Tim started teaching at Appalachian in 1994 and is now a full professor in the Psychology Department. Thousands of Appalachian students have taken "Dr. Love" over the years for their introduction to Psychology course in the I.G. Greer Auditorium. His teaching has been recognized with the North Carolina University Board of Governors’ Excellence in Teaching award and he has been inducted into Appalachian State University's Academy of Outstanding Teachers (twice actually). Tim was named a Distinguished Graduate Faculty for his contributions to the nationally recognized Industrial/Organizational Psychology and Human Resources Management graduate program. He is the chairperson of the Institutional Review Board at Appalachian State.
Tim is currently the Editor of the Journal of Organizational Behavior Management (www.obmnetwork.com). He is the author of dozens of scholarly articles that empirically document the methods to improve safety and quality in industry through behavior-based management. His research focuses on real-world problems in organizations such as hospitals, distribution warehouses, furniture distribution, chemical factories, refineries, universities, restaurants, and various retail stores. His book Intervening to Improve the Safety of Occupational Driving reviews 10 years of behavior-based safety in the product delivery industry. He co-edited a recent book Behavioral Systems: Understanding Complexity in Organizations containing contributions from 15 top scholars and practitioners in the field of Behavior Systems Analysis. His upcoming books include Best-in-Class Safety that benchmarks how companies with the best safety records succeed. Tim a Trustee and Commissioner on the Cambridge Center for Behavioral Studies’ (CCBS) Behavioral Safety Accreditation Board (www.behavior.org) that reviews best-in-industry safety practices and offers independent, objective feedback on safety programs.
He has continued this research for two decades integrating his empirical findings into his safety consulting. Tim has helped design, deliver, and implement safety programs at Corning, Sealed Air, Albany International, TRW Automotive, Eastman Chemicals, Domino’s Pizza, DRA of South Africa, Newmont, Andersen Windows, Carolinas Medical Center, Kimberly Clarke, Connectiv Energy, Marathon, CGG Veritas, the Tennessee Valley Authority (TVA), SuperValue, and Nucor Steel. He also has provided his expertise in Behavior Systems Analysis, Strategic Planning, and Human Resources Development to numerous private and government organizations over the past 15 years. Clients include the US Navy-Naval Sea Systems Command (NAVSEA), US Department of Energy, US Department of the Interior, National Grocers of Canada, the Deaconess Hospital System, Boyles Furniture, and MDI and Lowes Foods of Alex Lee Inc.
A homegrown North Carolinian, Tim enjoys working at Appalachian, helping the region of Western North Carolina while representing Appalachian throughout the world. Tim’s recent keynote presentations include speeches at International Conference on Occupational Risk Prevention, A Coruna, Spain; AmCham's Health Safety and Environment Conference & Exhibition, Trinidad; Behavior Management Training Leadership Conference, Darington, United Kingdom, Behavioral Safety Conferences in South Africa and throughout the U.S. This next year he has been asked to speak in Italy and China.
Hiking and music festivals are Tim's favorite activities along with his obvious penchant for travel. He is fond of quoting Kurt Vonnegut to describe his approach: "We are put on earth to fart around, don't let anyone tell you any different."
