UAS Personnel

Education:

• PhD  Marketing, University of Washington, 1990
• PhD  Middle East Economic Geography, University of Arizona, 1987
• MA   Buddhist Studies, University of Sunderland (UK), 2010
• MA   Middle East Economic Geography, University of Arizona, 1981
• Graduate Certificate  Distance Education, University of Maryland, 2008
• BA   Near Eastern studies, University of Nebraska, 1974

Curriculum Vita

Biography:

I returned to Alaska and joined UAS in the Fall 2004.  I lived in East / Southeast Asia for 16 years before returning to Alaska, and taught in Thailand at the Asian Institute of Technology, Kasetsart University, National Institute of Development Administration, and Bangkok University; in Singapore at Nanyang Technological University; and in Hong Kong at Chinese University of Hong Kong.  I moved to Asia from the University of Alaska Fairbanks in 1989, and also taught at Central Washington University in Washington State.

I’ve also had numerous short-term visiting positions and consulting projects in other parts of East / Southeast Asia, particularly China, Vietnam, Malaysia, Macau, and Bangladesh.  In Hong Kong, I dropped out of academia for several years and was a full-time, free-lance consultant doing marketing research in greater China and Southeast Asia, and continued much of that work at a less intensive level after rejoining academia.

I’m married to Jitnisa Roenjun, a small-scale entrepreneur in traditional Thai style who travels back and forth between Bangkok and Juneau, keeping us going here, and keeping our household and her small businesses in Bangkok going.  My son, Kawee, learned Alaskan ways in Floyd Dryden Middle School and Juneau Douglas High School.  He graduated in 2010, and is now studying International Relations at Mahidol University International College (part of Mahidol University, Thailand’s #1 university).

Juneau’s lifestyle is a little less hectic than in big-city Asia, so I actually have a little spare time.  However, I manage to fill it up.  Since coming to Juneau, I have completed a graduate certificate in distance education and an MA in Buddhist Studies.  I also train in Shotokan karate (1st kyu brown belt), as does Kawee, who is the same rank but far better.  Fortunately, he still has a little bit of Asian respect for parents.