Richard Carlton Haney earned his Ph.D. in history from the University of Wisconsin-Madison and later graduated from West Point's post-Ph.D. military history program and the army's National Security Seminar at Carlisle Barracks. He is professor of history at the University of Wisconsin-Whitewater, where he teaches courses in twentieth-century United States history, American military history, and Wisconsin history. The UW-Whitewater organization Students for an Accessible Society has twice presented him with its teaching excellence award.