I am currently the Assoctiate Dean of Academic Programs at the Peter T. Paul College of Business and Economics at the University of New Hampshire. For sixteen years I was the Treasurer of the History of Economics Society and for nine years I was Councilor on the Durham Town Council. I earned a Ph.D. in Economics from the University of Texas at Austin in 1985. I also have a B.A. in Modern Society and Social Thought from the University of California, Santa Cruz.
RESEARCH INTERESTS
My research spans several different areas. Most recently I have become interested in Gamification. Gamification is the idea that game mechanics provide a tool for making reality more engaging. However, I think it goes beyond simple things like points, badges, or levels. I try and explore some of these ideas in my book: The Gamification of Higher Education: Developing a Game-Based Strategy in a Disrupted Marketplace published by Palgrave Macmillan in 2014.
I have for most of my career been a historian of economic thought. My primary area of interest in the history of economic thought has been the role that evolutionary biology has played in the development of economic thought at the turn of the twentieth century. This motivated my interest in Alfred Marshall and Thorstein Veblen. My role on the Durham Town Council sparked an interest in land use and that in turn led me to develop an interest in the work of Henry George.