As a native southerner, I am delighted to be a Texan! I grew up in Durham, North Carolina, the child of college professors. My brother Mark, sister-in-law Kim, and Burton, my husband the economist, are all college professors.

In 1983 I received my BA from Mount Holyoke College in South Hadley, MA. I majored in French Studies and spent my junior year in France. C'etait magnifique! Convinced I wanted to become an attorney, I returned to North Carolina to study law at the University of North Carolina-Chapel Hill. After earning my JD in 1986, I passed the Bar Exam and became a licensed attorney in 1987.

Somewhere along the way I discovered that I didn't really want to practice law after all. So, I ran a restaurant with Burton, my husband the economist. Being part owner and manager of the Rockwood Fillin' Station was another sort of education. I learned a lot about managing cash flow, human nature, and the competing definitions of barbecue.

But I continued to hear academia's siren call, and returned to the University of North Carolina-Chapel Hill to do my graduate work in Modern European History. I received my Masters' Degree in 1991 and my Doctorate in 1996. My master's thesis, "Harmony Through Hierarchy: Lyautey's Theory and Practice of Leadership in the Third Republic," is a study of Marshall Lyautey's leadership theory and the impact it had in France outside the military. For my dissertation thesis I decided to do something completely different. "Inauguration and Closure: Women, Gender and Politics in France 1900-1937" examines the lives of the first three women to serve in cabinet level positions in the French national government. I use the lives of Cecile Brunshcvicg, Suzanne Lacore, and Irene Joliot-Curie to explore the different ways women participated in professions, politics, and the women's movement.

While making my way to Texas, I taught at Wabash College in Crawfordswille, IN. There I was the 1996-1997 Owen Duston Visiting Professor. Crawfordsville is forty minutes west of Indianapolis, IN and Wabash College is one of the four remaining men's liberal arts colleges in the United States. After my stint with the Wabash Men, I taught for a year at the University of Wisconsin-Eau Claire. Eau Claire, WI is an hour east of Minneapolis, MN; the cheeseheads are an intriguing cultural phenomenon, and snow is a four-letter word. I joined the TCU faculty in the fall of 1998 and I teach the History of Civilization from 1500 and Modern European History courses. I plan to teach Modern France, 1815 to the Present and Modern European Women's History.

I've presented aspects of my dissertation at regional conferences. In September 1997, I presented a paper entitled, "Le plus ca change: Gender and French Women's Contributions to the Great War" at the Mid-American Conference on History. In 1996, I participated in the Feminist Generation Conference at Bowling Green State University. I read a paper called "Motherhood and Politics: Gender's Role in Feminist Political Speech in France During the 1920's and 30's." Currently, I am revising my dissertation for publication and working on article length works from the dissertation.

In my spare time I enjoy aerobic exercise, cooking (hence the need for exercise), gardening, browsing in antique stores, reading and listening to music. I also have two dogs, Astro and Zoe, and numerous houseplants.