Alius vox, other voices
Commentary and Reviews from Colleagues, Press, Students, & Employers
From Professors / Peers...
"Reflected in the pursuit of creative outlets found in the view of Terman's Genetic Studies of Genius, that the 'laws of nature are correlative, not compensatory', that good things go together... Gregory O'Toole can be likened to the Niagara Falls, beautiful to behold but also harnessed to light up the city of Buffalo and environs."
Walter S. Nosal, Ed.D. Professor, Emeritus, John Carroll University
"Greg O'Toole was a graduate student in my course entitled Digital Noesis. The course is taught in the Digital Media Studies program at the University of Denver. The course, although populated by computer nerds and geeks, is one drawing upon materials from nerds and geeks of literature and philosophy. This is, on occasion, a hard sell for DMS students. Not, however, for Greg O'Toole. Greg sat towards the back of the room and always wore the bemused look of a willing doubter-someone who is suspicious of the material but willing to give it a chance. I thought it might be similar to the experience of having Jack Kerouac in class. This is a student from another time and yet from after our time, a student who has been busy developing a panoply of skills in art and literature while simultaneously acquiring the technical skills of web design. (...) There is no doubt in my mind that Greg O'Toole ranks in the upper 5% of all the graduate students I have had in my fifty six years of university teaching."
Frank E.X. Dance, Ph.D., John Evans Professor of Human Communication Studies and Digital, Media Studies (Emeritus), University of Denver
Past President, National Communication Assn.
Past President, International Communication Assn.
Past Editor, J. Communication
Past Editor, Communication Education
Fellow, International Communication Assn.
"Greg is an accomplished poet and publisher who has been able to secure grant based funding to support his work. He has recently been recognized as one of the brightest poets practicing in the region. And his visual work is now being displayed at a gallery of national prominence in New York. With all of these achievements Greg demonstrates promise to achieve international prominence for his work across a range of media...Gregory has characteristics that are of particular importance and interest. He is a disciplined writer. A fact he makes light of in his self description as a graphagromaniac. He writes not only from the poetic/expressive voice, but also from the scholarly/critical voice, bringing new media works into context(s). Further, Greg has been exploring personal media forms since well before the motion picture industry decided to take notice of "third" and "fourth" screens. He is early not only in the adoption of new media methods of production, but also early in his understanding of the potential relevance and impact of said new forms. He is extremely capable of offering novel contributions in both the analytical and productive aspects of new media expression."
Prof. Rafael Fajardo, Director, Digital Media Studies, University of Denver
"It seems like there are lots of us right now, thinking people, on a quest to unplug the stopped up hole of what is right and weird in this world, what should be allowed thru..." Jim James, My Morning Jacket
"This is a collection that understands. The poems seem to have been written by the protagonist of a favorite novel with whom you most identify. All the experiences and ideas and opinions and conclusions and all the other wonderful occurances of literature that defy words within this book often seem to be echoes of your own mind, slightly filtered through the like-mind of a good friend." Sam Compton, Editor, GREENDOORHOUSE
"Thumbs up to you for the new (redesigned) Senior Project class. It’s been so easy to teach, and so straightforward and clear for the students." Katherine Humphreys, Full Time Faculty, Web Design and Interactive Media, The Art Institute Online
From Employers...
"Greg is one of the most creative, intelligent, diligent and focused master's students I had in the 10 years I ran the Digital Media Studies program at the University of Denver (http://dms.du.edu). Greg's mediated practices extend from creative writing to poetry to journalism to web design to web application development and beyond. We required all of our graduate students to develop themselves in three areas of digital media: design, technical and critical. Greg's past work and his current interests represent an almost perfect amalgam of all three. (...) We awarded Greg one of our coveted graduate assistantships during his second year. He performed exceptionally well as the webmaster for the DMS website and also as the editor and primary contributor to DMSpace, our twice-monthly program publication (online). (...) Not only is he knowledgeable, he is also a patient, careful communicator who performed very well in his teaching role."
Jeff Rutenbeck, Ph.D., Dean, Division of Communication and Creative Media, Champlain College
"Gregory is a very gifted artist as well as a wonderful teacher. Gregory has always demonstrated professionalism even in the most trying situations. In addition; Gregory has a great understanding and compassion for students."
Denise Aberle, Director of Education, Westwood College
From the Press...
