Written by: Garrison Ledbury - 4/30/21

What was your first job once you graduated (either undergrad or postgrad)? What do you do now?

My first job was at Augustana College as an assistant professor of biology in 1998 after I graduated from my post-graduate degree. I went to the University of California at Riverside in the Los Angeles area. I then moved from California to Rock Island, Illinois to teach cell biology and plant biology. From there I moved to Butler University in 2003 where I am currently the chair of the Biological Sciences Department.

How/when did you develop your interest in education?

I was really shy when I was in school. If you had asked me back then if I wanted to be an educator I would have said no. My background is not in education, so as a professor I had no training in that area. We college professors have a lot of information on our respective subjects but not all of us take education classes. I had really good professors at UW-Platteville in the biology department and in other departments. A lot of the professors I had I really liked and they had a big impact on me going through college. I developed a lot of personal relationships with them which I maintained well past graduation. I don't know at what point I decided I wanted to go into teaching but I knew it was either research or education. After getting my PhD, I had to decide whether to go into the industry or into education at the college level. I think my experiences with my professors is what instilled in me a desire to give to others what my professors gave to me. I now understand the impact professors have on their students. When I went out to California, I had looked into going to teach at a school that was roughly the size of Platteville. I really wanted to have that one-on-one connection with students which is why I didn't have a desire to go to a big university to teach. I wanted to be able to follow students as they progressed through school and eventually into their careers. When I was in graduate school I had my first opportunity to teach. I was a teacher’s assistant for some classes, and at the same time, I landed a teaching position at a community college which allowed me to be in charge of my own class, lectures, and labs. By the time I graduated, I had gathered a lot of experience educating others. 

How did you get involved with Sigma Pi? What was that experience like?

The fraternity was not something I would have expected to join. The guys I would hang out with in the dorms and I all ended up pledging together. Two things stuck out about our chapter when I first started hanging around the brothers. One was that the chapter was not this stereotype of wild and crazy social events and they had a nice house; the brothers were very protective of the house. The second thing was that everyone was so nice to me. We would all go to hockey games together in Dubuque. The fraternity has a good mix of people which allowed us not to be stuck into a stereotype. Our pledge class had 18 members. Some of my closest friends like Kevin Stalsberg, Steve Hess, Todd Halvensleben, and Greg Flemel, made my experience what it was. There were a lot of different people from different backgrounds. One of the strengths I noticed in the fraternity experience was that the chapter runs itself- there's the budget, recruitment, the president in charge; it was very independent. You don't get that experience with most clubs at a university. I came to find out that the fraternity is in a make or break situation. There is always pressure to recruit, make sure the chapter keeps going, etc. Once you get involved with it you understand what the history of the chapter is and you begin to understand what needs to get done to keep it going.

Were there any experiences in the fraternity that helped grow your passion for education?

Yes, one example is that we would require new members and actives to do study hours. Just helping each other out meant a lot. Recalling once, four of us brothers were in physics together and we would study together all the time. I enjoyed that more than I realized looking back. As you grow through the chapter you learn how to organize yourself and others. You're in charge from start to finish and that teaches a lot of responsibility - both academically and professionally. You don't know anything as a kid and the chapter taught us those kinds of responsibility. If enough of us messed up with grades, the chapter could be gone which gave us a lot of motivation to do our best in school. It really taught me to be disciplined with my study habits. I got the scholarship award six or seven semesters in a row. The brothers would tell me I was smart but I would always mention that I just got my studying done and out of the way during the day. Being in the chapter taught me how to prioritize my schoolwork first so I could enjoy the social aspects of college. I was always taught to work hard and play hard.

Did you hold any positions within the chapter? If so, how did these positions impact you professionally?

I was recruitment chair, First Counselor, and then lastly Sage. A lot of the takeaways were the responsibilities - the planning and executing of projects. It was a unique experience convincing people to help you and work together. I totally broke out of my shell. You don't get involved with all that while being shy, especially working with alumni, planning banquets, and running the chapter as Sage. At the time, Ed Deneen, our original chapter director, was registrar for UW-Platteville. When any of our actives were having problems we would work together to help take care of our fraternal family. As soon as I became Sage, brothers would come to me for help. People respect you and look to you as a leader when you’re in an elected position like that. It's trial by fire in a lot of ways but it builds character. It taught me a lot about leadership qualities, interpersonal skills and how to deal with people. It continues for me to this day as a professor when helping my students. It gave me a lot of ways to grow as a person outside of college. The effect it's going to have on you is growing as an individual. It builds you up in a way that a university can’t always do. Running meetings for my department is easier after having done that as Sage for the chapter. I can be organized, and communicate effectively with my department because of those fraternity experiences.

Know a Sigma Pi Delta-Iota alumnus who you think deserves a spotlight? Send an email to the Communication Committee at spdicommunications@gmail.com detailing the alumnus and why they should get a spotlight.