Thomas Noer
As a high school student, Mr. Noer was fascinated by the descriptions of life in the book, "The Guns of August." He often wondered how the author could have known what life was like so long ago. He came of age in the 1960s, and began analyzing our country's involvement in Vietnam and the origins of segregation. Thus began a love affair with history, and development of his expertise in the history of United States foreign policy.
Mr. Noer joined the Carthage faculty in 1973, and has rebuffed offers to teach at several larger schools.
"Carthage has changed physically," Mr. Noer says. "What has stayed the same is teaching undergraduates in small classes, which is what lured me."
Thinkers that have influenced his approach to scholarship and teaching include Marx, Freud, and Frank Lloyd Wright. "Marx changed the vocabulary of our discipline, Freud introduced the concept of the subconscious, and the designs of Wright have vastly increased my appreciation for the environments in which we work and live," Mr. Noer says.
Mr. Noer's most recent book was "Soapy," the first full biography of longtime Michigan Gov. G. Mennen (Soapy) Williams. He received the Michigan State Historical Society's 2005 Award of Merit for the book.