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Former musician turns to art of teaching

Professor shares affinity for music, nature and his passion as a mentor

By Kate Johnson
jokathry@mscd.edu

Nestled in a Colorado town where music, hippies and, occasionally, Willie Nelson thrive, a Metro professor looked past his own rock ‘n roll ambitions to a life where serving students and saving the planet are the norm.

“Teaching is a performance art,” said Metro marketing professor Darrin Duber-Smith. “It’s not a job. It’s like music.”

Duber-Smith, a former lead singer and percussionist for several bands in Nederland, said he looks back fondly on his days as a rock ‘n’ roll musician. He described one of his bands as a “grindy, psychedelic, Grateful Deadtype group,” and referred to his last band, Dance Party Authority, as a mixture of disco, dance and funk.

By 1995, the rock ‘n’ roll odyssey he began in 1987 had given way to night classes at UCD where he worked toward two master’s degrees in marketing and management.

During his graduate studies, Duber-Smith discovered his love for teaching and for his future wife, Angela. He said he bumped into her in 1995 in the same West Classroom Building classroom where he would give his first lessons to Metro students less than a decade later.

“That was a weird moment – a surreal moment,” said Duber-Smith, who’s been married since 1998.

He started teaching marketing classes at Metro in 2003. He said he knew Metro was a good fit because of his more than 20 years of experience in marketing management. And he said he saw unlimited potential in his students.

“Teaching is spiritually gratifying – is emotionally gratifying,” Duber- Smith said.

As he taught marketing, Duber- Smith said he knew the students needed much more than just the routine education. That’s where his other passion came into play.

A veritable environmental junkie and the president of Green Marketing, a consulting business in Nederland, Duber-Smith has worked for years to bring companies into the era of environmentally sound practices.

And then he turned to the students.

Duber-Smith developed a specialized “green class” – a class he said offers students an unparalleled realworld education. He is slated to teach the course, Sustainability and Social Responsibility in Marketing, this spring semester.

According to Duber-Smith, there are professors who have training, and those who have experience. He said he has both, a blend he said is crucial in getting his message to students.

“The students really like what I’m doing,” he said. “I think that’s because I bring so much to the table.”

But Duber-Smith’s message doesn’t rest on his image, credentials or consulting job.

The message to students, Duber- Smith said, parallels the way he has lived his life. With self-relection and personal accountability, students will be able to take charge and have a positive impact on the world.

“More people of my generation are choosing a more examined life,” he said.

“The future’s not so out there,” Duber-Smith added. “Think about how you’re going to feel 16 years from now.”

Though he’s unsure what his own future will bring, Duber-Smith said he’ll stay at Metro as long as they’ll have him.

Duber-Smith left the music scene when he started teaching, calling the scene “a young man’s dream.” But he said he’ll never forget how rock ‘n’ roll made him feel or the lessons he carried away.

“That’s why I’ve got to keep performing (by teaching),” Duber-Smith said. “What you did yesterday doesn’t matter anymore.”