Mary Kay Switzer, President -
mkswitzer@verizon.net
Term: July 1, 2011 - June 30, 2013

Bio
A university educator and TV producer/director for several years, Mary Kay Switzer has written textbooks and workbooks which pertain to the Communication discipline. Switzer is tenured and has received two “Outstanding Teacher” Awards at two different institutions of higher learning. The reference works for which Switzer has been a contributing author have won national awards. Switzer's Nonverbal Communication Workbook and Conflict Resolution Workbook were used in the classroom at Cal Polytechnic University Pomona. As an academic author, Switzer has written many articles which have appeared in peer reviewed publications. Included in this listing are articles on the legal aspects of television in the courtroom. During recent years, Switzer has expanded her writing for television productions into developing scripts for theatrical presentations—including a folk musical Karolee Fairaday (libretto/lyrics), successfully produced in several states. In addition, Switzer's historical research of the FAU, Margaret Stanley’s China Diary, will continue with another book (in progress) with Dr. George Espry, contributing scientist for the moon landing.

Bio
John F. Wakefield is Professor of Education at the University of North Alabama and President of Text and Academic Authors Association, an organization founded in 1987 to enhance the quality of text and various educational materials available for teaching, research, and other educational purposes. His academic career includes a Ph.D. in Education from the University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign, and he has served as both interim dean of education and as assistant vice-president for academic affairs at UNA. His psychological research has been published in numerous professional journals and a book titled Creative Thinking: Problem Solving Skills and the Arts Orientation. He has published a textbook, Educational Psychology: Learning to Be a Problem Solver, with Houghton Mifflin, and more recently has written on the subjects of textbook history and textbook usage in the United States. He was recently awarded a U.S. Speaker and Specialist grant to lecture on educational research and textbooks at five universities in Chile. Further biographical information is listed in Marquis' Who's Who in American Education (2007-2008).

Bio
Marsha Huber currently serves as an Associate Professor of Accounting at Otterbein College in Westerville, OH (a suburb of Columbus). She is also an Academic Administrative Dean's Fellow in developing new programs for the college. Marsha is a CPA, who started her own practice in 1989. She specializes in small business and restaurants, authoring two books on restaurant accounting for the American Institute of Certified Public Accountants. Marsha is also a speaker on the topic of accounting education, classroom assessment, and philanthropy with invitations to speak, keynote, and/or present at various colleges or conferences on higher education and accounting education. She is now in the process of writing her first book on "appreciative learning" in higher education.

Fred Kleiner, Secretary -
Textbook Author (art history and archaeology)
Academic author and editor (art history, archaeology, numismatics)
fsk@bu.edu
Term: July 1, 2009 - June 30, 2012

Bio
Fred Kleiner joined the TAA Council in 2008 and was elected Secretary in 2009. He is Professor of Art History and Archaeology and Chair of the Art History Department at Boston University, where he has taught since 1978. From 1985 to 1998, he also served as Editor-in-Chief of the American Journal of Archaeology. Fred is the winner of several prizes for teaching and undergraduate advising and the author of more than a hundred books, articles, and reviews on the history of art and architecture, including the 2001 Texty and McGuffey Award-winning Art through the Ages and the 2007 Texty Award-winning A History of Roman Art. Fred's research has been supported by the American Council of Learned Societies, American Philosophical Society, and John Simon Guggenheim Memorial Foundation. In 2007 he was elected a Fellow of the Society of Antiquaries of London.

Ron Pynn, Immediate Past President -
Textbook & Academic Author (political science)
Rpynn@comcast.com
Term: July 1, 2011 - June 30, 2012

Bio
Ronald Pynn is Professor Emeritus from the University of North Dakota where he taught political science from 1971-1997. He received his Ph.D. from the University of Michigan. While at North Dakota he served as chairman of the Department of Political Science for 12 years and he was Assistant Vice President for Academic Affairs from 1992-1994. Pynn has written several books on political science, including Watergate and the American Political Process, American Politics: Changing Expectations (5 Edition), Political Economy, and The Election of 1994. Pynn was a charter member of TAA, serving as a senior member during its formation. He has twice been President of TAA (1992-93, 1996-97), and he served as TAA's Executive Director from 1995-2005. He presently resides in Burlington, Vermont.

