Don Cunningham, PhD

Don Cunningham

Don Cunningham is an Assistant Professor in the Department of English at Radford University where he teaches courses in Professional Writing, Business Writing, and Advanced Technical Writing. Prior to joining the faculty at Radford University, he taught graduate and undergraduate courses in Technical Writing, Technical Editing, Academic Writing, and Freshman Composition. Dr. Cunningham has also lectured on Japanese feudal era history.

Dr. Cunningham has a PhD in Technical Communication from Illinois Institute of Technology in Chicago (2005). He is an alumnus of Texas A&M University-Commerce (formerly East Texas State University), with a Master of Science (1984) and a Bachelor of Science (1978), both in Journalism.

A professional journalist, Dr. Cunningham was an award-winning reporter, photographer, and news editor for several daily newspapers in his home state of Texas and in Florida. For the past twenty years, Dr. Cunningham worked in the telecommunications industry as an editor, technical writer, documentation manager, and applications engineer for central office switching system manufacturers specializing in the international (Pacific Rim) markets. His former employers include NEC Corporation, Fujitsu, Nortel, Tellabs, and Lucent (Bell Laboratories).

Dr. Cunningham has given many presentations to industry leaders and served on international standards committees. In addition to numerous journal and magazine articles, he is also the author of three books on Japanese feudal era history, two of which have been translated for Dutch, Polish, and Czech language editions.

A senior member of the Society for Technical Communication (STC), Dr. Cunningham served terms as the Chicago regional chapter's vice-president and president. He is also a member of Association for Teachers of Technical Writing (ATTW), Council for Programs in Technical and Scientific Communication (CPTSC), and Institute of Electrical and Electronics Engineers (IEEE).


Contact

Room 108 Russell Hall
Radford University
P. O. Box 6935
Radford, VA 24142

  • Office: (540) 831-5365
  • FAX: (540) 831-6800
  • Home: (540) 731-4953
  • Mobile: (540) 577-7458
  • E-mail: dacunning@radford.edu

Office Hours:
2:00 to 3:00 p.m. MWF and by appointment

Classes

Information


Academic Publications

This following is a list of recent academic publications. Please refer to my Curriculum Vitae for a complete list of academic publications and presentations.

Science and Technology Journalism Education: Curricular Trends

Paperback: 248 pages
Publisher: VDM Verlag (June 10, 2009)
ISBN-10: 3639166698
ISBN-13: 978-3639166699
Click here for more information.

"Using ill-structured problems to develop metacognitive strategies.” 2009 Annual Conference of the International Society for Exploring Teaching and Learning. Conference Proceedings, Philadelphia, Pennsylvania, Oct. 8-10, 2009. Click here for a copy.

"Teaching Technical Communication to Professional Engineers and Architects in the U.S." Institute of Electrical and Electronics Engineers (IEEE) International Professional Communication Conference 2009 (IPCC 2009), “Commitment to Excellence,” Conference Proceedings, Honolulu, Hawaii, July 19-22, 2009. Click here for a copy.

“Applying Game Theory Applications for Quantifying Quality and Value-Added Aspects of Information Products.” International Journal of Technology, Knowledge, and Society 5.1 (2009): 55-64. Click here for a copy.

“Core Competency Skills for Technical Communicators.” Institute of Electrical and Electronics Engineers (IEEE) International Professional Communication Conference 2008 (IPCC 2008), “Opening the Information Economy,” Conference Proceedings, Concordia University, Montréal, Canada, July 13-16, 2008. Click here for a copy.

“Quantifying Quality and Core Competency Skills.” Council for Programs in Technical and Scientific Communication (CPTSC) 34th annual conference, “Sustainable Growth in Technical and Scientific Communication: Principles, Personal, and Programmatic,” Conference Proceedings, East Carolina University, Greenville, North Carolina, Oct. 11-13, 2007.

"Cross-disciplinary Team Approach to Technology Transfer." Computers and Writing 2007 Conference, “Virtual Urbanism,” Wayne State University, Detroit, Michigan, May 17-20, 2007.

“Trends in Curricular Matters for Science and Technology Journalism.” Institute of Electrical and Electronics Engineers (IEEE) International Professional Communication Conference 2006 (IPCC 2006), “Racing into the Future,” Conference Proceedings, Saratoga Springs, New York, Oct. 23-25, 2006.

“Transitioning from Service Providers to Information Managers and Product Innovators: Evolving Roles for Professional Technical Communicators.” Institute of Electrical and Electronics Engineers (IEEE) International Professional Communication Conference 2005 (IPCC 2005), “Making Connections,” Conference Proceedings, University of Limerick, Limerick, Ireland, July 10-13, 2005.



(Click on the icon above for more information.)
RU English professor Don Cunningham journeyed to Japan to deliver an intensive three-day seminar to professors and students at Aichi Prefectural University in Nagoya. RUN 2008 (Radford University in Nagoya) was designed by Cunningham to help engineering and information technology professionals improve technical writing clarity and organization. Professor Takashi Okuda with APU's Department of Applied Information Science and Technology hosted the program.

Popular Interest Publications

Popular books on Japanese feudal history by Don Cunningham.
(Click on the cover icons below for more information.)


"Professor takes a slice of Japanese Culture"

New River Valley Current

The Roanoke Times, Sunday, June 8, 2008, page 14, Roanoke, VA.

(Click on image to read article.)

"Author lays down the law on historical Japanese weapons"

The Leader-Telegram, Thursday, Jan. 12, 2006, page 1C, Eau Claire, WI.
(Click on image to read article.)

 

“Iron Fan: The Samurai’s Self-Defense Weapon.” Black Belt Magazine (April 2009): 104-105. Click here for copy of the article.

"English professor loves writing and judo"
The Stoutonia, student newspaper, University of Wisconsin-Stout, Thursday, April 27, 2006, page 11, Menomonie, WI. (Click on image to read article.)


Radio Interviews

Interview with Katherine Greiner, host of With Good Reason, produced for the Virginia Higher Education Broadcasting Consortium by the Virginia Foundation for the Humanities and broadcast in partnership with public radio stations in Virginia and Washington, D.C. The Lost Patrol of Guadalcanal (Sept. 6-12, 2008) features a Virginia forensics team discussing their search for the remains of a Marine patrol killed on Guadalcanal during WWII. The second part includes an interview with Don Cunningham about his recently released book, Samurai Weapons: Tools of a Warrior.

MP3 File

Interviews with Kathy Stahl, host of Spectrum West, a Wisconsin Public Radio arts and humanities program on WHWC 88.3 in Eau Claire, WI.

Border's Book Signing
5 - 6 p.m. Thursday,
Jan. 5, 2006
  Japanese Film Series
5 - 6 p.m. Thursday,
Nov. 3, 2006
MP3 File   MP3 File

Public Appearances


Judo Demonstration
Japan Night at Radford University
6-8 p.m. Thursday, April 10, 2008, in McGuffey 206
(Click on images for more photos.)


Last update: Sunday, October 11, 2009