Hi, I am Sam
About Sam I'm Sam. I am a retired octogenarian living with my wife of 62 years in the Rocky Mountains of Colorado. I have just completed writing my third book. But more about that below. In my early thirties I became infatuated with reading works by contemporary theologians and clerics. It has been a serious pastime for me over the past 50 years.
Sam's Education Bachelor of Science, Ohio University Master of Business Administration, University of Colorado Doctoral of Philosophy, Michigan State University
Sam's Early Day Jobs After graduating from Ohio University Sam began his career as a computer programmer at a division of a large automobile manufacturer. As the Viet Nam War heated up Sam received an invitation from his draft board, but instead of serving in the army, he attended the Air Force Officer Training School. After being commissioned he served four years active duty as a military officer. Upon release from activity duty Sam rejoined his previous employer and was soon promoted to an executive level position as general supervisor of data operations.
Sam Gould
A change of direction Sam and Elaine had misgivings about a lifetime as a corporate executive. Sam left his position as head of data operations to attend Michigan State's doctoral program. That was the starting point for a 30-year career in academe.
The professorial years. After completing the doctoral program Sam joined the newly created campus of the University of Texas at San Antonio, located in the city where he was commissioned as a military officer eight years earlier. After three years Sam was granted tenure and promoted to associate professor. At the same time, he assumed the position of Director of the Center for Business, Economics, and Human Resources, the business school's research arm.
The dean years After ten years at UTSA Sam accepted an offer to become dean of the School of Business Administration at the University of Dayton, a major Catholic University in Dayton, Ohio. He served in this position for twenty years until his retirement.
The retirement years Sam retired as dean emeritus. He and Elaine relocated to the Colorado Rockies. Several months later Sam was accepted a position as executive director to stabilize a local nonprofit family resource center. He served in the position for two years. He subsequently served on its board of directors as well as the board of Habitat for Humanity. For the past 16 years he has served on the board of a for profit community bank, the last 13 years as its chairperson.
Sam's adult Christian journey For the past 50 years Sam has served as member, lay administrator, teacher, and retreat leader across several denominations. As dean he oversaw the development of business curricular capturing the essence of Catholic Marianist values. Throughout these decades he continued his personal study of theologians and clerics.
Sam's Books In his early 30s Sam looked forward to writing about Christianity. It took retirement to make the time for doing this. In 2012 Sam published Faith Beyond Mere Belief. It was followed five years later with Being Christian in the Twenty-First Century, and now eight years later by An Open Christianity. The three books form a trilogy. The first focuses on theology, the second on historical context understandin Scripture in today's world, and the forthcoming, An open Christianity, that offer a mystical and spiritual underpinning for Christianity.