Biography of Chuck Stewart, Ph.D.

Author of Sexually Stigmatized Communities- Reducing Heterosexism and Homophobia: An Awareness Training Manual, 1999, SAGE Publications, Inc.

Chuck Stewart brings an eclectic mix of experiences and expertise to this teaching manual. He obtained degrees in physics from California State University, Northridge (CSUN), with a specialization in quantum mechanics. At the same time, he studied classical ballet and eventually danced with and taught in many companies in the United States. While working on a master's degree in thermodynamics combustion engineering, he built custom automobiles for the southern California custom car circuit. These several paths have intertwined during the past 30 years.

By his late 20s, Chuck had obtained a teaching credential in English as a second language from the University of California, Los Angles (UCLA), and taught in the community adult schools of Los Angeles. It was there that he first experienced the richness of other cultures.

In his 20s and 30s, to supplement his income from dance jobs, he would obtain employment in aerospace engineering while still dancing at night and on weekends.

Chuck decided by his late 30s to become an expert on how to effectively overcome heterosexism and homophobia, which he himself had experienced at almost every turn. His first step was to obtain a secondary teaching credential from California State University, Chico. At age 40, Chuck was accepted into the University of Southern California to pursue a doctorate in education. For the next 6 years, he focused every class toward this goal. During this time, Chuck was the newsletter editor for the Los Angeles Unified School District's Lesbian and Gay Education Commission. He also was the co-chair for the Los Angeles Gay and Lesbian Scientist of which he has been a member since the late 1970s.

For his Ph.D. field research, he was funded by the California Commission of Police Officers Standards and Training (POST) and the One Institute to spend time with many police agencies and academies throughout the state to observe and measure the effectiveness of their training on sexual orientation (as part of their mandated cultural awareness training programs). This was a fascinating experience that completed the Ph.D. For the next 3 years, Chuck used his model to teach courses on sexual orientation at Rio Hondo College as well as collected materials and activities for this book.

Chuck is an affiliated scholar with the One Institute for Advanced Studies and continues to dance ballroom and western with gay organizations. Chuck plans to continue developing resource materials to help overcome racism, sexism, nationalism, and other "isms" in educational settings. Please visit his Web site at http://members.aol.com/ckstewar/CStewart.html.

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