Biography

Personal

A native of Michigan, I was born and raised in Holly, a city located between Flint and Detroit.  My dad was a dentist and my mother a music teacher at the primary and secondary levels.  I have been married to my wife Rae for 27 years.   We have three children:  Jennie (26) a school psychologist in the Anchorage, Alaska public school system, Scott (23) a third year pharmacy student at UW-Madison, and Julie (20) a junior at UW-Madison, majoring in psychology. My own hobbies include golfing and sailing in a small craft on the ocean that we call Lake Michigan.

Education

I attended the public schools in Holly, Michigan and went on to pursue my undergraduate degree at Albion College in southern Michigan.  Included in my undergraduate degree was a wonderful summer program in Neuchatel, Switzerland. At Albion College, a history professor named Julian Rammelkamp, had a particularly strong influence on me.  He was an outstanding teacher with a human touch, and I have incorporated his lecture style and rapport with students into my own teaching philosophy. I received my M. A. and Ph. D. from the University of Michigan, Ann Arbor, writing my dissertation with Professor Samuel J. Eldersveld in the field of political parties and elections.  Sam Eldersveld was a delightful mentor throughout my graduate studies. He had an engaging teaching style that emphasized the importance of every student in his classes, something that I have carried into my own classroom.

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