
Welcome to this site! I am the Dean of Students at Great Lakes Christian College in Michigan. I was formerly a Kellogg Institute Postdoc and Tocqueville Fellow at the University of Notre Dame. I earned a Ph.D. at Michigan State (2020, M.A. 2016) and a B.A. in Political Economy from Hillsdale College (2012).
My research focuses on the relationship between faith and politics in the history of political thought. I’m currently working on a book on Augustine’s teaching about mankind’s Fall from Eden. The corruption of the human race is a central theme of political philosophy. My monograph unpacks Augustine’s account of the Fall and uses this idea to think realistically about the challenges and opportunities of contemporary life, such as the burdens and joys of work, the dangers and opportunities of ambition, the role of property, profit and self-interest, and the protection of human dignity, among other things.
In my work, I also explore the posture of modern political thought toward religious faith, having written on the social utility of religion in the thought of Alexis de Tocqueville and in Montesquieu. I am currently working on a novel account of political founding.
In my spare time, I enjoy spending time in the great outdoors (skiing, biking, camping, swimming, walking) with my beautiful wife and two children. I also (rather inordinately) love collegiate sports, Wodehouse, and Tolkien.