Personal Biography

Until only very recently, I spent all of my life in central Iowa. I grew up and attended K-12 in Jefferson, IA before going on to my undergrad in Indianola at Simpson College, where I met and wooed my wife, Tracy. After a brief return home to work for my father at the Bee and Herald Publishing Company, I moved to West Des Moines and joined the dynamic staff at the Office of Governor Thomas J. Vilsack, who now serves the Obama administration as Secretary of Agriculture. I was fortunate enough to split my time in a hybrid position as half-Outreach Coordinator and half-Volunteer Liaison for the Iowa Commission on Volunteer Service. I am confident that if I didn't have such a compelling interest in higher education, I would still be working for the State of Iowa in some regard and loving every minute of it.

Curiosity led me to Iowa State University in Ames, where I completed a master's in Rhetoric, Composition and Professional Communication. From there, I had to make a choice: take a job as a technical writer and stay in Iowa, or continue on to a PhD program and take my show on the road to explore a different part of the country and engage a different set of personal goals. My searches led me to the CRDM program at NC State University in Raleigh, where my wife and I currently reside with our Cairn Terrier puppy, Kairos. We are very happy.

Need to know more? Alright, voyeur. Feel free to access my full CV and resume to learn more specifics about my academic and professional careers, or email me [matt dot morain at gmail dot com].