Curriculum Vitae  (and then some …)
WILLIAM MERTON MUSSER

2658 River Road   Decorah, IA  52101-0382  billmusser@hotmail.com
Phone: 563-382-3458  Website: http://www.oneota.net/~wmusser

EDUCATION

MUSEUM, EDUCATIONAL, AND ADMINISTRATIVE EXPERIENCE

1981-82, 1984-86, 2006-  Vesterheim, Norwegian-American Museum, Decorah, Iowa

Director of Development, 2007-

Assistant to the Director, 2006 (April - December)

Associate Director of Development, 1986
Responsibilities: Oversee general operations of development office for nationally-recognized ethnic museum with membership of 5,000; seek funding sources for museum programs; report to director and national board of trustees; maintain donor and board contacts; acknowledge and receipt all financial gifts to museum;  coordinate fundraising and record-keeping efforts for NEH matching grant program; represent museum at selected fundraising functions; supervise one secretarial staff member. Grants/gifts procured: Solicited $15,000 gift for museum restaurant furnishings and equipment and obtained several other smaller grants and gifts. 
Development Office Assistant, 1984-85
Responsibilities: Manage daily operations of development office, including clerical and record-keeping functions; maintain donor and financial gift files; write media news releases and feature articles & take photos for museum special events and craft school classes; assist in grant-writing activities; develop & maintain record-keeping system for NEH matching grant program; assist in development of fund-raising campaign and publicity materials. Supervise three undergraduate interns. Grants procured: Co-authored successful grant application for $100,000 NEH matching grant. 
Book / Gift Shop Manager, 1982
Responsibilities: Order and stock books and gift items for museum gift shop in temporary quarters during a period of reduced inventory due to construction. 
Tour Coordinator / Membership Secretary, 1981-82
Responsibilities: Organize, train, and schedule approximately 25 volunteer guides for regular daily tours; schedule and guide group tours of museum complex; schedule museum main desk workers; staff main desk and sell admission tickets; introduce visitors to facility; keep attendance statistics; supervise three desk staff members. Maintain membership records for approximately 4,000 museum members; hold responsibility for all bulk mailings, including label production, sortation, bundling, postal forms, and payment; perform data entry in developing computer database of membership. 
Newsletter Editor, 1981-86
Responsibilities: Prepare four- to six-page quarterly illustrated museum newsletter, including writing, design, and layout; work with professional printer on final production. 

1978, 1980-83 Sugar Creek Bible Camp (Evangelical Lutheran Church in America), Ferryville, Wisconsin
Interim Program and Site Director (1982-83)
Responsibilities:  Maintain physical plant and property of 600-acre camp and retreat facility; schedule and host retreats and provide programming when requested; oversee kitchen staff and serve as substitute cook as needed; work with program committee to develop summer program materials; interview and hire 25 summer staff; coordinate summer program activities and groups; lead public musical and worship events. 
Day Camp Co- Coordinator (summers 1980, 1981)
Responsibilities: In off-site rural and urban settings, plan programs, establish contacts with churches, and supervise daily activities of up to 5 counselor groups of 8-10 youth each (ages 1st-4th grades) and maintain own counseling group for 40 hours per week for an eight-week period. 

1998-99  Luther College, Decorah, Iowa
Campus Coordinator and Steering Committee member, Four-College Teagle Collaborative Diversity Project (grant program -part - time)
Responsibilities: As campus coordinator: oversee campus efforts to develop an ethnic/racial diversity assessment instrument; organize and conduct meetings and activities of campus lead team, including formulation of assessment questions; develop local plans for administration of assessment instrument. As steering committee member: work cooperatively with representatives of three other institutions to develop strategies and timelines for creating and administering assessment instrument; hire and work with consultants; maintain communication between institutions and with director of program; keep financial records. 

1989-90, 1995-96  Northeast Iowa Community College Adult Basic Education program, Calmar, Iowa (teaching site, Decorah, Iowa)
Teacher of English as a Second Language (part-time)
Responsibilities: Manage classroom of 5-15 adults of varying ages, differing English language ability levels, and from as many as six different cultural/linguistic backgrounds; also manage 1-2 volunteer assistants. Focus on basic literacy but provide educational stimuli for more advanced students. Classes semi-weekly, 1 ½  hrs. in length each. 

1986-87  Northeast Iowa Refugee Coordination Services, Decorah, Iowa
Director
Responsibilities: Hold full responsibility for the daily operation of a non-profit, private agency serving the needs of approximately 75 individuals; coordinate transportation and child care services for ESL students; mediate between refugee families and human service organizations; assist sponsoring families; assist individuals with immigration and naturalization processes; supervise child care provider in remote location; work with board members to seek out and solicit sources of financial support. Grants procured: Co-wrote a successful grant proposal providing for funding of $7,500 from the Iowa Bureau of Refugee Programs, and obtained several other smaller operational grants and gifts.  [This agency ceased to exist several years later when the number of refugees declined significantly.]