Mary Kay Switzer, President -
mkswitzer@verizon.net
Term: July 1, 2011 - June 30, 2013

Bio
A university educator and TV producer/director for several years, Mary Kay Switzer has written textbooks and workbooks which pertain to the Communication discipline. Switzer is tenured and has received two “Outstanding Teacher” Awards at two different institutions of higher learning. The reference works for which Switzer has been a contributing author have won national awards. Switzer's Nonverbal Communication Workbook and Conflict Resolution Workbook were used in the classroom at Cal Polytechnic University Pomona. As an academic author, Switzer has written many articles which have appeared in peer reviewed publications. Included in this listing are articles on the legal aspects of television in the courtroom. During recent years, Switzer has expanded her writing for television productions into developing scripts for theatrical presentations—including a folk musical Karolee Fairaday (libretto/lyrics), successfully produced in several states. In addition, Switzer's historical research of the FAU, Margaret Stanley’s China Diary, will continue with another book (in progress) with Dr. George Espry, contributing scientist for the moon landing.

Bio
John F. Wakefield is Professor of Education at the University of North Alabama and President of Text and Academic Authors Association, an organization founded in 1987 to enhance the quality of text and various educational materials available for teaching, research, and other educational purposes. His academic career includes a Ph.D. in Education from the University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign, and he has served as both interim dean of education and as assistant vice-president for academic affairs at UNA. His psychological research has been published in numerous professional journals and a book titled Creative Thinking: Problem Solving Skills and the Arts Orientation. He has published a textbook, Educational Psychology: Learning to Be a Problem Solver, with Houghton Mifflin, and more recently has written on the subjects of textbook history and textbook usage in the United States. He was recently awarded a U.S. Speaker and Specialist grant to lecture on educational research and textbooks at five universities in Chile. Further biographical information is listed in Marquis' Who's Who in American Education (2007-2008).

Bio
Marsha Huber currently serves as an Associate Professor of Accounting at Otterbein College in Westerville, OH (a suburb of Columbus). She is also an Academic Administrative Dean's Fellow in developing new programs for the college. Marsha is a CPA, who started her own practice in 1989. She specializes in small business and restaurants, authoring two books on restaurant accounting for the American Institute of Certified Public Accountants. Marsha is also a speaker on the topic of accounting education, classroom assessment, and philanthropy with invitations to speak, keynote, and/or present at various colleges or conferences on higher education and accounting education. She is now in the process of writing her first book on "appreciative learning" in higher education.

Fred Kleiner, Secretary -
Textbook Author (art history and archaeology)
Academic author and editor (art history, archaeology, numismatics)
fsk@bu.edu
Term: July 1, 2009 - June 30, 2012

Bio
Fred Kleiner joined the TAA Council in 2008 and was elected Secretary in 2009. He is Professor of Art History and Archaeology and Chair of the Art History Department at Boston University, where he has taught since 1978. From 1985 to 1998, he also served as Editor-in-Chief of the American Journal of Archaeology. Fred is the winner of several prizes for teaching and undergraduate advising and the author of more than a hundred books, articles, and reviews on the history of art and architecture, including the 2001 Texty and McGuffey Award-winning Art through the Ages and the 2007 Texty Award-winning A History of Roman Art. Fred's research has been supported by the American Council of Learned Societies, American Philosophical Society, and John Simon Guggenheim Memorial Foundation. In 2007 he was elected a Fellow of the Society of Antiquaries of London.

Ron Pynn, Immediate Past President -
Textbook & Academic Author (political science)
Rpynn@comcast.com
Term: July 1, 2011 - June 30, 2012

Bio
Ronald Pynn is Professor Emeritus from the University of North Dakota where he taught political science from 1971-1997. He received his Ph.D. from the University of Michigan. While at North Dakota he served as chairman of the Department of Political Science for 12 years and he was Assistant Vice President for Academic Affairs from 1992-1994. Pynn has written several books on political science, including Watergate and the American Political Process, American Politics: Changing Expectations (5 Edition), Political Economy, and The Election of 1994. Pynn was a charter member of TAA, serving as a senior member during its formation. He has twice been President of TAA (1992-93, 1996-97), and he served as TAA's Executive Director from 1995-2005. He presently resides in Burlington, Vermont.

Scott Boyd, Elected Member - sboyd@mtsu.edu
Term: July 1, 2010 - June 30, 2013

Bio
Scott Boyd is an Associate Professor of Theatre at Middle Tennessee State University where he is the Head of the Design/Technical Theatre program. He received his Master of Fine Arts degree in Theatrical Design and Technical Production from the University of North Carolina at Greensboro. While there, Scott studied under world-renown designer Andreas Nomikos, and four-time Tony award winner Patricia Zipprodt. Scott has extensive design and technical production experience on the community, educational, and professional levels of theatre. Especially notable productions include The Chocolate Soldier for the National Opera Company and Camelot’s Ruby and Empire Gas for the Lost Tribe Theatre Company (NYC) and Shirtwaist and Sus Manos for the Flying Fig Theater Company (NYC). Scott is a nine-time finalist for the First Night Award for Outstanding Theatre Design and a three-time winner for his designs of The Tempest and The Tide Shall Cover the Earth.

