I joined the Class of 1968 at the “5th Year” of Cathedral College, after graduating from the Bronx High School of Science and P.S.3, the Bronx. The friendships and experiences I encountered during the following five years left me with a host of warm memories that I have cherished throughout my life. But, as ordination drew closer, my uncertainty about being called to a life-long commitment to celibacy was growing and, during the summer of 1965, I requested a year’s leave of absence to explore alternative life directions. I began to date and, within a few months of employment as a “case aide” by Family Service of Catholic Charities in Yonkers, I received notice to take my draft physical and was reclassified “1-A” by the Draft. Thus began my life-defining career in the U.S.Army.

One step ahead of the Draft, I enlisted in the Army, in Spring 1966, under a program that guaranteed a seat in Officer Candidate School (OCS), after successful completion of Basic and Advanced Individual Training, all of which were completed at Ft. Knox KY. I was commissioined a 2nd Lieutenant, Armor, in April, 1967, with an initial assignment to Germany, after completing an Organizational Maintenance course enroute. Barbara, my wonderful wife of almost 54 years, and I were married in July and within 10 days, found ourselves in Vilseck, a small town in Northern Bavaria, where I served as Branch Chief and subsequently Chair of the Combat Vehicle Maintenance Department of the 7th Army Combined Arms School, with major additional duties as a mechanized 4.2 inch mortar platoon leader and also as an M-60 tank platoon leader.

Much to my surprise, I quickly learned that I seemed to be a “natural” as an Army officer. Solutions to problems that seemed to baffle collegues came easily to me; the U.S. military officer code “duty, honor, country” fit my sense of self; and the opportunities that offset the challenges of an almost pure meritocracy were very appealing. I was much too large to ever be comfortable in tanks, but learned that the Army Medical Service Corps (MSC) had an array of competitive education progrms to fit requirements for officers with advanced degrees and so, requested a “branch transfer” to the MSC at the completion of my obligated service in Armor.

This was the start of an atypical, but highly successful career in the Regular Army, with a series of operational assignments interspersed by early promotion to both Major and Lieutenant Colonel, and repeated competitive selection for advanced degree programs that included a Master of Hospital Administration (MHA) from Baylor University; a Master of Military Art and Science (M.M.A.S.) from the U.S.Army Command and General Staff College; and a Ph.D. in Health Services Management from the University of Iowa. My operational experiences spanned all levels of health services management from Medical Operations Officer, 1st Infantry Division and subsequently command of a medical company in Vietnam, to CEO of a 225-bed Army hospital in Nuernberg, Germany. Other significant assignments included health professions recruiter,Washington, D.C.; personnel staff officer, Headquarters, Health Services Command; Troop Commander and Director of Human Resources, Irwin Army Hospital, Ft. Riley, Kansas; Assignment Manager for MSC Captains, worldwide; Personnel Policy Analyst, Office of the Army Surgeon General, the Pentagon; and Associate Administrator of the Frankfurt Army Regional Medical Center, Fraqnkfurt, Germany. In my final four years of active servie, I chaired the Department of Health Care Administration at the U.S.Army’s Academy of Health Sciences and subsequently served as Dean of that tri-service institution which, at that time, presented 168 different programs to over 40,000 students annually in 17 academic departments with a faculty and staff of over 2,700 officer, enlisted and civilians.

On retirement from the U.S. Army in 1994, I pursued a second career in academe; serving as founding Regional Dean of the Texas Tech School of Allied Health at Odessa, Texas for two years, and, subsequently as Associate Professor of Management and Program Director of the M.B.A. Program in Health Care Management at Our Lady of the Lake University in San Antonio. In August 1998, I returned to Texas Tech as Professor and Dean of the School of Allied Health Sciences and held this position until full retirement in June 2012. During my tenure as Dean, we grew the School from three undergraduate and one masters program, to eighteen degree programs, including six doctoral (two of which were research Ph.D.); eight masters and four undergraduate programs. Key to this growth was establishment of an opportunity, analogous to mine in the Army, for faculty to pursue a doctoral degree at Tech in return for a service commitment on completion. A Total of 37 faculty took advantage of this during my tenure; post-doctoral turnover was rare; and we had little difficulty in attracting high quality candidates to join our faculty team. Throughout my career as an academic leader, I continued to teach and publish in the areas of health services economics, finance and management; organization theory and behavior; strategic analysis and decision-making; and health policy analysis. I am a lifetime Fellow of the American College of Healthcare Executives.

Our Lord has blessed Barbara and me with three wonderful children, Christopher, Jessica and Stephen, and eight grandchildren. All of our children are living happy, healthy and productive lives. Barbara is retired after a 29-year career as an elementary/ Jr.High school teacher. Barbara and I decided to stay in Lubbock when I retired from Texas Tech. We found that we had sunk deep roots in this community of about 300,000, 400 miles from anywhere worth visiting, based on our continued relationship with the university, our strong involvement in Christ the King Cathedral, our parish, the excellent health care available, and the many dear friendships we’ve developed over the years. I am a long-term member of the CTK Cathedral Celebration Choir as well as a Lector; and have been active in an array of parish boards, commissions and activities. Barbara and I are members of the Equistrian Order of the Holy Sepulchre and have made three pilgrimages to the Holy Land. We’ve visited Rome as part of these and other pilgrimages. We also have taken many cruises and are truly grateful for the life, love and Faith we’ve shared.