LIBRARY AND INFORMATION SERVICES EXPERIENCE

2001-2003 Preus Library, Luther College, Decorah, Iowa
Academic Technology Librarian and Assistant Professor
Responsibilities:
Assist faculty in integrating new academic technology strategies for teaching and learning in the classroom, library, and on the Web. Consult with faculty to identify, evaluate, and recommend instructional information technology and software for purchase. Promote instructional design resources and services to the college faculty. Maintain up-to-date knowledge of techniques for assessing the impact of technology use on teaching and learning. Function as system administrator for Blackboard, the college’s course management software, and develop training sessions for faculty in the use of Blackboard and other Web-related tools. Serve as academic departmental liaison for library collection development, staff the reference desk, conduct library instruction sessions, and participate fully in the community life of the college as a full faculty member. Supervise two support staff and one student worker.

2001 (summer)  Decorah Public Library, Decorah, Iowa
Technical Consultant (part-time)
Responsibilities:
Create the library’s website (utilizing  already existing web design work), including access to the library catalog, to carefully selected links pages, and to other community resources online. Work with the assistant director to install computer hardware and software. Do routine maintenance on library computers and peripherals. Set up evaluative sessions for Iowa’s “Healthinfo Online” project, and pilot software to help older users learn computer skills. Assist with some circulation and reference deskwork. Perform original cataloging on the Winnebago system. Generate comparative library statistical reports for the director.

2000-01  School of Library and Information Science, University of Iowa, Iowa City, Iowa
Graduate Assistant (part-time)
Responsibilities: 
Spring Semester 2001: Assist one faculty member with academic research and course preparation; assist another faculty member with implementation of research methods course curriculum via the Iowa Communications Network (ICN) and serve as reader for course papers.
Fall Semester 2000: Assist one faculty member with academic research. 
Spring Semester 2000: Assist three faculty members with preparatory work for courses, including development of course pages on the World Wide Web, research (both library-based and Web-related), photocopying and other tasks of a clerical nature. 

2000 (January-June)  Cole Library, Cornell College, Mt. Vernon, Iowa
Cataloging Assistant, Technical Services (part-time)
Responsibilities: Perform routine copy cataloging and assignment of call numbers using the Voyager automated library system, OCLC, and the Dewey Decimal classification system. Perform authorities checking and correction on new/incorrect authorities (lists produced monthly), importing OCLC authority records into the local system as necessary. 

1999 (fall) Main Library, University of Iowa, Iowa City, Iowa
Student Work-Study Assistant, Bibliographers’ Offices
Responsibilities:  Do preliminary collection development searching on RLIN, OASIS (local NOTIS automated system), and Blackwell vendor database; sort vendor slips and non-English language catalogs; work on special projects for the department head and other members of the department. 

1989-99 Preus Library, Luther College, Decorah, Iowa
Cataloging Assistant, 1991-99
Responsibilities: Perform copy cataloging for new materials according to national and local library standards; assign subject headings and classification numbers as needed and perform necessary functions required in removing materials form the library collection; ensure accuracy of library’s holdings in OCLC database; maintain library’s local bibliographical database; perform pre-order searching on OCLC; serve as backup system troubleshooter for local and OCLC systems when supervisor is unavailable; serve as member of Collection Development team; hire and supervise student workers; perform retrospective conversion of significant portion of Norwegian language collection, including creation of original cataloging records for contribution to OCLC database. 
Circulation Night & Summer Supervisor (part-time), 1989-91
Responsibilities: Oversee circulation desk activities and supervise student workers; develop work projects under supervision of Circulation Librarian; administer overdue notices and fines; assist patrons in absence of professional library faculty; organize and supervise barcoding of circulating collection in preparation for automation; prepare instruction manuals for student workers. 

1987-88  Reu Memorial Library, Wartburg Theological Seminary, Dubuque, Iowa
Student work-study Circulation Assistant
Responsibilities: Staff circulation desk, shelve books, provide user assistance and information. 

1983-84  Vesterheim, the Norwegian-American Museum, Decorah, Iowa
Special Collections Book Processor / Researcher , 1983-84
Responsibilities: As special collections book processor: move, unpack, and clean several hundred books in warehouse storage, determine content (largely Norwegian language, often fraktur typeface items), and shelve in subject areas in new rare book facility. As researcher: conduct independent research using primary sources for biography of Norwegian-American artist Christian Abrahamsen and prepare catalogue raisonne for exhibition of 49 paintings from the museum’s collection in locations including the corporate offices of Lutheran Brotherhood Insurance Company in Minneapolis. 

