His research and teaching interests cluster in the following areas: History, Practice, and Theory of Writing Assessment; Theory and Practice of Technical Communication; Biography; Theory and History of Environmental Rhetoric; Empirical Research Methods; Technology and Education.
He is married to Frances Ward, Ph.D., the David R. Devereaux Chair in Nursing at Temple University. Their dinner table is graced with the company of their eight children: Christian, Kathryn, James, Luke, Sarah, Jesse, Nicholas, and Sophia. From time to time, each works, lives, and plays at the Jersey Shore.