Dr. Grammar, a.k.a. Jim HiDuke, is an English professor at the
University of Northern Iowa in Cedar Falls, Iowa. Growing up in Hammond, Indiana, Jim did not lead the type of life you would expect of a future professor and grammar expert. To put it bluntly, he was in a street gang, actually a "gentleman's" gang, which never started fights or participated in most gangs' unlawful activities. He witnessed a lot of action at Gary, Indiana's Well Street Beach, which was a gathering place for gangs from as far away as Chicago. He took some severe beatings from some of his fellow members and has seen people stabbed and slashed with broken bottles. Once, while cruising in another town, they were shot at by rival gang members, and he has also been shot at by police officers during an illegal drag race.

He also worked at a steel mill, where his real love for the English language developed as he taught Aristotle, Humanities, History, and Astronomy to many of his co-workers, most of whom had only a grade-school education. For four years, Jim worked at the steel mill as an office clerk from midnight to 8 a.m. (about 40-56 hours per week) and was also a full-time college student, often sleeping only 2-3 hours per night. During this time in his life, Jim was experiencing what he called four different types of languages, the languages of the steel mill, his gang, his home life, and that of his college education. "I've been fascinated by language and usage since I was in college," said HiDuke. "I live for this stuff."

He also lives for golf, a sport his father introduced him to at age nine. He later caddied for world champion boxer Joe Louis, Olympic runner Jesse Owens, and a few mobsters from Chicago. Today, he plays tournament golf every weekend from April to October.

Jim received his Bachelor of Arts at St. Joseph College on the Calumet campus. He received his Master of Arts at Marquette University. He also did one year of Ph. D work at Notre Dame in Renaissance Literature, and one year of Ph. D work at Carnegie Mellon University in Rhetoric.

Jim has also published roughly twenty poems and two sketches that were drawn in charcoal and pencil (see pictures). The Dr. Grammar idea evolved from a nickname that has become an informal title. At the University of Northern Iowa, he is well-known by students and faculty as a source of answers to tough questions.

"More and more students arrive at colleges and universities less-than-prepared for the amount and type of writing required, regardless of the courses they take," says HiDuke. "This led to many questions about language, usage, and proper attribution of sources from the World Wide Web."

The Dr. Grammar service officially kicked off on February 1, 2000 with a publicity campaign including a billboard and television public service announcements in Eastern Iowa.

Anyone with questions about grammar, usage, punctuation, spelling or general language concerns can check out Dr. Grammar's answers to frequently asked questions.