1980-81  Luther Theological Seminary Library, St. Paul, Minnesota
Student work-study Circulation Assistant
Responsibilities: Staff circulation desk, shelve books, provide user assistance and information. 

1977-80 Preus Library, Luther College, Decorah, Iowa
Student work-study Circulation Assistant
Summer Circulation and Audiovisual Media Assistant (1979 only)
Responsibilities: Staff circulation desk, shelve books, provide user assistance and information. Additional summer media duties: keep media use statistics on computer; circulate media equipment throughout campus; perform minor repairs and cleaning on equipment; provide assistance with film and slide shows for classes and visiting conferences. 

 PROFESSIONAL ACTIVITIES

• Norwegian E-Learning (“Luther eNorsk”) Project originator, project committee convener, content provider (lectures and digitized material) for unit on Norwegian and Norwegian-American Folk Music and Dance, 2002-2005
• Presenter of interactive session entitled "Languages on 'Board: Blackboard Course Management Software in the Foreign Language Classroom" at the 2001 Fall conference of the Midwest Association for Language Learning Technology (MWALL) held at Luther College
• Co-presenter for concurrent session entitled “Lilly Climate for Diversity Project, Luther College” at the 1997 Association of College and Research Libraries national conference in Nashville
• Initiator of library oral history project - interviewed several library faculty and staff; compiled and excerpted from interviews to create In and Out the Back Door, a booklet commemorating the contributions of Preus Library staff in observation of the 25th anniversary of the building in 1994
• 1992 Iowa Library Association Fall Conference concurrent session planner (first session ever sponsored by Iowa’s Support Personnel organization)

LIBRARY PROFESSIONAL MEMBERSHIPS

• University of Iowa Library and Information Science Student Organization, 1999-2000. Offices: President, Fall 2000, Vice-President, Fall 1999 - Spring 2000
• American Library Association, 1999-2005
• Association of College and Research Libraries, 2001-2005
• Association of Library Collections and Technical Services, 2003
• Iowa Library Association, 1992-2005
• Iowa Association of College and Research Libraries, 1992-2005
• Charter member and charter Executive Committee member of the Iowa Library Association Support Personnel Forum, 1992-2005

ACADEMIC HONORS & AWARDS

LANGUAGES

• German - intermediate conversational/reading ability (1 yr. high school + 4 weeks intensive training and nine-month immersion experience-- graduate level theological study in the language-- in Germany)
• Norwegian - basic conversational/reading ability (8+ undergrad semester hours and ten-day travel experience in Norway)
• Spanish - basic conversational/reading ability (2 years high school + total of one month travel experiences in Mexico and El Salvador)
• Russian - minimal conversational/reading ability (informal tutoring equivalent to approx. 4 undergrad credit hours)
• Biblical and classical Greek - intermediate reading ability (20 undergrad semester hours + ten-day travel experience in Greece)
• Hebrew - basic reading ability (8 undergrad semester hours + ten-day travel experience in Israel and use in graduate theological coursework)
• Latin - basic reading ability (8 undergrad semester hours)
• Aramaic - minimal reading ability (3 graduate semester hours)

TECHNICAL SERVICES & INFORMATION TECHNOLOGY EXPERIENCE

• Operating systems: PC/Windows 95, 98, 2000, ME, XP and Macintosh OS9
• Internet/WWW: Website design with Dreamweaver, Netscape Composer, Microsoft Front Page & Publisher; digital imaging using Adobe Photoshop; streaming media (digital audio/video) using iMovie; basic HTML; website management; domain and site registration. Websites created and maintained include: Foot-Notes Scandinavian and Norwegian-American musical group; Northeast Iowa Unitarian Universalist Fellowship; Sojourn Way retreat facility; Civilized and Inclusive: Policies and Politics for Humans (online book by Bob Watson); Eric's Yunnan Tours (China tour service); Maritza Balkan and klezmer musical group; Skurdall Translation German and Norwegian language translation service; Blotter, Inc. personal site.
• Cataloging experience and cataloging tools: copy and original cataloging, AACR-2, LCSH & classification schedules, DDC-21, MARC records of varying formats (book, serial, visual and sound recordings, scores, computer files), OCLC Bibliographic Standards, Music OCLC Users Group Best of MOUG
• Bibliographic utilities: OCLC - familiar with OCLC online database, online authority, searching techniques, CATME-Plus & Passport for Windows cataloging software; some experience with OCLC union serial list; experienced in copy cataloging and retrospective conversion using OCLC, including creating machine-readable (MARC) records for OCLC database input from paper records; RLIN - basic exposure to records and searching
• Library automated systems: database management and circulation programs using Innovative Interfaces INNOPAC system, the CARL automated library system (text-based version), and Voyager cataloging subsystems; searching in public and staff modes on NOTIS and ALEPH systems (University of Iowa)
• Research databases: indexes and full text databases including DIALOG, EBSCOhost, Academic Search Elite, ERIC, FRANCIS, Periodicals Content Index, Web of Science, Wilson Web, and others 
• Instructional technology: Blackboard course management software system administrator and trainer; WebCT enduser; Iowa Communications Network enduser and presenter.

