Born to Jim Walker, an accountant with Hobart Corporation, and Ruth Ann Walker, he grew up in Troy, Ohio and graduated from Troy High School, where he played fullback and defensive back on the 1971 team that was picked by the "Dayton Daily News" as the area's best team over the past 50 years. As a student, he sang the lead in school musicals (including Tevye in "Fiddler on the Roof"), played the violin, and was active in student government. He graduated from Miami University in 1976 with a B.A. in social studies education and, in 1981, earned his master's degree in education administration.