Title: Faculty, School of Firearms Technology
Highest degree and school: BA in Public Administration, Barry University
Teaching at SDI since: 2017
Robert Walker brings a lot to the table in the School of Firearms Technology. In addition to working in higher education since 2005, he has also worked in firearms retail at a large, independently owned and operated shop with range. He is a credentialled NRA firearms instructor who has taken various armory courses, including Remington, Glock, and M16/AR15 armorers course, among other non-brand specific technical training courses. If that weren’t enough, Robb has written three textbooks so far on firearms and crime scene basics!
Robb was recruited by SDI after they started using his first book, Cartridges and Firearm Identification, as a resource for one of their classes. Says Robb, “I was excited to find out the book was being used by a school and next thing I know we are negotiating a faculty position. I was excited to be able to use and teach out of my own book, which is really at the heart of any author, to actually have people read and use their material.” The aspects of teaching he enjoys most center around mentorship, changing habits of mind, and encouraging students to find talents within themselves they may not recognize they have; “Education is more than memorizing numbers and facts, it is also about analysis and deduction. In the case of SDI, gun knowledge is more than just knowing a lot of brand names and catalog knowledge, it is about technology, function, and lots of nuances.”
Between book projects, SDI, and operating his own training enterprise; Robb and his family enjoy regular outings to different parts of the country. His idea of a perfect day is getting up early and having a cup of coffee with his wife before spending the day exploring, talking, and engaged with one another, topped off with a dinner of great pizza. Some years ago, he picked up an interest in Forensic Anthropology, which is the area he’d choose to spend more time learning.