COMMUNITY LEADERSHIP

• Civil Rights Ordinance Committee Chair, Decorah Diversity Appreciation Team - co-authored Decorah's civil rights ordinance which established the Decorah Human Righs Commission
• Co-founder, Northeast Iowa Unitarian Universalist Fellowship - lay leader and service planner, 2004-05; authored the Fel1owship's Articles of Incorporation and Bylaws; NEIUUF Chair of the Board of Trustees - 2005-06, ex officio board member, 2006-07

LOCAL  INSTITUTIONAL ACTIVITIES (Luther College)

• Poetry 4 Friday, Luther College Poetry project participant, 2003 & 2004
• Advisor, GLBTA (Gay Lesbian Bisexual Transgender and Allies) student group, 2002-2003
• Member, Roundtable Room Services Board, 2002-2003
• Convener, Academic Technology and Learning Resources Committee, 2001-2003
• Five Lutheran Colleges Collaborative Diversity Project committee member, 1997-98 - represented Luther College in diversity initiative planning meetings with representatives of four other Lutheran colleges in the upper Midwest
• Convener, Lilly Climate for Diversity grant Task Group, 1996-97 - chaired successful group effort to plan and organize campus-wide diversity presentations and workshops on two separate occasions; developed budget proposals and acquired funding totaling $9,150 from various campus sources
• Planning Committee member, 1996 Nobel Peace Prize Forum - held key position on concurrent session planning committee and also served on media hospitality committee
• Participant in Lilly grant Climate for Diversity program five-day staff workshop - 1995
• Interpersonal Violence Hearing Board member, 1994-1997 - adjudicated one assault case

CREATIVE WORK

Notable presentations & performances:

• Featured with the other members of the Scandinavian-American old time dance band Foot-Notes on the Iowa Public Television special program “Iowa Folks and Folklife” aired in October 1996; music of Foot-Notes featured on (North Dakota) Prairie Public Television program "Scandinavian Traditions" in 2002
• With Foot-Notes, a selected folklife representative of the State of Iowa at the Smithsonian Institution's 1996 Festival of American Folklife in Washington, DC and a selected performer in the 1996 Festival of Iowa Folklife in Des Moines
• Invited campus chapel speaker on four occasions (one chapel talk used as part of Social Work minorities class curriculum)

Musical recordings and compositions:

• My Father Was A Fiddler ... , 1998, on CD and cassette - Foot-Notes Recordings 102 (Favorably reviewed in the internationally recognized folk and world music magazine Dirty Linen, Issue #81, April/May '99)
• “The Emigrant Waltz” and "Henry Storhoff's Schottische" on Iowa State Fare 1996, CD - Smithsonian Folkways 40083 (Favorably reviewed in Dirty Linen, Issue #70, June/July '97)
• Decorah Waltz, 1996, on CD and cassette - Foot-Notes Recordings 101 - including original composition, “Ingrid Martina’s Waltz”(Recording favorably reviewed in Dirty Linen, Issue #70, June/July '97)
• Highlandville Dance, 1994, on cassette (Foot-Notes Recording)
• First Steps, 1992, on cassette (Foot-Notes Recording)
• Original hymn (words and music), “Lord of Generations”, composed for and performed at centennial celebration of Highland Lutheran Church, rural Winneshiek County, Iowa

Published articles:

• “Without A Parachute: Radical Faith in Learning, Radical Learning in Faith,” The Mustard Seed: A Publication of Campus Ministries, Apr. 21, 1999, p. 1.
• “The Give and Take of the Wood: The Sculpture of Eric Ouren”, Trapeze: A Magazine of Arts & Ideas, v. 4, no. 3, Fall 1998, p. 29-30.
• “Keeping Time Together At Highlandville”, Luther Alumni Magazine, v. 30, no. 1, Fall 1996, p. 19.
• “Why Are All These People Dancing? Ruminations on the 20th Season of Highlandville Dances”, Trapeze: A Magazine of Arts and Ideas, v. 1, no. 1, Winter 1994, pp. 10-11.
• “Tradition”, Western Viking (Seattle), Dec. 7, 1984, p. 9.
• Vesterheim Newsletter (numerous issues, between 1981-1986)
• “Christian Theology Indicted for Holocaust,” Luther-Northwestern Seminary Concord, v. 10, no. 19, March 20, 1981, p. 4.

