Bud began his studies of Arabic (long ago) at the Defense Language Institute in Monterey, California, as a member of the United States Marine Corps.  After completing his enlistment, he taught Marines in the Survival Level Arabic Course aboard Camp Lejeune in Jacksonville, North Carolina for two years.  He then attended the University of Texas at Austin for his undergraduate and graduate studies, during which time he had the opportunity to study in Damascus, Syria for the yearlong capstone experience of the Arabic Flagship Program.  He specializes in teaching Arabic as a foreign language and his research interests focus on pedagogical development.  His thesis discussed the potential effects of nontraditional grammar sequencing on students’ written output.  He is also very interested in the incorporation of culture in Arabic courses (via films, authentic texts, music, colloquialisms, etc.) as a means of encouraging student engagement with the language and culture outside of the classroom.