Dale’s career at Washington University began in 1987 at Dr. John Stern’s lab in the basement of Malcolm Bliss Mental Health Center in downtown St. Louis, where he built and managed electronic equipment for the study of head movements, eye movements and blinking. 

After a couple of years, Dr. Stern’s research lab moved from Malcom Bliss to the basement of Eads Hall, where Dale stayed until 1995 when the Psychology Department moved from Eads Hall to Somers Family Hall, at that time referred to as The New Psychology Building.  

Moving to the new facility was an exciting time for Dale as this was his first time setting up an ethernet network. As you can imagine, moving from a modem in Eads to ethernet in the new building was a major upgrade for everyone in the department. Windows 95 also came out at this time, which was a huge shift in how people used their computers; it was now a lot easier to connect computers together via the network to share information and connect to the new and exciting World Wide Web.  

The university’s adoption of Microsoft O365 was another significant period for Dale. He alone transitioned every account in the department from the old email system to O365. Outside of the move to the new building, that was one of biggest tech transitions we’ve had in the department up to that point.  

In yet another big shift in department technology, Dale managed the 2019 replacement of all the traditional phones in the Department with voice-over-IP phones. This required, among other things, a new network infrastructure, for which he spent the preceding year working with the University networking group to replace all of the equipment in the wiring closets. Dale was then instrumental in showing everyone how to use these new VOIP phones.  

Dale has enjoyed many pastimes over the years, including sailing boats and hiking. He is also an avid photographer and loves spending time with his four grandchildren. 

In early 2024, after 37 years, Dale decided that 2024 would be his last year in the department.  

On a personal note, I will miss working with Dale tremendously. He truly was a joy to work with all these years. I was thinking about our time together, and it dawned on me, that, in the 24 years we worked together, I don’t think we had any real disagreement of any substance in all that time. I find this truly amazing. I hope you enjoy your retirement!