Poetry:

• “Buried, We Rise,” Trapeze: A Magazine of Arts & Ideas, v. 1, no. 3, Summer 1995, p. 4.

OTHER COMMUNITY ACTIVITIES

• Licensed foster parent, 2003 –2006 - member of Iowa Foster Parents Association and local affiliated group (Hope Using Group Support, “HUGS”) – have foster co-parented an older teenage male and two infant males (initially at 3 mos. and 6 days old, respectively), and done respite care for two teenage females and one pre-teen male
• Foot-Notes, Scandinavian-American old time dance band - bass fiddler, 1991-2004 (further information about the band is available at <http://www.footnotesdance.com>)
• Co-founder/charter member of Northeast Iowa Unitarian Universalist Fellowship - 2003-2006; Chair of the Board of Trustees, 2005-06; Vice Chair, 2004-05; teacher in the UU-sponsored OWL (Our Whole Lives UU sexuality education series) program – 2003 (further information about the group is available at <http://www.neiuuf.org>)
• Decorah Diversity Appreciation Team, Civil Rights subcommittee - co-author of comprehensive civil rights ordinance added to city code of Decorah, resulting in a Decorah Human Rights Commission, 2001-2006
• PFLAG - Parents, Families, and Friends of Lesbians and Gays - chairperson, 2002-2004; bimonthly newsletter editor, July 2000-2003; individual and panel presenter, including one training session for college residence life staff, 1998-99; member since 1997.
• Back of the Barn Acoustic Music Festival organizing committee member, 1996-98
• Northeast Iowa Regional Transit Advisory Board (representative as partner in owner-operated cab company, Hometown Taxi) - Secretary – 1991
• Decorah Regional Arts Council board member, 1985-87, 1992-94 (Secretary, 1985-86, 93-94; Treasurer, 1987)
• Latin American Concerns - co-developer of “Proyecto Niños” program bringing educational materials to a Lutheran church-sponsored refugee camp day care center in El Salvador; co-presenter of numerous slide talks re. conditions in El Salvador - 1985-86
• Vocalist and instrumentalist in several musical groups including Burning Bright Chorus and Earth Tones (vocal folk groups), Maritza (Balkan/Eastern European folk instrumental dance music), Norski Klezmorski (Yiddish/klezmer vocal  and instrumental folk music), Burdock and Just Four Guys (contemporary and traditional American folk music), and occasionally, Western Home String Band (American contradance music) and Bear Creek Bluegrass (bluegrass music).
• Active member/volunteer at various times in:, Vesterheim, the Norwegian-American Museum; Action for Nuclear Disarmament; Winneshiek County Democratic Party; Open Church.
• High school activities: Student Government (President, 1975-76), Speech, Debate, Theater, Band, Chorus, Newspaper, Yearbook, Spanish & German Clubs, mentoring/tutoring, Newhouse Norsemen 4-H Club – holding various offices in the local club and also in the county organization as Vice-President, received highest honors at the Minnesota State Fair for a book of original poetry; Highland Lutheran Church - Lutheran youth group member and officer, Sunday School teacher.
  
  

• Hometown Taxi, Decorah, Ia. – co-owner/taxi and bus driver – 1989-92, 2003-2006
• Café Deluxe, Decorah, Ia. –  waiter, summer 1988; cashier and host on special occasions in subsequent years
• Spring Grove High School, Spring Grove, Minn. –  custodial and grounds-keeping assistant, library assistant  – summer, 1976-77
• Tweeten Memorial Hospital, Spring Grove, Minn. –  custodial and grounds-keeping assistant – summers, 1974-75
• Highland Lutheran Church, Spring Grove, Minn.  –  custodial and grounds-keeping assistant –  jr. high & sr. high years
• Wold’s Berry Farm, Spring Grove, Minn.  –  field worker, cultivator, berry-picker – jr. high years
  
  

• Ireland - 3 weeks in 2004 (personal)
• Norway - 10 days in 1994 (personal)
• Germany and Switzerland - 10 months in 1988-89 (educational)
• El Salvador - 3 weeks in 1986 (educational/service)
• Greece & Israel - 3 weeks in 1979 (educational)
• Mexico - 1975 (educational)