"All the world's a stage, and all the men and women merely players."    Wm Shakespeare As You Like It, II, vii	Robert L. Rosser, PhD Adjunct Collegiate Professor ~ St. Louis, Missouri
Fall Session II, 2009-2010 November 8—January 24 Interpersonal Communication SPCH125 Distance Education u Theatre Links ◄ See photos of our 2004 production of Grease! and a story in UMUC's online magazine FYI See photos of our 2005  production of Guys & Dolls and a great Poster (PDF file) Long ago and far away . . . A pic from my "Little House on the Prairie" Days. This is the entire student body, Graham School, 1949. I'm the tall kid in the front, between Denzil and Betty Sue. Our teacher, Miss Velda Faye Brackenridge (still going strong in her eighties) is my model and heroine! Graham School, District No. 4 Eldorado Springs, Missouri Contact Me: Robert Rosser 5459 Rosa Avenue St. Louis, MO 63109 Explore St. Louis This website (like my life) is under perennial construction	Biography First the pedigree: u BA in Philosophy, Immaculate Conception Seminary in Missouri (now CSC) u MA in Religion and STB in Theology, Catholic University of America (CUA) u MA in English, Florida State University (FSU) u PhD in Rhetoric, Linguistics, and Literature, University of Southern California (USC) Now the more interesting stuff: u I began my career as a college professor in 1967 when I faced my first Freshman Composition class in late August of that year. In the decades since, I have taught courses in English Composition, American and British Literature, Drama, Speech, Theatre, Homiletics, Philosophy, and Religion. Over the years I have also built and taught such courses as The Novel into Film; Myth, Ritual and Archetype; and Joseph Campbell and the Pursuit of Bliss. I have conducted innumerable workshops on Proclaiming the Word: Formation in the Ministry of Reader, based on my book of the same title published by Liturgy Training Publications, Chicago. I have written several books on oral interpretation in the liturgical context, and wrote and narrated the script for a training video for liturgical readers, all published by LTP. I have written several short plays, many poems, and am currently working on my first novel. I play the piano, though only well enough to enliven my own spirit and the invigorating ambience of rowdy piano bars. u Before joining the ranks at UMUC Asia, I taught at Conception Seminary College in Missouri, Florida State University in Tallahassee, the University of Southern California in Los Angeles, Harris-Stowe College in St. Louis, Catholic Theological Union in Chicago, and (if workshops, seminars, and retreats count) all across the United States and beyond. u My theatre teaching experience includes Acting, Oral Interpretation, Readers Theatre, and Theatre Practicum. I have directed college and community theatre productions for many years, most recently as Artistic Director for The Yokota Players at Yokota Air Base in Tokyo (see theatre links at left). As an actor and member of AFTRA/AEA, represented by TalentPlus in St. Louis, I have appeared in community and professional theatre in that part of the USA we call The Midwest. I had a bit part as a golfer in King of the Hill--not the lovable redneck TV cartoon, but the 1993 film by Steven Soderbergh, based on A.E. Hotchner's autobiography. I remember especially the charming gentleness of young Adrien Brody (The Pianist), who played caddy to me and confidant to the star of the film, the very young Jesse Bradford. As a voice talent, I have read for Recorded Books in New York City and done voice-over for radio and TV commercials, training films and travelogues. u My academic life has been both enriched and complicated by several administrative positions, which seem to settle upon me despite concerted attempts to shrug them off. These have included Dean of Students, Director of Student Personnel Services, Director of Student Activities, Chair of English and Speech, Chair of Drama, Director of Publications, Director of Public Relations, and President of the Pontifical Institute of Liturgy Foundation (New York and Rome). This last position bore a smidgeon of cachet, insofar as it involved establishing a center in New York City and traveling the length and breadth of the North American Continent--with frequent jaunts to London and Rome as well. But, in truth, I was a simple fundraiser, trying to scrounge money for students from more than fifty countries who were pursuing advanced degrees in Liturgical Theology at the Pontificio Istituto Liturgico (Ateneo Sant'Anselmo) in Rome. u To everyone's amazement, in Y2K the world did not end, so I bought a ticket to it by becoming certified as a Teacher of English as a Foreign Language (TEFL). I have taught EFL and ESL in Mexico, Saudi Arabia, Thailand and, perforce, with UMUC. I began teaching with UMUC Asia as a Collegiate Professor in August 2003. After a year of total bliss in Daegu, South Korea, I moved to UMUC Asia headquarters at Yokota Air Base, Tokyo, where I served as Academic Director for English, Communication, and Humanities for two years. u After transferring to UMUC's European Division and returning once again to full-time teaching in 2006, I spent two wonderful years in Rota, Spain, teaching at the Naval Base there. During that time, I spent seven months downrange in Kuwait (Camps Virginia and Buehring, June-December, 2007). In August 2008, I arrived in Vicenza, Italy, where I taught at Caserma Ederle (Army Base), Aviano Air Base, Ghedi Air Base, and Camp Darby in Livorno (near Pisa). u In August 2009, I left Italy and full-time teaching to return to the United States and my old homestead in St. Louis, Missouri. I continue to teach online with UMUC as an Adjunct Professor. u My convictions about being an educator are few but unassailable: (1) you can teach even when you don't like it (but not very well and not very long), (2) you can't make anybody do anything (despite appearances to the contrary), and (3) the door to learning opens only from within (the teacher's job is to knock, respectfully and persuasively). I am an enthusiastic supporter of Kiva, an organization which enables you to lend money to entrepreneurs in poor nations around the globe. Check it out. Control/click on the logo above. Kiva.org Reaches $100 Million in Microloans Around the Globe November 2, 2009 – October marks two considerable milestones for Kiva.org – the world’s first micro-lending website for the working poor. This month, Kiva.org celebrates its fourth anniversary, in addition to reaching over $100 million dollars in loans.
Site updated: November 21, 2009