Robin Barkley

Associate Professor of Computer Animation
College at Florham

How long have you been at FDU?

I have been teaching at FDU for 10 years, three years as an adjunct and seven years as a full-time faculty member.

What book or film did you recently enjoy? Why would you recommend it?

When you phrase the question and use the word “enjoy,” I have to laugh. I read a lot, but not much for pleasure anymore. Due to the nature of my profession I have to continuously read software manuals to keep abreast of the newest techniques. So if you ask what book have I recently read, I would have to answer Core Perl, which is a manual about high-end, Web-site scripting. Perl is quite a complicated technical subject matter that does calculations, information collection and information distribution on the Web. Nobody, except people in my industry, would even know what Perl meant, nonetheless say it was enjoyable reading. However, for me it gives me pleasure to challenge the logical side of my brain while blending it with the creative side. So I have to say I would not recommend it to anyone except those who share my thirst for this kind of knowledge.

I watch HBO movies and try to keep up with the newest animated films when I can. In my opinion, Pixar Studios creates the best animated films. They are very well done, and the stories can be enjoyed by both young and old.

What do you most value in your friends?

I really value my friends. The people who stick with me for life are those who are honest with me no matter what, have a terrific sense of humor and don’t expect me to be anything else than who I really am. Each of my friends is very different from myself and also from each other. True friends appreciate the differences in one another and are always supportive of each other. If we were all the same, how boring would that be?

Complete the phrase: People would be surprised to know that I ...

... traveled the country for three-and-a-half months living out of a van.

When I was 19, my husband and I bought an old shell of a van that had a fiberglass top so you could stand up on it comfortably. Our plan was to take off in this van to explore the United States and parts of Canada. During the months before our departure, we worked full-time in a factory and spent our spare time fixing the van up for our trip, installing a shower, sink, stove, heater, created cushions for a side couch that turns into a bed, sewed curtains for the windows, re-upholstered the driver’s and passenger seats and finally filled it with the necessities we would need for daily living. We said goodbye to all of our friends and took off for the experience of a lifetime. We got to see many parts of the country that most people would not see on a normal vacation. We explored so many out of the way places as well as some of the more popular commercialized places such as Yosemite National Park, Mount Rushmore, The Petrified Forest, Hoover Dam and the Grand Canyon. In the evenings we would pull over in some out of the way place to plan our next day and get a good night’s rest. Along the way we met the most interesting people and saw many breathtaking landscapes. We discovered that there were a lot of retired couples on the road doing the same thing we were, but in a bit more luxurious accommodations such as Winnebagos. They would tell us that they wish they had it when they were younger, but life took over and they had to wait until their later years.

There was a slight snag when we were returning from Canada. The border patrol thought we might be drug smugglers. I guess we looked the part, and we did have quite a bit of money in a locked safe that my husband welded to the van floor under the driver’s seat. They detained us at the Canadian border for a couple of hours telling us to hand over the drugs (which we didn’t have) threatening that if we did not they would have to impound the van and disassemble it to find them. All the while they were searching our van right down to sniffing the sugar and oregano containers. Once they realized they were probably wrong on this one, they finally released us onto U.S. soil. Well, needless to say, we didn’t attempt to enter Canada again after that. So we continued on across the northern U.S. states, over the Rocky Mountains, down the coast of Washington and California and on to Texas. By the time we reached Texas, we were running low on money and decided that Texas was not the place for us. So we headed back to New Jersey with no real place to live. We pulled up on the doorstep of two friends who invited us to stay. That ended up being our home for the next seven years.

My hobbies are …

Due to the fact that I sit in front of the computer for far too many hours a day, I realize how important it is to exercise. I have been going to the local gym’s morning aerobics classes for several years where I have met some local stay-at-home moms. Some of my other interests are antique shopping, home decorating, vacationing and playing with my two cats.

Who would be your perfect dinner guest? What would you serve?

I never think about this kind of thing, but off the top of my head I would have to say my dinner guest would be Bill Gates. Not because he is a multimillionaire and I have any aspirations to be that, but because where he is today all began with an idea that others said would never succeed. It would be interesting to ask him about his early days and where he found the inspiration and the drive to make his dream a reality. There are many people I know who criticize Bill Gates, but I think they are just jealous. He is a self-made success whose company provides many people with jobs.

As far as what to serve, I probably would cook a simple meal of burgers and salads, maybe a barbecue. Most likely he has been to so many fancy dinners that he might appreciate a relaxed meal in a casual setting.

What profession other than your own would you most like to attempt, and what profession would you want nothing to do with?

There is no other profession that I would rather have than the one I have chosen. I am very lucky to have fallen into a profession that is so creative and so much fun. I never dread a day of work, because it doesn’t feel like work to me. But if I had to pick another profession it would probably have to be something that involves working with animals, maybe a veterinarian or animal-rescue person.

