Amateur Academic

"The word amateur derives from the Latin for 'love.' An amateur is at root a lover--a lover of sport, science, art, and so forth... As faculty we are properly conerned about our professionalism. There is much to recommend the professional ethic, including rigor, methodology, high standards of review, and so forth... Yet I hope that we also never cease to be amateurs in our professions--that is, passionate devotees of our disciplines. I have told some of you that I hope to be an academic academic vice president by still teaching, reading, and writing a little. Even more, I aspire to remain an avid amateur, still smitten with the love for learning that first drew me to the academy."
-John N. Tanner, Inaugural address as Academic Vice President of BYU (2004)

As I begin teaching this fall, it is important to remember that I did not choose my profession because I will be come rich and famous.  I chose to do what I do because I love what I do and enjoy the learning process.