DPS gets veteran officer The Department of Public safety added experience to its roster this month with the addition of a 20-year veteran. David Tobergte, 42, recently left the Boone County Police department to join DPS because he wanted to work here while studying for a degree in education. Tobergte said he hopes to teach grade school after earning his degree, which he estimates will take six years. Teaching first sparked Tobergte’s interest when he became a part of the Drug Abuse Resistance Education. “I really enjoyed it,” Tobergte said. “I loved the interaction with the students, having a positive impact on them.” DPS officer Lt. Jeff Martin said Tobergte will be a valuable officer to the staff. “We don’t have to teach him how to be a policeman,” Martin said. “He will hit the ground running, there will be a short learning curve. He does bring a lot to the table. He will help some of our younger officer with his experience.”

The outstanding professor is… This years outstanding professor is Dr. John Alberti, who is the latest recipient of the Frank Sinton Milburn Outstanding Professor Award. Alberti earned his B.A. (magna cum laude), MA., and Ph.D. degrees from the University of California, Los Angeles. He began his career at Northern Kentucky University in 1991. He is author or editor of numerous publications including The Canon in the Classroom: Pedagogical Implications of Canon Revision in American Literature and the Instructor’s Guide for the Heath Anthology of American Literature. He has published essays on Henry James, Herman Melville, Mark Twain, multi-cultural pedagogy and the influence of students’ economic and social class in the classroom. Alberti’s article on multi-cultural reform in schools received the Richard Ohmann Award for the outstanding article for 2001 in College English, a journal of the National Council of Teachers of English. He is co-director of the NKU Book Connection Program, a member of the Institute for Freedom Studies Committee, the University Learning Communities Committee, and numerous other departmental and institution-wide committees. He was elected by the membership of the Modern Language Association as a member of the Association’s Delegate Assembly. Amid his many roles and responsibilities, Alberti finds time to serve as the current Assistant Chair in the Department of Literature and Language. His students write glowing words about his ability to communicate with them and, in some cases, to transform their lives. One student wrote: “With a rare combination of intelligence, charisma, practicality, and outright dedication, he is a teacher among teachers, and he deserves to be recognized.”