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Get to Know the Faculty: Scott Bruce

01/29/2019

Scott Bruce is a Pittsburgh fan through and through, but his work with athletes of all types is his passion. Let’s Get to Know the history buff who’s part of our new athletic training MA program.

Scott L. Bruce

Scott L. Bruce

Place of birth:
Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania
Family:
Married to Jana (a real estate agent) with two grown children, Patrick (24) lives and works as a construction manager in Pittsburgh and Allison (22) lives and works in the HR department for Amazon in Chattanooga, Tennessee.
Why did you choose A-State?
To be part of a new Master’s in Athletic Training program.
What are you working on right now?
Beside my classes, I along with my fellow athletic training education colleague, Dr. Robert Bradley, we are collaborating with two music department faculty, Dr. Juli Buxbaum and Dr. Kristin Leitterman, on trying to create an injury prediction model for instrumental musicians.
My pro sports team is...
the Pittsburgh Pirates and Pittsburgh Steelers.
What is the one thing you wish you could teach everyone about your field?
That athletic trainers are healthcare professionals and should be treated as such.
What makes a good professor?
Compassion and understanding
In college, I was known for...
always being in the athletic training room if I was not in class.
Who was your favorite teacher (and why)?
As an undergrad it was a history professor who was so passionate about what he taught. He would literally act out the parts of the persons he was discussing.
What makes for a good student?
Someone who is willing to learn every day and open to new experiences.
My hobby is...
golf and gardening.
My passion is...
Pittsburgh Pirates, Pittsburgh Steelers and Penn State Football.
What’s the value of a university education?
It helps to not only prepare people for the challenges they will face in their chosen field of study, but it also helps them to mature and realize what the world is like outside of the one they had been a part of until they left for college.
Your philosophy on education in seven words:
Be prepared to think, work and read!
If you could teach another field, which one and why?
United States history or political science
My favorite trip was...
to the Bay Area with my wife about two years ago.
If I could travel anywhere it would be...
a lap around America.
Before you retire I want to...
create a clinical prediction model to determine who might be at high-risk for suffering a concussion.
What music is playing in your car?
XM radio on the Billy Joel Channel
My favorite motion picture is...
The Sting which was won the Academy Award for Best Picture in 1974.
What is your most prized possession...
My education!
The last book I read for fun was...
“Alliance: The Inside Story of How Roosevelt, Stalin and Churchill Won One War and Began Another” by Jonathan Fenby.
Four people I’d take to coffee...
Jesus Christ, Abraham Lincoln, General George S. Patton and Ronald Reagan.
The best advice I ever received was...
that by the time your child is two years old, they should be able to stop on a dime when you say stop. Why? Because it may save their life someday. It saved my daughter once when she was about 18 month and again when she was 13 years old.
What is the one thing I’ve learned I’d tell my college self...
Don’t let your studies get in the way of your education!
What is one thing you always have on you...
my pen knife.
My favorite thing in my office is...
my Wall of Fame.
My pet peeve is...
students who plagiarize.
My favorite meal is...
Peel and eat shrimp, corn-on-the-cob, and ice-cold beer.
The one thing I will not eat is...
liver and onions.
A perfect day is...
spent with my wife and kids.
My spirit cartoon character is...
Bugs Bunny.
What I like about Jonesboro is...
how genuinely friendly everyone is.
E-book or hardback?
Hardback
Beach or mountains?
Beach
Dinner or supper?
Dinner
The one thing I’d take to a desert island (and a boat is not an answer)...
my wife.
I wish I could...
be smarter.
My favorite saying is...
In response to a question about how I am, I will say – “I am able to sit up and take nourishment and I’m on the right side of the daisies. So life is good!”