Expert Qualifications
This performing artist and scholar of twentieth century American culture served among the first curators of the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame in Cleveland, Ohio. He earned his BA in Sociology and Fine Arts from Montclair State University and completed a doctoral degree focused on American Folklore and Ethnomusicology at Indiana University. He has served as a faculty member in the American Studies departments of Penn College, Indiana University, and Radford University, while also acting as a Senior Fellow of the Laurasian Institution, which fosters cultural exchange between Asia and North America. Having published on Blues and the American 1960's counterculture, he reviews a number of scholarly journals, such as the American Quarterly, the Journal of Social Media Studies, and the African American Review.
Bio Snapshot
- Location: MI
- Independent Coursework, the Juilliard School
- BA, Sociology & Fine Arts, Montclair State University
- MA, Folklore, Indiana University
- PhD, American Folklore & Ethnomusicology, Indiana University
- Certified, Archivist - Society of American Archivists
- Member, American Folklore Society
- Member, American Studies Association
- Member, the Blues Foundation
- Member, Popular Culture Association
- Member, Society for Ethnomusicology
- Published several books and dozens of referred articles and invited presentations
- Founding Curator & Director of Educational Affairs, Rock and Roll Hall of Fame and MuseumFormer, Director, Indiana University Archives
- Former, Adjunct Faculty in American Studies and Folklore, Indiana University
- Former, Senior Fellow, the Laurasian Institute
- Former, Founding Faculty of the New College of Global Studies, Radford University
- Former, Dean of the School of Integrated Studies, Penn College
- Current, Scholar & Adviser, a Southern Museum
- Current, Historic Advisor, 2 Southern states' boards of tourism
- Current, Lecturer of American Culture, a prominent Michigan university
