CURRICULM VITAE
Thomas H. Foote
Birthdate: Sept. 25, 1937
Birthplace: Ipswich, MA
Home Address: 512 S. Sherman
Olympia, WA 98502 - 5453
Office: LAB II 2265
The Evergreen State College
Olympia, WA 98505
(360) 866-6000 x6118
e-mail:
Education:
Date Institution Location Field Degree
1955-57 St. Michael’s College Winooski Park, VT Science ---
1958-61 University of Tulsa Tulsa, OK Journalism BA
1965-67 Oregon College of Education Monmouth, OR Humanities Ms. Ed
1968-70 Oregon State University Corvallis, OR Education Ph.D.
Honors and Awards:
1970 Theta Delta Phi -- Men’s Scholastic Honor Society
1992 Burlington Northern Award for excellence in undergraduate teaching and
pedagogical innovation
Work Experience:
1967-68 South High School, Salem, OR Classroom teacher-- English & Journalism
1968-69 Oregon State University, Corvallis, OR Research Assistant
1969-70 Oregon State University, Corvallis, OR Instructor of Education
Psych. of Adolescence
Psych. of Childhood
1970-71 Center for Educational Research, OSU, Corvallis, OR, Research Writing
and Evaluation of Title VII Project in Bilingual Education
1971-72 USIU-Oregon, Assistant Research Professor, coordinating the National
Evaluation of Instructional Development Institutes
1972-present The Evergreen State College, teaching in programs in the areas of
Communications, Folklore, Music, Literature and Writing.
Military Service
US NAVY, Feb. 1962 - June 1965. Mine countermeasures and Deck Officer aboard
USS ASSURANCE (MSO 521). Caribbean Deployment: Oct. 1963 - March 1964
Mediterranean Deployment: Oct. 1964 - April 1965 Lieutenant USNR. 12/15/65.
Dissertation:
An Experimental Analysis of Two Methods of College Instruction
Publications:
Goldhammer, Keith; Aldridge, Bill; Boone, W. Darrell; Dunham, Dan; Foote, Tom; Sparks, Lanny. Research Coordinating Unit Program Evaluation. Center for Educational
Research and Service, Oregon State University, Corvallis, OR 1969.
Goldhammer, Keith; Foote, Thomas, Sparks, Lanny. A Study of the Organization and
Administration of the Schools in the Archdiocese of Portland. Oregon State University,
Corvallis, OR 1969
Articles:
“My first Redtail,” Journal of the North American Falconer’s Association, 1996 Vol 35
“Toward Redefining Elevator Music”, Bluegrass Unlimited Magazine, January 1995
Vol. 29, No. 7
“The Bluegrass Band Scramble”, Bluegrass Unlimited Magazine, May 1994,
Vol 28 No. 11
Papers Presented at The American Folklore Society national meeting
1991 The Dobro Guitar: Innovation in American Folk Tradition
1993 Survival and the Craft of Command in U-Boat Service
1995 Falconry: Craft and the Spiritual Path
1997 Training the Apprentice Falconer as a Traditional Practice
Papers for Presentation to The American Folklore Society – (In Process)
1998 Older Dads: Becoming a Father in Later Life (in process)
1999 The Falconer’s Commitment: Intensity in the Practice of the Sport (in process)
Sabbatical Leaves:
Winter/Spring Quarters 1982 - San Diego State University, Music Department. I attended classes in World Music and Classical Music. I also gave one lecture on America’s Folk Music.
Fall Quarter 1992 – Universite Laval, Quebec City, Quebec, Canada. I was enrolled in a total immersion French language program, and lived with a Francophone family while studying at the university.
Spring Quarter 1993 – St. Jean-sur-Richelieu, Quebec. I lived with a Francophone family
and studied the language and culture of Quebec.
