This is my 13th year at Western, and I truly enjoy working with The Western Front staff every quarter of the academic year. It’s exciting to see the growth of the new reporters, and I love the development of the editors as they learn time-management and people-managing skills to create a terrific college newspaper.

But I have been the student newspaper’s faculty adviser for nine years, and I have decided it’s time to pass the torch to someone new. I will complete the spring quarter with the Front, then revert to teaching Newswriting and other journalism classes next year.

  Meanwhile, my outside-of-Western life continues to be wonderful. My wife and I love to go biking on trails around the Northwest, and we ride just about every week. Our favorite trail right now is along the Anacortes waterfront, where we see seals and otters as well as herons and bald eagles. Being out in nature energizes us, and we cherish the experiences.