He received his Bachelor of Arts degree from the University of Texas at San Antonio and his doctoral degree from Texas A&M University. He received the George C. Edwards III Dissertation Award, for best dissertation on the U.S. Presidency, awarded by the Presidency Research Group of the American Political Science Association in 2009. His most recent achievement is the University of Texas System Regents’ Outstanding Teaching Award and he also was awarded UTEP’s Most Distinguished Faculty Member Award for commitment to teaching excellence earlier in 2014.