RÉSUMÉ

Curtis Seltzer, Ph.D.
Land Consultant
1467 Wimer Mountain Road
Blue Grass, Virginia 24413-2307
540-474-3297
540-474-3311 FAX
curtisseltzer@htcnet.org
www.curtis-seltzer.com

EDUCATION:

Peabody High School, Pittsburgh, PA, 1963.
Oberlin College, B.A., 1967. Dean’s List. Public-speaking awards.
Columbia University, M.Phil., 1975. Regents’ Scholarship.
Columbia University, Ph.D., 1977. Political Science.
University of Virginia, Graduate-level writing courses. 1990-1991.
Various CLEs and arbitration/mediation seminars since mid-1980s.

WORK EXPERIENCE:

1. Land Consultant.

    Self-employed. 1998 to present.

    Duties: Provide investment analysis and advice to individuals and institutions who are interested in buying large tracts of timberland, farm land and undeveloped land.

2. Real-estate investor.

    Self-employed. 1994 to present.

    Duties: Own and operate private real-estate investment partnership since 1994. Projects have included land and timber investments, and 29-unit housing project. Partners vary from project to project. Duties include, finding and scoping investment properties; negotiating purchase; arranging financing; arranging sales; etc. Held Virginia Class A Residential Contractor’s License, #2705 045246A, from 1998 to 2010.

3. Arbitrator/Mediator.

    Self-employed. 1984 to present.

    Duties: Arbitrate labor and commercial disputes upon selection. Cases referred by Federal Mediation and Conciliation Service (private-sector and public-sector labor cases); and Mediation Research and Education. Project at Northwestern University. Duties include presiding over hearing; preparing legally enforceable written awards. Also mediate commercial and labor disputes.

    Founder, Augusta Center for Mediation, Staunton, VA, a community-based, volunteer-staffed, dispute-resolution service for Augusta County. Acting president during its founding year, 1990-1991.

4. Writer.

    Self-employed. 1975 to present.

    Duties: Engage in various writing assignments and projects, ranging from newspaper columns to books and consultant reports. Founded/edited the Appalachian News Service (ANS) in 1974-1976, which supplied news stories to all dailies and weeklies in a four-state Appalachian region.

    Edited Mine Safety Week, 1978, weekly four-page newsletter.

    Columnist for The Recorder, 1992-1995; lst place, 1993; 3rd place, 1994, Virginia Press Association.

    Political speechwriter, 1984 and 1988 presidential primaries.

    How to Be a Dirt-Smart Buyer of Country Property. May, 2007. 750 pages. ISBN 0-7414-3443-1. Infinity Publishing.

    Land Matters: The “Country Real Estate” Columns, 2007-2009. June, 2010. 363 pages, with CD. ISBN 0-7414-5956-6. Infinity Publishing.

    Blue Grass Notes. 260 pages with CD. Forthcoming June, 2011.

    Have written weekly, self-syndicated Country Real Estate column for print and online venues since 2007.

    Wrote weekly column on real-estate investment for www.LandThink.com, 2008-2010.

    Columns and articles in the following publications: News-Leader (Staunton, VA); The Recorder (Monterey, VA); Virginia Business; Richmond Times-Dispatch; Washington Monthly; Working Papers; Columbia Journalism Review; Washington Post; Le Monde; Financial Times of London; Nation; The Elements; Health/PAC Bulletin; Equus and Creative Real Estate. Articles have been syndicated by the Washington Post, USEPA and ANS.

5. Policy Consultant.

    Self-employed. 1977-early 1990s.

    Expertise includes energy policy, labor aspects of energy production, environmental aspects of energy production and consumption, economic development in rural communities; occupational health and safety.

    Public-sector clients included: Office of Technology Assessment; U.S. Department of Labor; U.S. Department of Energy;

    U.S. Environmental Protection Agency; White House Task Force on Workplace Health and Safety; Appalachian Regional Commission; State of West Virginia.

    Virginia Center for Coal and Energy Research at Virginia Polytechnic Institute and State University, among others.

    Private-sector clients included National Association of Home Builders; Mountain Association for Community Economic Development; law firms; and corporations.

6. Academic Teaching and Research.

    a. Adjunct Professor, Shepherd College, Petersburg, West Virginia. Taught two courses in creative writing; one on labor-management relations in 1994-1996.

    b. Adjunct Associate Professor Political Science. Blue Ridge Community College, Weyers Cave, VA. American Government and Politics. 1990.

    c. Senior Research Associate, Virginia Polytechnic Institute and State University, Virginia Center for Coal and Energy Research. (See academic publications 3, 4 and 5, below.)

        Duties were to conceptualize, conduct, manage and produce policy-oriented research studies related to economic development strategies in Southwest Virginia.

