Although I am a US citizen, I left the country at an early age and grew up in
Belgium and England. I returned to the US in 1986 to attend Union College
in Schenectady, NY. After graduating Union in 1990 with a BA in history
and biology, I went on to SUNY Binghamton (now Binghamton University) for graduate degrees
in modern European history. While conducting research for my dissertation,
part of which was funded by a grant from the Fulbright commission,
I got the opportunity to live and work for extended periods in Cameroon,
France, and Germany. From 1999-2008 I taught European and African history
at the University of Maine at Farmington. Although I had earned the rank
of tenured Associate Professor, the lure of new challenges and a less rural
environment led me to take up a new position at Buffalo State College in 2008
where I continue to teach European, African and World history. When not in
the classroom I continue to engage in extensive
international travel for work and pleasure. So far I have visited over 2
dozen countries in Africa, Asia, Europe and North America. During
the summer months I often lead groups on trips abroad for a company called
International Horizons.
My fields of specialization include European imperialism, comparative
revolutions, France and Germany. My research interests include European
education policies in colonial Africa, the culture of imperialism, and the work
of female explorers. I am
currently working on a book length biography of Flora Shaw,
former Colonial Editor for the Times of London as well as several shorter
projects dealing with the missionary experience of WW I in Africa.