School of Commerce
COMM 341: Commercial Law I COMM 342: Commercial Law II
Q: Where did you grow up?
A: Amherst, Va.
Q: Where did you go to school?
A: Well for high school, E.C. Glass in Lynchburg, Virginia. Dartmouth College, I majored in Classics. Law School at U.Va.
Q: What magazines do you subscribe to? Which one do you enjoy reading the most?
A: Newsweek, Time, The Economist, Mother Jones, Progressive and The National Law Journal. The Economist because it covers the entire world, it doesn't just cover the immediate needs of Americans.
Q: If you could live in any city in the world, which one would it be?
A: Until the water runs out,
Charlottesville. If I couldn't live here I would pick Amsterdam because they seem to have
managed urban development better thanany other place. There are more bikes and public transportation. It's not a car-dominated city, it's a people-dominated city.
Q: What do you do in your spare time?
A: I am very active in my church and church choir. I do a lot of folk dancing. I teach workshops regularly with folk dancing. I do American contry dancing and English country dancing and international folk dancing -- all sorts. I do drama and I direct amateur theatrical productions. I garden a lot. I have a big garden, I raise a lot of flowers and fruit. I like cross-country skiing when there is snow and hiking when we don't have snow.
Q: What do you like most about dancing?
A: Well the main thing is that it builds community -- it's the most effective way to build community, and that's what people want.
Q: What's the most interesting part of teaching commercial law at the University?
A: The subject matter -- the American legal system. I get to teach the entire breadth of it, it's a fascinating topic. What I really think of myself teaching is citizenship.
Q: What do you think is the best way for students to conserve water?
A: Washing clothes is the biggest waste of water -- it takes an amazing amount of water to wash clothes. It's better to have dirty clothes than lose your education. That's just to buy time. We will run out, we have to conserve and prepare to run out.
-- Interview by Alexandra Valint