What sets Rob apart from many academics is the breadth of experience he has acquired outside the academy and how he desires to bring those experiences into the classroom.  He does not believe that universities are islands isolated from the outside world.  Instead, universities are, and must continue to be, interconnected with the world in which we live.  This mindset has been a hallmark of Rob’s teaching.

Rob is a firm believer in active learning, and he aims to maintain a very interactive classroom that is full of discussion of contemporary issues. Rob has experimented with inverted classroom formats that have turned unpopular classes into favourites.  He is a proponent of experiential and problem-based learning activities, and his assignments are geared toward practical activities that can be applied to real-world settings.  In each of his course offerings, Rob is up to speed with utilizing information technology to deliver material more effectively.  He has also moved his assignments away from traditional social science essay-type assessments and has instead asked students to role play and/or deliver a practical assignment that builds a portfolio of skills for his students.

Since joining Niagara University, Rob has embraced constructivism as a conceptual framework.  He also advances the Vincentian mission of the university which challenges scholars to consider the marginalized and the oppressed in teaching, service, and scholarship.

Current Course Offerings:

ADS 720: “Process, Politics and Evaluation of Public and Social Policy”

ADS 760: “Ethical Practices in Leadership and Policy”