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Biography

I grew up on a farm in Oklahoma, the sixth of six children.  We raised wheat, oats, hay, and other crops as well as beef cattle, dairy cattle, hogs, chickens, and varying amounts of dogs and cats.  I learned a lot of my values from my life on a farm, and I also learned how to fix a lot of things at the time with bailing wire.  I spent hours on a tractor every summer and learned how to milk a cow at age 12 (a task I wish I had escaped).  I also learned that farming was a hard-work, high-risk career -- which is probably why I went into academia.  It is probably also a contributing reason why I teach entrepreneurship since farming is a good example of entrepreneurship -- taking a risk, building something from scratch, and reaping the rewards if there are any.

I went to school at a very small rural school (21 in my graduating class) in western Oklahoma.  That experience had many benefits but showed quickly in college the benefit of going to larger high schools.

I received all my college degrees from Oklahoma State University. (BS in math 1966; MBA 1970; Ph.D 1972).  I recommend Oklahoma State University highly.

I spent two years in the active Army, primarily in Texas and two more years in the Reserves in Oklahoma.  Not my finest hours. 

My first teaching job was in Macomb, IL at Western Illinois University.  After teaching at WIU from 1972 to 1976, I moved to Bradley University in Peoria, IL where I have taught ever since.  I am a great supporter of Bradley University.  It is a private, medium-sized university, giving the benefits of a small school and the flexibility and prestige of a larger school.  I taught at Bradley for thirty-three years and retired in the summer of 2009.

I have been married to Lois Fry for 40 years.  Lois worked at Bradley for fifteen years, editing Hilltopics, Bradley's alumni magazine. She is now enjoying the freedom from the work force. We have two children.  Jana works for the Gates Foundation in Seattle. She lives with her partner, Pam Wolfe, and our grandson, Eli David Wolfe, who is now five.  David lives in Honolulu and has his own web management company focusing primarily on political campaigns.  He married Sue Akimoto.  They recently added a small Fry to the family - Madelyn Michiko Fry. Go to family photos for pictures of the family in Hawaii.

We have lived in Peoria for over 30 years.  It is a great city to live in.  We also enjoy the Phoenix, Arizona area in the winter and spend four months there each year.