Dr. Wilson holds his Bachelor of Arts from the University of California Santa Barbara and a PhD from Northwestern University
. He began as a Professor of History at Southern California College (now Vanguard) in 1989. For nearly 30 years, Dr. Wilson also served Vanguard University as the Department of History/Political Science Chair.
He taught a variety of history courses including U.S. History, World Civilizations, Women in American History, U.S. Military History, The Good Old Days, Contemporary American History, Twentieth Century Europe, History of England, History of Baseball, and the department’s senior capstone course, Historiography. He also served as an advisor to Phi Alpha Theta, the history honor society.
An active scholar, he has published several books, A New Research Guide in History; Turbulence Aloft: The Civil Aeronautics Administration Amid Wars and Rumors of Wars, 1935-1953; Herbert Hoover and the Armed Forces; and Forging the American Character: Readings in United States History. His most recent book is Jackie Robinson and the American Dilemma (Pearson Longman), which arrived in January 2009 and is now available in Chinese.
Dr. Wilson’s involvement in the athletic department dates back over his full tenure at Vanguard University. He was a member of the Athletic Council under former Director of Athletics Ron Prettyman that assisted with many decisions around the department, including awards such as Athlete of the Year and Champions of Character, as well as the hiring of staff and coaches including NAIA Hall of Famers Bob Wilson, Russ Davis, and Mattias Johansson, as well as Rob Pegg and Randy Dodge.
An avid participant in campus activities such a “noon-ball” and intramurals. He spent a 2003 sabbatical researching and writing The History of the National Association of Intercollegiate Athletics, building on earlier dissertations by Francisco Hoover and Carroll Land, where he provided updates and information on events after 1977. The History of the National Association of Intercollegiate Athletics is the first publicly published history of the organization which has its roots tracing back to 1937, when it began the first collegiate national championship tournament at Municipal Auditorium in Kansas City, Missouri.