        Gave presentations to the Virginia Coal and Energy Commission of the Virginia Legislature at Southwest Virginia Community College, January 7, 1988; Powell River Research Consortium Conference, Clinch Valley College, September, 1987; Russell County leaders with Rep. Rick Boucher, Abingdon, August, 1987; Governor Gerald F. Baililes’s Committee at Clinch Valley College, December 5, 1986; University of Kentucky’s Conference on Land and Economic Development, October, 1986; VPI&SU, April 4, 1986. Supervisor was Dr. Walter R. Hibbard, Jr.

    d. Adjunct Assistant Professor of Political Science, Marshall University, Huntington, WVA. Spring, 1977. American Politics; State and Local Government.

    e. Adjunct Instructor Political Science, West Virginia University Institute of Technology, Montgomery, WVA. Dr. John P. David, Chairman Social Science Division. Four political science courses between 1974-1976.

    f. Instructor of Political Science, Coordinator, Title III Programs at West Virginia State College, Institute, WVA. 1971-1973. Taught four political science colloquia. Main duties were to coordinate implementation of college-wide curriculum change, involving 125 faculty and 60 courses each semester, new remedial English laboratory, several dozen senior seminars and a new freshman orientation program.

       Functioned as an assistant dean to the Dean of Instruction, Edwin Hoffman.

       Prepared and administered US Office of Education, Title III budgets and plans, involving $125,000 to $200,000 per year.

       Represented the College in institutional planning and cooperative ventures with more than a dozen colleges and universities, organized faculty-training seminars, developed new courses and teaching methods, conducted college-wide evaluations, prepared funding proposals in addition to Title III, supervised a full-time staff of four faculty and administrators.

    g. Instructor of Writing. Staten Island Community College, CUNY, Staten Island, NY. Taught college-level writing, English and analytical skills to first open-admission students at SICC through the Preparatory Skills Center. 1970-1971. Wrote teaching manual.

    h. Adjunct Instructor of Political Sociology. Quinnipiac College, Hamden, CN.

       Taught one course in political sociology. Spring, 1971.

    i. Instructor of Political Science, Franconia College, Franconia, NH.

       Taught political science courses. 1969-1970.

    j. Graduate research assistant at Columbia University to political science professors, Alan Westin, Christopher Wright and Bruce L.R. Smith. Fall, 1967-1969.

Academic Publications:

    1. “Moral Dimensions of Occupational Health: The Case of the 1969 Coal Mine Health and Safety Act,” in Ronald Bayer, ed., The Health and Safety of Workers: Case Studies in the Politics of Professional Responsibility (New York: Oxford University Press, 1988). National Science Foundation through the Hastings Center.

    2. “Labor Projections for the U.S. Copper Industry, 1985-2005,” in Copper: Technology and Competitiveness (Washington, D.C.: U.S. Congress, Office of Technology Assessment, 1988; republished by Princeton University Press.)

    3. Economic Development in Virginia’s Coal Counties: Strategies for the Future (Blacksburg, VA: VPI&SU, 1987).

    4. Economic Development in Virginia’s Coal Counties: Interviews with Southwest Virginia Business and Political Leaders (Blacksburg, VA: VPI&SU, 1987).

    5. “Tracking Private-Sector Investment Decisions in Southwest Virginia: A Research Design,” Virginia Center for Coal and Energy Research, VPI&SU, November, 1987. Appalachian Regional Commission.

    6. Coal Employment: Trends and Forecasts, 1975-1995 (Berea, KY: MACED, 1986). Ford Foundation.

    7. The Coal Industry After 1970: Cost Internalization, Good Works, and Public Planning for Development (Berea, KY: MACED, 1986). Ford Foundation.

    8. Industry Perspectives on Development: Transcripts of Interviews with Coal Industry Leaders (Berea, KY: MACED, 1986). Ford Foundation.

    9. Fire in the Hole: Miners and Managers in the American Coal Industry (Lexington, KY: University Press of Kentucky, 1985). In print.

    10. “Prospects of Sub-Saharan Coal Development,” in The African Energy Handbook (Washington, D.C.: African Development Group, 1982).

    11. “A Survey of Workers’ Occupational Health and Safety Rights Under Federal Law and Union Contracts,” in Proceedings of the University of Wisconsin’s Conference on Workplace Safety and Health (Madison, WI: University of Wisconsin, 1982).

    12. “The UMW: Need Past Be Prologue?” in Robert Engler, ed., America’s Energy (New York: Pantheon, 1981).

    13. “Western Coal Transportation,” in An Assessment of Development and Production Potential of Federal Coal Leases (Washington, D.C.: U.S. Congress, Office of Technology Assessment, 1981; republished by Princeton University Press).

