Hi everyone!

Hi everyone. I'm Dr. Joy Arbor. My students call me either Dr. Arbor or Joy. I'm teaching the upper-division humanities/communication course called Listening Across Difference that is the Kettering part of the exchange. I thought I'd give you a tiny bit of background about myself and Kettering (understanding that my students may correct me) -- while trying not to be too long-winded!

I am originally from Los Angeles, California, which I've heard people talk about as one of the most multicultural cities in the world. (I'm not so sure.) I've lived in a handful of other places, including the San Francisco Bay Area, where I worked in the tech industry; Sacramento, California; Austin, Texas; Lincoln, Nebraska, where I did my doctoral work; and Cairo, where I met Doc Hall. I now live in Grand Blanc, Michigan and am enjoying the real weather and easy access to nearby farms (I'm very committed to organic food and farming) a great deal. My family and I imagine that we'll stay in Michigan, because it's just gorgeous!

Kettering University, which historically was the General Motors Institute but is now separate from GM, is predominantly an engineering school with a strong co-op program, so students attend class for 10 or so weeks, then go work for 10 or so weeks, on and off until graduation. We don't have the traditional semester here, though our terms roughly correspond to the quarter system. Kettering is in the city of Flint, Michigan, which has a poor national reputation, partly from the Michael Moore (a Flint native) documentary about GM's relationship with Flint, Michigan entitled Roger and Me. I'm an unlikely spokesperson for Kettering, since I only joined the faculty last summer, but I thought this info might prove interesting and/or helpful; the Listening Across Difference students can correct me or provide additional insight, since most of them have been here longer than I have!

I'm very excited about this dialogue and can't wait to hear what y'all (a very useful slang word I picked up in Texas that means "you all") have to say!

I'm also the tech advisor for the blog, so if you're having problems posting or loading pictures, feel free to email me at jarbor@kettering.edu, and I'll work on it.