Jessica Cooper

Reporter

Van Roberts has been at MUW for 25 years. Roberts’ love for his career flows into his life every day. He is able to involve his job in his personal life “24/7” because as an associate professor of communication, communication is nonstop.

“Anytime I can open somebody’s mind to something they didn’t know, that is the true beauty of not only communication, but teaching,” he said. “Communication is my life, communication is what I teach, communication is what I enjoy,” said Roberts about his life and career.

Q. How long have you been at MUW?

A. “25 glorious years.”

Q. What led you to Columbus?

A. “My parents retired here from the Air Force.”

Q. What are your favorite courses to teach?

A. “Well, I do enjoy teaching my film classes. Actually all my classes are fun to teach.”

Q. What sparked your love for film?

A. “That’s a good one. I mean, you can watch a movie in one sitting, so you start it and you finish it. It’s the visual things. You’re taken to a place you’ve never been taken before.”

Q. Do you know approximately how many movies you have seen?

A. “I have no idea. I tried to get a kid to make a list of all the films that I actually own and his computer started developing problems. I want to say at least 5,000.”

Q. What is your favorite genre in film?

A. “I like them all but I prefer two of the most outdated genres, World War II movies and Westerns.”

Q. Do you have a favorite movie?

A. “The Bridge on the River Kwai.”

Q. Do you have any famous movie quotes that could help encourage students to keep looking forward in life?

A. “Life is information and everything is a message. I generated that one because we live in a sea of information and we pass messages along. We spend our lives dealing with information.”