Born and raised in Michigan, Tom received his Bachelor of Arts degree in Political Science and History from Western Michigan University in 1960. Following a tour of duty as a Lieutenant in the US Army he completed his masters in History at WMU, taught in middle school and then at Oakland Community College in Detroit. In 1968 he married Sheri and moved to Texas where he earned his doctorate in Curriculum & Instruction at the University of Houston. He worked for a foundation in San Antonio, Texas, for three years and then took a faculty position at Kansas State University. In 1979 he accepted a