My primary interest is in using local (regional) history to stimulate thinking among students and general public about U.S. history in general. To this end, I have published histories of Camden and Cape May Counties, Fort Mifflin of Philadelphia, and the Philadelphia Navy Yard. My secondary area of historical investigation is American naval history, particularly organization and politics. This inquiry has led to publications on the office of naval intelligence, James V. Forrestal, and the navy yard.
I try to employ my research in stimulating interest in history in the classroom, and hopefully to get students to think historically, in the introductory courses through the senior seminars. I consider teaching the major component of my obligations to the Department and try to instill some of my enthusiasm for history to my students (although not always successfully).
I graduated Phi Beta Kappa and number three in my class as a Political Science major at the University of Connecticut in 1965, attended the University of Virginia in 1966, received the M.A. in 1968, and Ph.D. in 1971 in military and diplomatic history at the University of Massachusetts, Amherst.