Can you give me a brief timeline of how your career led you to UIS?

After receiving my Ph.D. from the University of Nebraska-Lincoln, I spent a year teaching in the university’s history department before accepting a postdoctoral fellowship at its Center for Great Plains Studies. I spent the next two years researching the Homestead Act, signed by Abraham Lincoln in 1862.

As my postdoc was coming to a close, I was offered a position at the Abraham Lincoln Presidential Library and Museum and moved to Springfield in January 2020—a memorable time to explore a new city. After three years at the library and museum, I found myself missing the rhythms of college life and mentoring students. Fortunately, that was when the director position at the Center for Lincoln Studies opened. Having worked at an academic center in Nebraska helped me develop a clear vision for what the center could be.

What do you like to do outside of work?

During the summer, I try to spend as much time at Wrigley Field as possible. In the winter, I spend a lot of my time as a volunteer assistant coach for a seventh- and eighth-grade girls volleyball team. I played varsity volleyball in high school and love being around the sport — and middle schoolers have a great sense of humor (most of the time). I also enjoy trivia nights and watching my wife perform in musicals. She recently played Maria in the Springfield Theatre Centre’s 2025 production of The Sound of Music.

Have you traveled to any interesting places? Can you tell us about them?

I’m lucky to have a brother who works for the U.S. State Department, so when he goes on interesting assignments, I take it as an invitation to visit. In 2019, he was stationed in Mozambique, so I spent a week with friends in South Africa before my wife and I met my brother, sister-in-law and nieces at Kruger National Park. We went on safari, then spent a few days in Maputo, Mozambique. It was an incredible trip.

One highlight was our visit to the Cape of Good Hope, where the Agulhas Current runs into the colder Benguela Current. I remember being fascinated in fourth-grade social studies when we talked about European explorers navigating those rough seas. Looking out over the cape brought back my fourth-grade sense of wonder.

What’s your guilty pleasure snack?

Springfield needs a White Castle.

Is there a book, movie or TV show that you recently watched and liked?

I recently caught up on Severance, which might be the best show on TV right now. Half the fun of is discussing fan theories with my wife between episodes.