Congratulations, Mr. Pufflepants!

Rick passed his oral prelim exams this week and is now considered a PhD Candidate or ABD (all but dissertation)! He spent January and February on his writtens and the oral was Wed. from 1:30 - 4:00. He passed without reservation and afterwards he heard words from his committee like fantastic, beautiful, and it was a page-turner. He was going to meet Wilbur afterwards, so we drove up and threw him a little surprise party at Chandra and Wilbur's with Randy, Andrea, Soren, and Sevi. We were happy that his two overnight families could share in his success! Thanks everyone for your support and for a great time on Wednesday! Unfortunately, I didn't take any pictures.

Now, in addition to teaching his two classes at MSU, Rick can start the serious work of writing his dissertation. He actually has lots written and some data analyzed since he collected it last winter, but he has lots more to do. He thinks he can be finished a year from May, but will be strategic on finishing at a time when a job becomes available. He is still applying for fellowships and assistantships for next year to pay for those 24 dissertation credits he still has to register for, so we'll see if he has to commute again next year or not as things develop.

Thanks everyone for your continued support!