"Gregory O'Toole's poetry runs the gamut from love to philosophy to the playful expression of an exuberant and independent spirit. His poems are for vagabonds and dreamers, for anyone who values the freedom of language and the importance of social critique. Like Kerouac and Micheline, O'Toole is in love with the journeys, the highs and lows, of everyday life."
Ghost Road Press
"The festival will be chock full of special readings. At 6 p.m. Saturday, Gregory O'Toole will read his poetry. O'Toole has received awards for his work from the National Endowment for the Arts and from the School of the Art Institute of Chicago."
Chicago Sun-Times, Chicago Poetry Festival
"...the poetry is story and the story's poetry... battling or embracing and intertwining... the book is a wonderful stream of consciousness, Hemingway-ish, so the written dreams read like dreams should."
Telluride Daily Planet
"Once again, Greg has made me laugh, made me cry, and made me think about what is truly important in this life. I pull this book out when I want to feel inspired, and I suggest that others do the same."
www.MediaGab.com
From Students...
"I have had a great experience in this class, have had fun with all of you, learned much, and think that Professor Gregory O'Toole did a fantastic job leading these forums!" 12 May 09, Nathaniel DiDomenico, The Art Institute of Pittsburgh
"I had Gregory for a digital imaging class and found his insight and input very helpful in pushing the boundaries of my skill level. He always offered unique and detailed critiques on projects, creating a strong foundation for the student to help build their skill level. One of the best aspects of his instruction was that his advice was encouraging and motivating, ensuring he gets the best out of his students." October 16, 2008, Danielle Reed, Student, Westwood College
"I had Gregory for a texturing class awhile back and I just want to say I have come far from what my talents where then and I have him to thank, accepting my work for future class reference is a great motivation for me and I would like to thank him for his teachings, his knowledge helped me get where I am today and will help continue to further my talents.” September 19, 2008, Zakrey Higgins
"This was an awesome experience. Mr. O'Toole you were very helpful and it was fun working with you. I learned so much in nine weeks." I would recommend this course to anyone. Charles Mays 29 Sep 08 6:47 PM MST
"For me I have had one of the best time in a course I can possibly have! :) The program was very fascinating to me and now when I see magazines and covers and designs I know what they did (most of the time) and that makes me feel very knowledgeable hence bringing more self confidence in what I want to be able to do someday. Thank you so much for the always encouraging words Mr.Otoole, and everyone! :) This class was very fun." Yutaka Toguchi 1 Oct 08 4:55 AM MST
"I really enjoyed this class. Before this course I had never used Photoshop and I am pretty confident with my abilities with this software now. I still have much more to learn but I would definitely recommend this course to anyone. Gregory O'Toole was very supportive and helpful! Thank you!" Leo Duay 1 Oct 08 11:39 PM MST
"Thank you, Gregory OToole, I want to thank you Gregory OToole, for an excellent course, everything flowed together perfectly. I have learned a great deal in this class, and I know others will in the future. When I first came into this class I was like.......... oh no.... maybe I should stick to just story boards, I gave it a chance, and you have taught me a great deal, to set my sights beyond just story boards. I hope to see you again, in future classes." Lonnie Broyles 15 May 07
"Thank you for your patience and appreciation and time. You have been an awesome instructor and I wish you all the best." Benjamin Jones
"Everything about this course was Excellent, Gregory OToole is one, that others teachers should follow, with the layout of his course. Gregory is a great teacher, I hope I have him again in the future. This course the way he explained, the layout, the teacher........It all just flows perfectly together. Give Gregory an award for his excellent class. If I were to grade him it would be a A+ I loved this class." Anonymous course evaluation
"Instructor O'Toole helped me out a few times in the early part of the course when I was struggling to learn Photoshop. He also offered great bits of information and directed us to other resources available on the web." Anonymous course evaluation
"I think that instructor O'Toole's guidance and teaching skills are priceless, I could not ask for more." Anonymous course evaluation
"Gregory was probably the most dedicated instructor I've had here so far. Not only does he do a great job with the subject matter of the course itself he also provides many resourses relating to our field above and beyond the course subject. I learned a lot and I respect him for really trying to help prepare us for our future career. No improvement needed." Anonymous course evaluation
"Gregory O'Toole was a fantastic instructor. Kudos!" Anonymous course evaluation