Robert Christopherson, Elected Member -
Term: July 1, 2011 - June 30, 2014

Bio
Robert W. Christopherson is Professor Emeritus of Geography, American River College (1970-2000). He is the author of the leading physical geography texts in the US and Canada all published by Pearson Prentice Hall: He and his nature photographer wife Bobbe have completed twelve expeditions to the Arctic and Antarctic regions since 2003 gathering information and photos for his books, Geosystems, 8/e, Elemental Geosystems, 7/e, Geosystems Canadian Edition, 3/e, and Applied Physical Geography, 8/e. He joined TAA in 1989.

Michael Spiegler, Elected Member -
Professor of Psychology and successful textbook and academic author
Term: July 1, 2009 - June 30, 2012

Bio
Michael D. Spiegler is a Professor of Psychology at Providence College. He has been a successful textbook and academic author for more than 35 years with several leading psychology textbooks, including Contemporary Behavior Therapy, Personality: Strategies and Issues, and Contemporary Psychotherapies for a Diverse World. He has presented workshops on textbook writing for the past 10 years, regularly reviews manuscripts for textbook publishers, and serves as a consultant/mentor to college textbook authors in diverse disciplines. He is currently writing a comprehensive Handbook for College Textbook Writing.

Michael Lennie, Elected Member
Term: July 1, 2011 - June 30, 2014

Bio

Michael Lennie has been an attorney for 40 years, holding licenses in California and New York. For the last 25 years the practice has focused on representation of authors, highlighted by the historic case of Buffington v. Macmillan, which Publishers Weekly called “one of the largest settlements ever awarded to authors”. He has conducted hundreds of contract negotiations and dozens of settlements in author/publisher disputes. Lennie's experience with and knowledge of author/publisher contracts, publishing practices, licensing, and author rights coupled with his negotiation skills, provide him with unique skills to represent authors as an attorney and a literary agent. His law office and literary agency represents text and trade authors.

He’s a charter member of the Text and Academic Authors Association, a member of the Authors Guild, and was first President of the TAA Foundation. He holds a juris doctorate from the University of San Diego School of Law and regularly speaks at national author conferences and workshops and publishes on author rights.

Claudia Sanchez, Council Member At-Large -
Academic Author
CSanchez@mail.twu.edu
Term: July 1, 2009 - June 30, 2012

Bio
Claudia Sanchez is Assistant Professor in the Department of Teacher Education at Texas Woman’s University, where she has taught since 2003. Prior to this, she taught and pursued graduate studies at Texas A&M-College Station, where she graduated with an M.S. in Curriculum and Instruction and a Ph.D. in Educational Psychology. Her research interests include grant writing, mentorship in teacher education programs, multicultural teacher competency, Spanish language literacy, and English as a Second Language (ESL) teaching methodologies. A frequent presenter at the National Association for Bilingual Education (NABE), the American Educational Research Association (AERA), the International Reading Association (IRA), and the Teachers of English to Speakers of Other Languages (TESOL) association, Dr. Sanchez is director/co-director of three federal grants totaling over 4 million dollars, which focus on the preparation of teachers in critical need areas.

Janet Belsky, Elected Member - jbelsky@mtsu.edu
Term: July 1, 2010 - June 30, 2013

Bio
Dr. Janet Belsky, a University of Chicago Ph.D. has been teaching developmental psychology to undergraduates for the past 30 years, first at Lehman College-CUNY and, for the past two decades, at Middle Tennessee State University, where she is currently a full professor. She also has been writing textbooks in human development throughout her whole career. During her thirties and forties, Dr. Belsky focused on adulthood and aging. She wrote the first college textbook in psychological gerontology, The Psychology of Aging (now in its third edition), and The Adult Experience (l997) both published by Cengage. She also forayed into trade book writing, with Here Tomorrow (John’s Hopkins University Press, l988), still the only book on the market to fully describe the behavioral science research on aging for older adults. Then, during the past decade, Dr. Belsky wrote her capstone text covering all of development, Experiencing the Lifespan (Worth Publishers, 2006, 2010). Experiencing the Lifespan, now in its second edition, and translated into several languages, won a Texty Award in 2008.