The profession I would want nothing to do with would have to be a salesperson. To me it would be simply a job that pays the bills, not a profession that I could feel passionate about.

Todd Ferris

Academic Adviser, Academic Advisement Center
College at Florham

How long have you been at FDU?

Four years as an undergraduate psychology major and four years as an employee.

What book or film did you recently enjoy? Why would you recommend it?

I enjoy Hemingway a lot, especially the adventure and exotic locales in his stories. However, I haven’t read any of his novels recently. I finished The Old Man and the Sea, right before I started my MBA course work.

What do you most value in your friends?

Honesty is the trait I value most in my friends.

Complete the phrase: People would be surprised to know that I ...

… am a twin.

My hobbies are …

… reading, cooking, boating and spending time with friends and family.

Who would be your perfect dinner guest? What would you serve?

I would like to meet Bill Gates because I am fascinated by his entrepreneurial spirit and would have many questions for him. I would serve whatever he likes the most (provided he pays for dinner).

What profession other than your own would you most like to attempt, and what profession would you want nothing to do with?

I would really like to run my own business someday, where I would be able to help those who are less fortunate. The one profession I would want nothing to do with is host of the television show “Fear Factor.”

Cheryl McKay

Assistant to Vice Provost of Global Learning
Metropolitan Campus

How long have you been at FDU?

Three years and six months.

What book or film did you recently enjoy? Why would you recommend it?

I recently had the opportunity to attend a private screening of “The Agronomist,” the story of Haitian national hero, journalist and freedom fighter Jean L. Dominique, who was assassinated in 2000. I would greatly recommend this documentary for its passionate storyline detailing the struggles of the Haitian people and the determination of such individuals like Jean Dominique and his devoted wife, Michele Montas, a Haitian-born journalist. It’s a definite must-see.

What do you most value in your friends?

I most value the compassionate qualities of my friends.

Complete the phrase: people would be surprised to know that I ...

… have worked with special-needs students — individuals with learning, physical and psychological disabilities — for the past six years.

My hobbies are …

… interior decorating and baking.

Who would be your perfect dinner guest? What would you serve?

Most would give the name of a celebrity but my perfect dinner guest would be my mother. Dinnertime is supposed to be a time of enjoyment, and my mother definitely supplies that for me in my life. I would serve a down-home yet, healthy southern meal all cooked by my dinner guest!

What profession other than your own would you most like to attempt, and what profession would you want nothing to do with?

The profession that I would most like to attempt would be events planning, I would want nothing to do with anything associated with the mortuary business.

Bamidele Ojo

Associate Professor of Political Science
Metropolitan Campus

How long have you been at FDU?

Thirteen years.

What book or film did you recently enjoy? Why would you recommend it?

The books Exterminate All the Brutes by Sven Lindqvist and The World Is Flat by Thomas Friedman. The Lindqvist text provides a critical insight into European imperialism in Africa. From a documentary of facts from diaries and memoirs of missionaries, explorers, military and colonial officers, we are able to see and imagine the extent of European genocide and violence in Africa in the 19th century, which preceded and probably laid the foundation for what we saw later in Europe in the early 20th century. It is a must-read for everyone.

Friedman’s latest attempt at continuing his earlier conversation on globalization is an interesting piece. His optimism about the flattening of the globe is not only fascinating but “requires us not only to run faster in order to stay in place” as he suggested. Despite his optimism and unbeknownst to him, it also confirms the danger inherent in a world where the wealth is so unequally distributed, that the crumbs are never enough to assuage the thirst and hunger that continue to enfeeble the majority in the South. This is a world similar to that described by Lindqvist. But the difference is in the tools used to beat the South into conforming to the needs of the North — from the muskets and the automatic rifles of the 19th century and now to the microchips, the multinationals and the allure of democracy of the 21st century.

What do you most value in your friends?

Trust. This is the final refuge of any friendship, from which truth and understanding can be nurtured.

Complete the phrase: People would be surprised to know that I …

… love to cook. I cook for my family at least twice a week.

My hobbies are …

… reading, cooking, listening to music and playing my saxophone.

Who would be your perfect dinner guest? What would you serve?

My family and friends are my perfect dinner guests but since you ask, I might say a perfect dinner would be at the table with the late Kwame Nkrumah and Nelson Mandela discussing Africa today over an African dish from southwestern Nigeria: pounded yam, egusi soup and goat meat. All served with palm wine.

What profession other than your own would you most like to attempt, and what profession would you want nothing to do with?

I love astrophysics and continue to be fascinated by everything about our universe. On the other hand, my love for medicine is tempered by my fear of blood. I will faint at the slightest sight of blood, hence I will never have anything to do with surgery.

April/May 2005

View text only for this complete issue.

Flor =
College at Florham, Madison, N.J.

Metro =
Metropolitan Campus, Teaneck, N.J.

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