David Chappell For many people, it’s difficult to begin talking about themselves. In society, many have implanted a humbleness they must override to have a conversation strictly about themselves. It’s seen as rude. But once most people get over this block, they release. People love talking about themselves. As Thoreau said, “I should not talk so much about myself
if there were anybody else whom I knew as well.” Once rolling, they can rarely say enough. Not for David Chappell, associate professor of Physics. The frail Chappell, who sports long brown hair just past his shoulders and a wiry, sparse goatee, looking more like an ‘80s rocker than a Physics professor, truly does not like to talk about himself. Through his shy disposition, he attempted numerous times throughout the interview to deflect questions back on his interviewer. “This is all going on a Web page, huh?” he asks during the interview, chuckling coarsely but softly. But Chappell realizes that this is a requirement. He must do it, so he begins listing the things that he’s done and continues to do, unfolding a list that – possibly to his chagrin – actually turns up interesting. Some of Chappell’s interests stem back to his dad, an amateur photographer and astronomer. Obviously, the latter has found its way into Chappell’s professional life, as he teaches astronomy courses at ULV. But the former has remained amateur, with his talents maturing through 20 years of practice. “(In school), going on some field trip or something, I took the camera with me,” said Chappell, who is – at best – economic with his words. “It’s actually one of my passions.” Chappell began using a 4-by-5 camera, which he continues to tool with now. But his interest piqued when he took a class in graduate school. Now, students can find Chappell perusing the basement of Miller Hall taking and even teaching Photography classes. At the request of Photography Department Chair Gary Colby, Chappell entertained the opportunity to teach Photo 210, an elementary level photography class, an experience he said was “something slightly out of the normal field. It was fun. It was totally different.” As a student, he has taken Studio Photography, in addition to a collection of other Photography classes. One can only imagine what students sitting next to him must think, discussing – as peers – their photography homework with their Physics professor. But this does not stop the consummate student at heart. And he has sprouted out of the Photography Department into the Art Department, taking a drawing course with Keith Lord and looking to take Ruth Trotter’s class in the fall. “It’s been kind of fun,” Chappell said. “I used to play around with drawing in High School, but I haven’t really done it since. It’s kind of an extra little thing to do.” Before journeying to the University of La Verne, Chappell fulfilled a thirst to wander. After he finished his doctorate, he took off, spending the next five months traveling through China, Nepal and Tibet. “Travel is good,” he chuckled. “It’s an opportunity to shake things up, see something different.” He then lived in England for a year, doing a Post-doctorate. While there, he traveled to Scotland, Prague, France, Germany, Amsterdam and – his favorite – the Shetland Islands. “It’s kind of this windswept, desolate place,” he said. “You kind of get the feeling that you’re witnessing the earth beginning.” Punctuated by his visit to the Shetland Islands, Chappell has forged a love for any place in which nature is primary and civilization is secondary, which has helped deepen his love for backpacking and hiking. In search of nature, he has ventured to the Sierras, Joshua Tree and southern Utah, among other places. “It’s a growing awareness of wilderness and nature,” he said, admitting to be drawn primarily to nature authors like Thoreau, Edward Abbey and Barry Lopez. “Nature writers are kind of a theme.” But as quickly as Chappell has begun speaking about himself, he has stopped. The cracked window inside has been shut. His requisite time to talk about himself has pretty much ended, and his humble quietude has regained control. When asked about what kind of students do well with him, he laughed and responded, “It kind of helps if they’re broadly interested in things, but I think that’s just generally true. I don’t know,” he concluded as he shyly laughs once more. When asked what his students think of him, he chuckled once more, possibly to ail his feeling of awkwardness materialized by being asked – yet again – about himself. “They all seem to think that I care how they do in the course,” he said. “It’s always a tough one to judge how people view you.” With that, the interview is over. He has said all he needs to, and that’s it. No more. The heat of the spotlight has subsided, and Chappell can once again quietly belly up to his computer, calmed by the fact that the attention can be vaulted back onto those around him, those he really wants to see in the spotlight: his students. RETURN TO FACULTY LISTmailto:chappell@ulv.edu?subject=HELLOHome.htmlshapeimage_1_link_1
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