I was born in Malta, Ohio, population 900, right across the Muskingum River from the seat of Morgan County—McConnelsville--population 1200. Spending my early years in such small towns probably contributed to my rather short stature in later life. My mother named me Don Ramon Richardson. Mother said my middle name was to be pronounced just like Raymond, but without the “D.” We were not wealthy and tried to conserve everything including letters.

I attended elementary school in McConnelsville and High school in South Zanesville and McConnelsville. My higher education experience started at Freed-Hardeman College in Henderson, Tennessee, and continued at Auburn University, where I earned a B.A. degree in communication, with a bunch of extra hours in science and mathematics. I attended graduate school at Ohio University in Athens, Ohio, where I earned M.A. and Ph.D. Degrees in communication. There were very few distractions in Athens so I wrapped up the Ph.D. requirements at age 25.

I taught very briefly at David Lipscomb College in Nashville, Tennessee, and continued my teaching career at the University of Georgia for the next two years. I then went back to Auburn University where I taught communication for two years and for the next twenty-three years was in administration as Chair of the Division of Arts and Sciences, Associate Dean of the Graduate School, and head of the Communication Department. The last stop on the academic train ride was Sam Houston State University in Huntsville, Texas, where I served as Chair of the School of Public Communication for ten years.

Over this fairly extended career, I published a bunch of articles in newspapers, magazines, and journals and edited a book about President Jimmy Carter, who is now a Nobel Peace Prize winner. Conversations with Carter is available on amazon.com.

I’m an airplane pilot and enjoy competitive bridge, chess, and archery. I spend as much time as possible fly-fishing. I’m listed in Marquis Who’s Who in America with about a million other people. I currently write a weekly newspaper column under the name of Don Ramon that appears in The Huntsville Item and occasionally some other papers.

Oh, by the way--I’m married. Wife Lynn often appears in the columns, usually abusing me in some manner.

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