A 1994 JMU alumnus, he earned a Ph.D in English at the University of New Mexico and in 2003 returned to JMU as a full-time faculty member. While he teaches a range of undergraduate- and graduate-level courses in writing, rhetoric, and pedagogy, the most challenging and most enjoyable is JMU’s first-year writing course. In addition to helping first-year students develop critical literacy skills, Michael has worked as a freshman advisor since 2005 and won the 2010 NACADA national award for student advising. He also served as a coordinator for the arts and humanities cluster of the General Education Program. Michael currently resides in the Mennonite community of Dayton, VA, with two Border collies and eleven chickens.