics and Math. Companies were calling at home with job offers
and even encouraged me to drop out of school. They did not feel I need an
advanced degree to be successful.
I was working on my masters degree in Physics when I had to join the army
though I never got sent to Vietnam. When I got out of the service and
finished my masters degree the field of Physics had shut down and has
never really recovered. Ph.D.'s from NASA were very happy to find a job
teaching high school. The American Physics Society was predicting that
only two real university teaching positions would open up per year in the
US for the next 15 to 20 years. In addition, jobs in Physics were almost
impossible to obtain. A masters degree was the kiss of death. Employers
worked on the assumption I was over-qualified and that when Physics opened
up again (they all assumed incorrectly it would) that I would leave them.
I was designing nuclear reactor shut down systems, toilet seats for the
DEW Line (so that when you stood up the seat did not come with you), and
other assorted jobs mostly dealing with heat transfer in the
petro-chemical industry. It took six months to find that first job. I was
hired to solve the problems the engineers in the company, mostly
electrical engineers, did not know how to approach. My company obtained
its first computer. They were mostly electrical engineers and obviously
the token physicist should learn how to program and apply the new tool. I
wrote programs, mostly in Basic, to automate the typical engineering
calculations done by the company. Note that the first hand calculator had
been about for about a year. Add, subtract, multiply, and divide with one
memory function were $150.00. Today you can get their equivalent free as
promotional materials. It was strictly an accident, but I loved the
computer and it gave me an avenue back to teaching. Note that I wanted to
teach, what I taught was not nearly as important.
What values are the most important to me and what I value in others: Desire to learn and honesty. It doesn't matter how talented you are, just that you want to excel to the best of your ability. The people I admire the most and that are the most successful are seldom the most intelligent or talented. They are the people who enjoy life, what they are doing, and never quit.
What inspires, motivates, or gets me excited about my job on a daily basis: Students. I also like to do things that push the envelope. Especially in the sense that people assume you can not do it or it isn't proper. If it doesn't fit the mold, it's worth exploring.
Biography:
Academic degrees, professional awards, etc. are of limited value. You're never worth more than what you did today. Your only real success is in what others achieve because you helped them in some way.
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Location: www.acm.org/crossroads/dayinlife/bios/david_burris.html