Welcome to my home on the web! I was a Senior Research Associate with the center for Science and Mathematics Program Improvement (SAMPI) at Western Michigan University until I retired on June 30, 2023. Shortly thereafter, I married Sharon, the love of my life and moved to Entebbe, Uganda, where we are currently living. I love to travel, spend time outdoors, and run,.
I have also co-authored a book about a visit I took to a secondary school in Northern Uganda. Scroll down to view more information about the book!
Preview the book!
TEN DAYS: AN AMERICAN VISITS A SECONDARY SCHOOL IN NORTHERN UGANDA
by Robert James Ruhf and Betty Pacutho Udongo
BOOK DESCRIPTION: Betty Pacutho Udongo was an elected member of the Ugandan Parliament when she founded the Nebbi Standard Academy, a secondary school in Northern Uganda. The school was founded to serve the needs of students in the region, but quickly became much more when orphans from a nearby refugee camp started to arrive after receiving word that they would not be turned away. "Ten Days: An American Visits a Secondary School in Northern Uganda" chronicles the real-life journey of Robert James Ruhf, an American academic, who visited the school in 2010. In doing so, it also unfolds descriptions of Betty's experiences growing up in an environment of war, how she came to found the school, and of the hardships that were being faced by students and families in Northern Uganda at the time of Robert's visit. More than anything else, this is a story about hope in the midst of sorrow, particularly the hope that comes from bringing educational opportunities to children who have been forgotten by the world.
"The sun doesn't rise or fall; it just sits there, and
we rotate in front of it. The sun never 'goes away' from the sky. It's
still there sharing the same sky with us; it's simply that there's a
chunck of opaque earth between us and the sun which prevents us from
seeing it. No longer do I drive down a highway and wish the blinding
sun would set; instead I wish we could speed up our rotation a bit and
swing around into the shadows more quickly." ---(Michael Collins)