    14. Status Report on the Chinese Coal Industry (Washington, D.C.: (U.S. Department of Energy/KAI, Inc, 1981).

    15. Surveying and Analyzing the Field of Employee Rights Related to Occupational Disease (Washington, D.C.: U.S. Department of Labor, 1979). ASPER/DOL. NTIS #: PB298747/AS.

    16. The Implications for Labor of Synthetic Fuel Development (Washington, D.C.: U.S. Department of Labor, Office of the Secretary, 1980).

    17. Occupational and Environmental Health Issues of Coal Production, Combustion and Synthetic Fuels (Washington, D.C.: Appalachian Regional Commission, 1979).

    18. Co-author, The Direct Use of Coal: Problems and Prospects of Production and Combustion (Washington, D.C.: U.S. Congress, Office of Technology Assessment, 1979; republished by Princeton University Press).

    19. “Occupational and Environmental Health Problems in Coal Mining,” in Proceedings, of the University of Pittsburgh’s Symposium on Energy and Human Health (Washington, D.C.: U.S. Environmental Protection Agency, 1979).

    20. “Two Conclusions About Cows and Some Thoughts About Appalachian Economics,” in Proceedings: Appalachia Looks at its Future, J. Paxton Marshall, ed. (Blacksburg, VA: VPI&SU, Cooperative Extension Service, 1978).

    21. Coal Mine Health and Safety (Washington, D.C.: White House Task Force on Workplace Health and Safety, 1977).

    22. Coal Miner’s Health (Washington, D.C.: U.S. Congress, Office of Technology Assessment, 1977).

    23. “The United Mine Workers of America and the Coal Operators: The Political Economy of Coal in Appalachian, 1950-1973, 2 Vols.” (Columbia University, Ph.D. dissertation, 1977.) Profs. Alan Westin and Mark Kesselman, advisers.

    24. The Politics of Grammar: A Parts Catalog and Repair Manual(New York: Staten Island Community College, 1971).

    25. “From Survival to Freedom: The State of Graduate Education in Political Science,” (New York: Assembly on University Goals and Governance of the American Academy of Arts and Sciences, 1971).

    26. “Darien, Connecticut High School’s Student Culture, (New York: Columbia University Teachers’ College, 1969). Professor Alan Westin.

    27. Technical Self-Development in Urban Neighborhoods (New York: Columbia University, Institute for the Study of Science and Human Affairs, 1968). Professor Christopher Wright.

    28. Graduate research assistant for The Implications for Planning of Neighborhood Power and Control (Washington, D.C.: U.S. Department of Housing and Urban Development, Columbia University’s, Institute for Urban Environment, School of Architecture, 1968).

Reviews:

    An American Homeplace, by Donald McCaig, Appalachian Journal, Summer, 1993.

    Where the Sun Never Shines: A History of America’s Bloody Coal Industry, by Priscilla Long, Appalachian Journal, Spring, 1991.

    Digging Our Own Graves: Coal Miners and the Struggle Over Black Lung Disease, by Barbara Ellen Smith, Appalachian Journal, Fall, 1988.

    Coal in Appalachia, by Curtis Harvey, Appalachian Journal, Spring, 1981.

    Deschooling Society, by Ivan Illich, Yale Review of Law and Social Policy, Autumn, 1971.

OTHER EXPERIENCE:

    1. Director, Energy Program, Environmental Law Institute, Washington, D.C.1980-1981. Responsible for supervising energy program staff, preparation of contract-research reports, development of funding sources though proposal writing and contacts, and administration of program’s projects related to legal aspects of coal production, solar energy and nuclear power.

    2. Own and operate cattle farm, 1983-present.

    3. Owned and operated Blue Grass Bed & Breakfast, 1985-1995.

MISCELLANEOUS:

    1. Director, Board of Directors, Children’s Brain Research Fund/Children’s Brain Research Clinic, Washington, D.C., 1982-1989. Conducted birth screening for all births in District of Columbia. Conducted pediatric neurological research into genetic and viral diseases.

    2. Director, Board of Directors, Augusta Center for Mediation, 1990-1991.

    3. Licenses: Virginia Class A Residential Contractor, # 2705 045246A to 2010. West Virginia Department of Mines, Permit of Apprenticeship— Underground Coal Mining, NRWG 1264, 1976.

    4. Central Contractor Registration, DUNS # 01-998-6087.

    5. Married to Melissa Ann Dowd, Attorney. One daughter, Molly.

1467 Wimer Mountain Road CS Arbitration Services
Blue Grass, VA 24413 1232 Pinewood Drive
540-474-3297 Pittsburgh, PA 15243
540-474-3311 FAX 412-279-7974
curtisseltzer@htcnet.org
www.curtis-seltzer.com
References and transcripts supplied on request.