My name is Spyridon G. Patton (Spiro for short). The name is not unique although few have encountered it. It is Greek and is the name of a major saint in the Greek Orthodox Church. I was born and raised in Reading, Pa. I received a Bachelors' from Penn State in economics in 1973 (Yes, Joe Paterno was coach then!) and a Ph.D. from the University of Pittsburgh in 1978, also in Economics. Between 1978 and 1990 I was a full-time tenure track Professor at Penn State, Widener University and Villanova University. I did the whole nine yards. I have over 20 publications to my credit as well as 30 papers and a slew of book reviews. I taught a variety of Economics courses at the undergraduate and graduate level.
In 1990 I went part-time in order to work in a family business (commercial painting) and in 1993 I left academics entirely to pursue a career in retail management after we sold the business. (As a note we staked our claim to fame by painting water tanks and sewage treatment plants, as well as a couple of Walmarts). I served as a manager with Wawa (a convenience store chain), Eckerd Drugs and Wal-Mart. (All of this in Pennsylvania). These years provided me with practical hands on experience which has proven quite valuable.
In 2000 my wife's company, TIAA-CREF, afforded us the opportunity to move to Tampa, FL. (Her parents reside in St. Petersburg). I decided to return to education and completed coursework at the University of South Florida to teach secondary social studies. However the lure of college was too strong I returned to the college classroom. Between 2004 and 2009 I taught for Webster College and Rasmussen College in the fields of Economics, Management and Math. I have also taught and tutored online courses since 2003 and I have developed several online courses for a company called Deltak, mostly upper level courses in Economics and Management Yes, I am a crusty veteran of higher education, but it is my life, except for my little niece and my philately (look it up!) Whether in person or online I thoroughly enjoy what I do.