Barbara Waxer, Council Member At-Large -
Textbook Author, Academic Author, Developmental Editor (computer software and Internet intellectual property textbooks for the academic and trade markets)
bwaxer1@comcast.net
Term: July 1, 2011 - June 30, 2012

Bio
Barbara Waxer is a freelance author and developmental editor of computer software and Internet intellectual property textbooks for the academic and trades markets. Her clients include Cengage /Course Technology and Delmar Learning, Microsoft Press, Perspection Press, Pearson-Prentice Hall, and Sybex Press. Her 2006 text, Internet Surf and Turf: The Essential Guide to Copyright, Fair Use, and Finding Media, published by Cengage Course Technology, won the Text and Academic Authors Association "Texty" Award and the New England Book Show Award. Barbara also teaches Copyright and Digital Media at Santa Fe Community College and provides training in that topic to college faculty and student bodies around the country. Her current book, Adobe Photoshop Elements, will be published by Course Technology later this year.

Bio
Stephen E. Gillen is an attorney practicing in Cincinnati, Ohio, and concentrating on publishing and entertainment transactions and disputes, internet issues, advertising law, computer law, copyrights, trademarks, technology transfer, trade secrets, and related matters. Prior to entering private practice in 1994, Gillen served for 8 years as house counsel for an educational publisher, and before that as an executive editor, editor, freelance writer, and published book author. In addition, Gillen has served on copyright and permissions committees with the Association of American Publishers. He has written and spoken nationally on various publishing and copyright topics and teaches a course in Media Business and Law at the University of Cincinnati and a course in Electronic Media Law at the College Conservatory of Music. He currently serves on the Council of Advisors to the Text and Academic Authors Association, the Board of Trustees of Voyageur Media Group, Inc., and is a member of the Authors Guild. Gillen is admitted to practice in Ohio and before the U.S. District Court for the Southern District of Ohio and the U.S. Court of Appeals for the Sixth Circuit.

Bio
Kevin Patton has been writing textbooks and other educational content in human anatomy and physiology for several decades. Among his publications are Anatomy & Physiology (now in its 7th edition), Structure and Function of the Body (five editions), The Human Body in Health and Disease (5 editions), and Mosby’s Handbook of Anatomy & Physiology. He is Professor of Life Science at St. Charles Community College and is the founding Director of the Human Anatomy and Physiology Society (HAPS) Institute ... and is always in the middle of revising something or other.

Mike Sullivan, Authors Coalition Rep. - m_sullivan@att.net
Term: July 1, 2011 - June 30, 2012

Bio
Mike Sullivan is Professor Emeritus in the Department of Mathematics and Computer Science at Chicago State University where he taught for 34 years before retiring a few years ago. Sullivan has been writing math texts for over 30 years. He currently has 15 books in print: three Precalculus series with Prentice-Hall and one Business series with John Wiley.

Sullivan is a member of the Council of Fellows of TAA and has been awarded a Texty and a McGuffey award for two of his books. He is currently Treasurer of the TAA Foundation and the Immediate Past President of TAA.

He has four children: Kathleen, who teaches college mathematics, Mike III, who teaches college mathematics and co-authors with his dad on two series, Dan, who is a sales representative for Prentice-Hall, and Colleen, who teaches middle-school mathematics. Eleven grandchildren round out the family.

Richard Hull, Executive Director - richard.hull@taaonline.net

Richard Hull was born in Oklahoma City, Oklahoma, to a former newspaper reporter and an executive assistant to the local Chamber of Commerce. His undergraduate degree in philosophy is from Austin College, Sherman, Texas, and his PhD in philosophy from Indiana University.

After spending thirty years in the SUNY at Buffalo Department of Philosophy, he took early retirement in 1997 to take the position of Executive Director of the Texas Council for the Humanities in Austin, Texas. He spent portions of the next year as an independent book producer. In the years 2000-2004, he worked as a fundraiser for nonprofit organizations and spent a semester as a Visiting Distinguished Professor at the University of Montana’s Institute of Medicine and Humanities.

A second edition of his reader-text Ethical Issues in the New Reproductive Technologies was published by Prometheus Books in 2007. His current research centers chiefly on the biographies and publications of the presidents of the American Philosophical Association from its inception in 1900 to the present day. To date, he has published six volumes, with a seventh volume in press and three more in initial proofreading stages, all now bought out by Prometheus. In addition, he edits three special series of the Value Inquiry Book Series: Werkmeister Studies, Lived Values and Valued Lives, and Histories and Addresses of Philosophical Societies, all for Editions Rodopi. He publishes several book chapters, articles, and reviews each year.

Richard moved to Tallahassee, Florida, in 2004 where his wife is Professor in Florida State University’s department of psychology and its interdisciplinary neuroscience group. He was appointed Executive Director of Text and Academic Authors Association in July of 2005.