August 3, 2001 UNT Inhouse publication: portrait gallery

homepage

Carol Simpson: Turning concern into expertise

Carol Simpson entered her profession out of fear of being sued.

Simpson, an assistant professor of library and information sciences, is one of the country's most prominent authorities on copyright law.

"There was a rumor going around that the Houston school district received a $300,000 fine because a librarian illegally copied tapes," says Simpson, who was working as a librarian for the Mesquite Independent School District at the time. "I was terrified. I didn't know the first thing about copyright and I didn't want to be sued."

The rumor was enough to make Simpson study every article or book she could find about copyright law and seek out every lawyer willing to offer advice on the subject. Fear is a big motivator, she jokes.

"The funny thing with copyright law is that the more you find out, the more panicky you become," she says.

By the time panic subsided, she was literally an expert on the subject, so much so that a publisher suggested she write a book about it — so she did.

Despite the motivational fear that guided Simpson to her career, she is extremely courageous. She's made a business of being tackled by various NFL football players.

In her spare time, Simpson works with her husband, who operates the sound system for the Dallas Cowboys radio broadcasts.

Her job is often holding the parabolic microphone, a large plastic satellite dish with a mike in the center. These microphones pick up every crunch, grunt and moan of the game for the radio audience. Unfortunately, the operators must stand close to the sidelines.

"I've been tackled by an Eagle, a Redskin and even a few Cowboys," she says. "But the only time I've been hurt was by a cheerleader."

Despite danger from plays and pompoms, her Cowboys job has its benefits. So far Simpson has traveled to Japan and London for exhibition games. She has also traveled all over the United States and to a few championships — and she's not even a sports fan.

She recently passed the parabolic mike on to her youngest stepson, but the job still has a certain sentimental value.

"The first date with my husband was a nice Italian restaurant, but the second date he needed a parabolic mike holder," she says. "Of course this was the first time I got creamed by a player, too."

Simpson's stepson has also lectured to a few of her classes. Simpson, one of the few UNT faculty members teaching completely online, brought her stepson in to teach her students about computer hacking.

Strange hobbies seem to run in the family, she says.