He received his Ph.D. from the University of California, Davis and has taught at the University of Oregon and Texas A&M University prior to coming to UCCS in 1997. One highlight of his career is receiving a Fulbright Award to teach in Latvia in 2007. Since 2008 he has been one of the coordinators of the Colorado Geographic Alliance, a National Geographic funded organization that helps Colorado K-12 teachers improve their geography teaching.