Hi, I'm Bob Baron, a Professor at Mesa Community College (add some gray to my hair and goatee and that's basically me).

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About Me

My early years were spent in Buffalo, New York at St. Valentine's Elementary School and Canisius High School battling blizzards and the resultant potholes. I ran the half mile in track, played on a variety of baseball teams at first base, and enjoyed tackle football in the First Ward and touch football on the Point Breeze Beach. Later I attended the State University of New York at Buffalo (UB), after foolishly pursuing an engineering degree at Rensselaer Polytechnic Institute where I met my best friend to this day and also saw an angel.

At UB, I received my BA, 2 Masters degrees, and a Ph.D. The teachers who had the greatest influence on me, and to whom I am still deeply indebted, were Stefan Fleischer and Alan Spiegel. Eventually I taught at UB, where I also served as Director of Housing and Student Activities at an arts-oriented college subdivision called College B (my handy metal detector helped me find my car in countless snowstorms). This was so very long ago that the rainbows were in black and white.

Special shout-outs to academic colleagues Jim and Bruce and Bill and Mark.

In Buffalo, I used to eat at the Anchor Bar, birthplace of the chicken wing, do stand-up comedy at the Tralfamadore Cafe, occasionally socialize with O.J. at Mulligan's, and visit Niagara Falls and Toronto in nearby, friendly Canada.

Later I worked at Maple Woods Community College in Kansas City (a great city for jazz and barbecue and most amicable people) where I taught 9 different courses while serving also as Director of the Re-Entry Program and Student Activities. I have suffered through 4 straight Super Bowl losses by the Buffalo Bills. I collect unusual ties,sports shirts, drinking mugs, Christmas suits, and tuxedos. I am fortunate to have been raised by two caring and supportive parents who served as ideal role models. San Diego, Sedona, Venice, and aboard a Disney Cruise are my favorite places. I like penguins, blues and rock at the Rhythm Room, listening to Christmas Carols all year long, and following NORAD's tracking of Santa Claus on his global trek on December 24th. I enjoy Comicon each year and with my two sons, I have attended a number of concerts by Slipknot, Coheed and Cambria, Van Morrison, Richie Havens, Sly and the Family Stone, Motionless in White, Crosby Stills and Nash, Metallica, Ice Nine Kills, Kristin Chenoweth, Slayer, Bon Jovi, Highly Suspect, Blind Faith, Queen Ida, Buckethead, The Beach Boys, Sum 41, Suicide Silence, One Eyed Doll, The Who, Katy Perry, Plush, Dropout Kids, Pennywise, ded, Atreyu, The Doobie Brothers, Corey Taylor, Rise Against, Picture Me Broken, Smile Empty Soul, Joe Cocker, Avenged Sevenfold, Jinjer, Spyro Gyra, Journey, Carly Rae Jepsen, Wednesday 13, Papa Roach, Sister Sin, Hollywood Undead, Otep, Santana, Joan Baez, Canned Heat, Sha Na Na and at Woodstock (which inspired me to take up the saxophone and where I met and enjoyed the musical stylings of Jimi Hendrix and Janis Joplin - I know I'm really dating myself here).

I have written a number of songs dating back to when I played alto sax and conga drums in a band called Pale Fire (named after a novel we could never quite comprehend). I can play only Holiday songs on my acoustic guitar but thus far no one has offered me a record deal, although my rendition of "God Rest Ye Merry Gentlepeople" ranks up therewith the best (I'm better on the drums).

If there is one theme in my teaching approach it is probably to find relevance, to try to relate the abstract ideas we learn in class to real life concerns, so people can use what they learn to try to make sense of life.

I have been published in a variety of forums from The Chronicle of Higher Education to The Baylor Educator to The Educational Record to The CJC Journal of Research and Practice to Postscript. A story describing a dream I had about being attacked by ducks was published by a reputable poetic journal, after which, for some reason, it inexplicably went bankrupt and faded from the literary landscape.

I have written 2 unpublished novels and 6 unproduced screenplays. Warner Brothers did read my GHOST OF A CHANCE as it passed through channels, but ultimately rejected it and Raquel Welch wanted to star in my screenplay of Queen Bee, but could not find adequate financing.

I am close to finishing a comic supernatural novel called GIVING UP THE GHOSTS.

Once I co-authored a comic strip called "Putz" with Auteur Jim Paul about college life that ran in the University of Buffalo newspaper called The Reporter.

Since I am very much aware that different students learn in different ways, I tend to use a variety of videos, DVD's, movies, CD's, TV excerpts, and commercials in my classes.

My two grown up kids - Taylor and Blake - play respectively, guitar and drums, and are as different as day and night, but they certainly make life wonderfully interesting.

I have 2 great brothers - Dave and Richard - and one fantastic sister - Carol - who played piano in Pale Fire, and for whom I somehow successfully and recklessly convinced the Mob to leave her be - and we both used to perform piano duets as children, our high point being our version of "The Happy Farmer."

I am married to a beautiful, intelligent, highly personable woman, Destin, whose name is constantly misspelled, the worst one being when an envelope addressed to her referred to her as "Disney Goblet."

I especially welcome students who like to participate, who like to share their ideas with the rest of us. I might not agree with everything you say, but I will salute you for having the courage to air your views candidly. I also favor small group activities so students get to know each other and feel more comfortable in class. Although I have approximately 148 students in my classes each semester, I will learn each and every name eventually (once I get back to the actual on campus classroom).

Thank you for listening.

Get in touch with me at baronb@mesacc.edu