I’m a historian and professor at Slippery Rock University in western Pennsylvania. My research and teaching interests include urban, environmental and public history. I’m also the author of A Nice Place to Visit: Tourism and Urban Revitalization in the Postwar Rustbelt, published in 2016 by Temple University Press. The book examines the rise of tourism as a revitalization strategy in struggling “Rustbelt” cities, and the effects of that development on cities’ political, economic, and social dynamics.

I’m also passionate about the public role of the humanities in society, and founder and co-director of Slippery Rock University’s Stone House Center for Public Humanities, an initiative that seeks to build partnerships between university and community that expand public appreciation of the humanities. More information is available at stonehouseCPH.org.

Here you’ll find information related to my teaching, research, and commentary on contemporary issues.