Campus; article five, page eleven

English professor loves writing and judo
By Heidi Sleep
The Stoutonia

I bet you didn't know that there is a new professor at the University of Wisconsin-Stout who lived in Japan for nearly 11 years and competed internationally in judo tournaments. So who is this new professor? Students, I present to you Dr. Don Cunningham, assistant professor for the department of English and philosophy at UW-Stout.

It is Cunningham's first year here at UW-Stout. Cunningham earned a doctorate degree in technical communication from the Illinois Institute of Technology, holds a Master of Science degree in journalism from Texas A&M University. He also has a bachelor's degree in journalism.

While Cunningham's professional career is worth noting, it is his interest in judo that is perhaps the most fascinating.

Cunningham earned first and second degree licenses from the Kodokan Judo Institute in Tokyo, which is the headquarters for the international Olympic sport. He occasionally helped coach judo at Keio University in Japan and was an international Judo competitor for years.

"[Competing] gave me a chance to visit a lot of places and make friends around the world," said Cunningham.

Judo is very similar to wrestling and is an Olympic sport. As a wrestler in junior high, he felt that the judo classes could help with his wrestling skills, and he eventually ended up taking judo lessons from his art teacher.

Unfortunately, the classes were cancelled after a few months, and the only other location that offered judo lessons was far from his home. Yet, years later, Cunningham was drawn back to the sport.

"I was a Hospital Corpsman with the U.S. Marines; they sponsored judo tournaments. I decided to get back into the sport and competed while serving in the military," said Cunningham.

Years later, his telecommunications career took him to Japan, where he lived on and off for a total of 11 years. While working and living in a small community in Chiba Prefecture, north of Tokyo, he was once again drawn back into the sport.

"I was doing weight-lifting at the company's gym when I saw a group of employees practicing judo in another room. I decided to get back into the sport," said Cunningham.

Cunningham won a gold medal in 1995 at the Chicago Judo Open but received an injury in the final match that caused him to stop competing. While it may have stopped him from actively competing, it did not stop his love of the sport. He eventually started a judo club in Aurora, Illinois, which had approximately 100 members.

"I haven't started a judo club since moving here to Menomonie, although I would like to if I can find anyone else interested in training," said Cunningham. "I am still interested in practicing and coaching judo."

Cunningham also has an interest in kendo and has trained and competed in this sport as well.

"Kendo is a form of fencing with bamboo swords while wearing protective gear," said Cunningham. "Much like Western-style fencing, players score by striking target areas on their opponent."

Cunningham also has a rather interesting professional background and has experience in a variety of areas. He has worked as a reporter, photographer and news editor for an assortment of newspapers in Texas and Florida.

The majority of Cunningham's career was spent working in the telecommunications industry, where he also held an array of positions including technical writer and editor, documentation manager and applications engineer.

"My primary experience is in knowledge management," said Cunningham.

Cunningham is also a professional journalist and has published two books on Japanese feudal history; it is worth noting that he also did all of the design, layout and photography for both of his books. Cunningham is involved in many professional organizations, and it was his involvement in the Society for Technical Communication that introduced him to UW-Stout and the Menomonie community.

"I think this [technical communication] program has a lot of potential," said Cunningham.

His commuting time for his previous job was nearly two hours, and now it only takes him 20 minutes to walk to campus.

So how did someone so involved with the telecommunications industry and judo end up moving to Menomonie and becoming a teacher?

"I really didn't want to go back into the corporate world," said Cunningham. "I enjoy teaching … that's why I came here."

So far, Cunningham is content with his move to the Menomonie area and his new position at UW-Stout.

"I am very happy to be here at Stout," said Cunningham. "I've been very impressed with the support here on campus…people have really gone out of their way to help."

Currently, Cunningham is teaching Engl-101 Freshman Composition and Engl-415 Technical Writing, and he looks forward to teaching courses in usability and content writing next fall.