Professional Interests:
Creative Non-Fiction – this form is particularly interesting to me as it is the logical extension of my earlier work in Journalism. I’m interested in developing better ways to teach it and have, consequently, experimented with integrating Folklore Field Research Methodology into the form. As it unfolds, I wonder if there is a book here as no one does it quite the way I do.
Personal Interests:
1. American ethnicity - especially that represented in oral interpretation of song; particularly that which is indigenous to the southern Appalachian Region. Performing Bluegrass music; playing 5-string banjo, guitar and Dobro in a Bluegrass band.
2. Falconry - I see accompanying a bird of prey while it hunts as a spiritual reconnection to the visceral. It’s a privilege to be a part of the hunt as that ancient drama plays itself out before me.
3. Broadcasting - I host two radio shows on KAOS-FM 89.3, Olympia’s local Community Radio station. Each Wednesday evening I host Bird Talk, a one hour talk show with call-ins devoted to Birding, habitat and environmental concerns. On Thursday evenings, I share the responsibility with two other programmers in hosting a two hour show featuring Bluegrass music liberally laced with historical and anecdotal information about the form and the practitioners.
4. Aviation – Until I sold my aerobatic airplane in August 1997, I was actively engaged in the sport at a non-competitive entry level. I still harbor an interest, but it’s on the wane.
5. Motorcycles - When time and weather permit, I enjoy riding my BMW motorcycles.
Performance Experience:
In 1973 as part of the America’s Music program, I created and played banjo with Evergreen Grass, a Bluegrass ensemble. This group grew out of a workshop conducted by me on SE Appalachian folk music and was made up of students. It was totally acoustic and we played traditional music.
In 1976 I pulled together an electric country band I called Georgia Rose. It was also made up of students with me playing pedal steel guitar. The band was electric with drums and we played country rock music.
1992 to present – I have been playing banjo in Yo, Bubbas! a Bluegrass group that grew out of a weekly jam session. We are in our seventh year of performing every Monday night at the Columbia Street Publick House in downtown Olympia.
Brief Resume:
After earning a BA in Journalism at the University of Tulsa, I worked briefly for the Tulsa Tribune doing rewrite, sports-writing and photography before entering Naval Service. Upon release from active duty I attended Graduate School, Oregon College of Education (now Western Oregon State College), completing the Master’s Degree in Education with a Humanities major in 1967. The following year I was teacher of American Literature, Transformational Grammar and Journalism at South High School, Salem , OR. At the end of that year, I was accorded the opportunity to continue my graduate study under Dr. Keith Goldhammer, Dean, School of Education, Oregon State University. I accepted a research appointment and began my doctoral study. While in the Graduate School I had two publications. The first was a national evaluation of Research Coordinating Units in Vocational Education and the other was a study of the Organization and Administration of the Schools in the Archdiocese of Portland. Both studies are published. In my second year of the doctoral program, my appointment was Instructor of Education assisting with the teaching both the Psychology of Childhood and the Psychology of Adolescence. In July 1970 I completed all requirements for the Ph.D. in Education. My major was Foundations and I have a strong minor concentration in Literature. I also completed a minor in Anthropology.
While employed with USIU-Oregon, Instructional Development Division, I coordinated the National Evaluation of Instructional Development Institutes (IDI) a 42 hour mediated
instructional package conducted in school districts as an in-service experience for teachers to impart basic low level skills acquisition in problem-solving, curriculum development and writing behavioral objectives.
My teaching at Evergreen for the first ten years was focused in the area of Expressive Arts. I designed and taught in America’s Music, a Coordinated Studies program that undertook the study of the formal and informal (Folk) music of America. I have spent the rest of my time at Evergreen teaching in the area of Communications in the following programs: Mass Communication and Social Reality; Mass Media, Popular Culture and Folklore; Celebration, Myth Ritual and Culture; Society, Social Change and Expressive Arts; Cultural Codes; and Literary Journalism. My most recent work has been in the field of Creative Non-fiction which involves reading and writing the literature of reality.