About our authors
Jim Reinking received his BA and his MA from the University of Iowa. He started teaching at Ferris State University in 1968 and specialized in teaching first-year writing courses until his retirement several years ago. He originated Strategies for Successful Writing with Andy Hart, with whom he also authored The Handbook of Technical Communication based on his extensive experience in the classroom.
Though retired, he still contributes significantly to the ongoing success of Strategies for Successful Writing, suggesting selections for the Reader and offering much-needed editorial advice. If there are any errors in the text, those errors are not in any way Jim's responsibility. Now retired, Jim continues to live in Michigan, a state he loves, and has more time to spend with family. He values careful craftsmanship and hard work.
Robert von der Osten, “A student once told me that he imagined that teachers only taught and after class vanished into their offices. I, like many teachers, have a complex history. Much of my boyhood was spent in Westchester County, New York, in the foothills of the Catskills, where I hiked in the woods, explored caves, caught frogs, bicycled around the neighborhood, built treehouses and once even set a river briefly on fire with an experimental Molotov cocktail. Now I am a devoted husband, father and grandfather. I love kayaking in remote spots like the bays of Newfoundland; seeing a whale or iceberg up close is a thrill. I enjoy all the arts and play piano every day, share poetry with colleagues, follow science avidly and enjoy aerobic exercise and weight training.
"I tell my advisees that we can survive change. I started college as a music major who loved to write music (and I still do). I changed colleges to Western Michigan University, where I majored in philosophy and English and minored in the academic study of religion because I was driven to understand our world. I thought briefly about teaching high school or selling insurance but ended up studying philosophy at SUNY Stony Brook, New York, where I earned an MA in philosophy. I went on to earn a PhD from New York University in composition theory with an emphasis on linguistics and cognitive theory.
"In New York, I worked in the children's section of a 5th Avenue bookstore, trained insurance raters, consulted with businesses on communication problems and (in a job I loved) trained for jobs the homeless, gang kids and other struggling New Yorkers. I started teaching at Ferris State University in Michigan, a great state for kayakers, in 1986 and have taught there ever since.
"Over the years I have taught basic writing, first-year composition, advanced composition for pharmacists, advanced business communication, linguistics, justice and literature, literary theory and science fiction. Much of that teaching has been online or made massive use of Web resources. I am a great fan of science fiction and fantasy, which is where I have focused my scholarship, presentations and publications. I have also been privileged to serve the university in several positions, including the head of a committee reviewing the university's fiscal restructuring, general education coordinator, assessment coordinator and leader of a university planning committee. Those experiences have helped me appreciate writing in real situations, which is a guiding principle of this text. What my life this has taught me most of all is the importance of adapting, rising to challenges and figuring out what really matters.”
