Latvia Matters

About the Book

When Dale Sims received a Fulbright Scholarship to teach in the small country of Latvia, he left everything familiar and comfortable behind. His determination to do a good job of representing the United States of America presented a number of challenges, not the least of which were his own preconceived notions of other countries and cultures. Dr. Sims uses stories about his adventures to show the patience, concern, and good common sense that the Latvians expressed toward him. As you read about the Latvians, you will be transported to their country, and you will wish that you could visit their land with Dr. Sims as a guide.

About the Author

Dr. Sims has been a full-time professor at DBU since 1991 and currently serves as the dean of the College of Business. He has taught computer science and information systems courses. Previous to coming to DBU, he worked in a number of different technical positions in several industries. He worked in research and development for a major petroleum company, as a network and system manager, as a systems analyst/application programmer, and as a knowledge engineer working with AI. Dr. Sims earned a PhD at the University of North Texas in Information Science. He is a Fulbright Scholar, representing the United States as a scholar in Latvia during 2006. He was the 2011–2012 DBU Piper Outstanding Professor of the Year, and the 2012 DBU College of Business Faculty of the year. He is married to the wonderful Debbie Sims, who is an assistant principal of an elementary school in Grand Prairie where they live. Having grown up in farming country, he loves the great outdoors. He hunts, fishes, gardens, does carpentry work, and shoots skeet.