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1980-1985
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Beginning in the summer of
1980 I was enrolled as a graduate student in history at Minnesota State
University at Moorhead. My focus was on American history, with a
special emphasis on foreign policy. My thesis, completed in 1985,
was titled "The Movement for International Education:
1900-1925." My thesis advisors were Dr. Sandra Gordon and Dr.
Kenneth Smemo.
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1989
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For six weeks I studied
US-Soviet relations since 1945 with a particular emphasis on how the
historical interpretations of the Cold War affected US
policy-making. This was a fellowship through the National Endowment
for the Humanities and the Council for Basic Education.
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July of 1994
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For four weeks I participated
in an NEH Fellowship program at St. John's University in Collegeville,
MN. The focus was on Machiavelli's "The Prince." As
a research component and follow-up, I analyzed the power of imagery in
politics. We studied with Professor of Philosophy Dr. Gene Garver of St. John's.
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June of 1997
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The American Indian Studies
Institute held at Eau Claire. This was the first of its kind in
Wisconsin and I was a presenter at the conference. J.P. Leary,
Native American Specialist at the Wisconsin Department of Public
Instruction, led the seminar. Dr. Ron Satz of UW-Eau Claire was a
keynote presenter. In the spring of
1997 I received the "Friend of American Indian Education" in
Wisconsin and this was a follow-up to that. The award is granted
each year by the Wisconsin Indian Education Association.
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June-July of 2000
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The Monticello-Stratford Hall Summer
Seminar -- a 4 week study program. UVA is also involved. The seminar involved living at
Stratford Hall Plantation in Virginia and "the Lawn" at UVA and
studying Leadership and Life in Revolutionary America. My research
focus was on the relationship between Jefferson and the American
Indian. We heard from numerous scholars throughout the
seminar.
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July of 2001
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I joined 25 other teachers at
Amherst College in Massachusetts focusing on the origins and ideological
underpinnings of the abolition movement with a special focus on the myth
and reality of the Underground Railroad. The leaders of the Gilder-Lehrman
sponsored seminar were David Blight (Yale), James Horton (George
Washington University) and Lois Horton (American University).
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July of 2002
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The Eisenhower Academy at
Gettysburg College in Pennsylvania. I joined 30 other teachers for
this one week immersion in the 1950s. The emphasis was on the
presidency of Dwight Eisenhower. We heard from numerous excellent
historians and had the opportunity to interview people who had actually
served under Eisenhower. Michael Birkner of Gettysburg College led
the study.
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July of 2004
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The Ashbrook Teacher Institute
at Ashland University in Ohio. "Ideas and Traditions in American
Foreign Relations." I joined 40 other teachers from around the
country for this one-week institute on the history of US foreign
policy. Dr. Jeremi Suri from UW-Madison and Dr. John Moser from
Ashland University led the seminar.
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June/July 2005
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I spent four weeks taking a
graduate history course on the Vietnam War from Stephen Gosch of the
UW-Eau Claire History Department. The course was designed as a
overview of the war with a special emphasis on the roots of the war in the
1940s and 50s. My research centered around how the interpretations
of the war have impacted American foreign policy since 1975, particularly
concerning the rise of neo-conservatism during the period.
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July of 2006
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I joined 25 other teachers at
Brown University in Providence, Rhode Island in a Gilder-Lehrman sponsored
seminar titled, "The Era of George Washington." We had the
great opportunity to work with Professor Gordon S. Wood of Brown, renowned
historian of the founding period. We also heard from Robert and Lee
Dalzell of Williams College on the history of Mount Vernon and Pauline
Maier of MIT on the ratification of the Constitution. Here
is an account of the experience that appeared on the History News Network
Website.
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July of 2007
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During the third week of July
I joined 50 other teachers in Hyde Park, New York in an NEH sponsored week
of study that focused on the presidency of Franklin Roosevelt,
1933-1945. We had the opportunity to hear from several scholars of
Roosevelt, most notably David Kennedy (Freedom From Fear: The
American People in Depression and War, 1929-1945) and Anthony Badger (The
New Deal: The Depression Years, 1933-1940). We also had
the opportunity to extensively tour the complex at Hyde Park and spend
time in the Roosevelt Presidential Library doing research.
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July of 2008
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In mid-July I traveled to
Carlisle, Pennsylvania and Dickinson College (founded 1783) for an NEH
sponsored program that explored the role of the Underground Railroad
during the decades preceding the Civil War. We worked under the
direction of Dr. Matthew Pinsker of Dickinson College, a Lincoln scholar
who specializes in Antebellum history. We also spend time with Kate
Clifford Larson (Harriet Tubman: Portrain of an American Hero)
and Fergus Bordewich (Bound for Canaan: The Epic Story of the
Underground Railroad, America's First Civil Rights Movement).
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