Welcome to my class and I hope that the semester is a fun and informative one for you.  It is my sincere goal that the you enjoy yourself in this course and at the same time take from it a deeper appreciation and understanding of Sociology.  I insist that the course be open for debate and discussion and that the environment be relaxed and informal, yet respectful with an air of cultural relativism.  Let's open our minds and get to know each other and learn a new thing or two!

My academic adventure began here in these hallowed halls having completed numerous courses from Parkersburg Community College and West Virginia University at Parkersburg.  I graduated in 1986 summa cum laude from the Cincinnati College of Mortuary Science at Xavier University, Cincinnati, Ohio, and for nearly 20 years assisted with the operation of our small family-owned funeral firm until our retirement in 2003.  This opportunity has provided me with the most wonderful real-world experience in applied sociology.  I received post graduate studies from the University of Louisville and Marshall University Graduate College in the areas of expressive therapies and clinical psychology. For several years I worked in private practice as a licensed psychotherapist specializing in bereavement services.  In 1998, I received a master of science degree in community medicine from West Virginia University, School of Medicine having focused on the sociological attitudes and behavioral patterns of health within communities.  I completed further post graduate studies in sociology from Marshall University Graduate College and hold special interests in issues of social diversity and multiculturalism, sociology of the internet, Appalachian studies, sexuality and gender, and cultural issues of death and dying.  I am presently pursuing doctoral studies in education.   I am a member of the American Sociological Association and numerous committees at WVU-P including Social Justice Committee and was elected secretary of the WVU-P Faculty Senate and a student advisor.  I have had the wonderful honor as being named WVUP Professor of the Year for the last two years (2002-2003, 2003-2004) and was the 2003 recipient of the President's Medal of Excellence for Teamwork.  I have been named in Who's Who Among American College Teachers and Listed in the Top 2000 College Professors Worldwide (Cambridge, England).

On the personal side, I have been married since 1983 to my high school sweetheart, Marybeth Stanley Busch, the director of the Sexual Assault Intervention Network (SAIN) for Washington and Noble counties, and we are proud parents of two teenage children, Nicholas and Emily Grace.  I enjoy relaxing with friends, working on our home, woodworking, and wasting endless hours surfing on the internet.  I have been very active in numerous community-based organizations and hold memberships in numerous professional and community groups.  I am a certified HIV/AIDS Prevention Instructor and, in addition to my teaching, am a tissue procurement specialist for the Medical Eye Bank of West Virginia and have been appointed as the Wirt County Coroner since 1991 where I am a certified forensic investigator.

Please stop by my office at any time.  I would love to meet you and discuss our mutual interests.