Kenneth Lightfoot
PhD, History, Swansea University (Wales). Thesis: The Household Knights of King Henry III, 1216-1236
I grew up outside of Philadelphia and lived about a third of my life in Europe (Wales and Germany) before moving back to the US. I spent seven years as a professional archaeologist, five years as the director of a museum, and five years as a lecturer at Univeristät Lüneburg, before entering my current career in distance education.
At Lycoming College, I had a dual undergraduate major: Near Eastern Archaeology and Culture – History. I earned the Postgraduate Certificate of Education at the University of Wales, Swansea, and completed my MA in Medieval and Early Modern European History at the University of Connecticut. Later, I completed my PhD in History at Swansea University, in Wales.
It is a marvelous experience being able to pour through the vast amount of surviving documentation generated by the medieval English royal administration and shed light on the past by ‘connecting the dots.’ My own work involved, in the words of my supervisor, ‘resurrecting’ a particular group of knights by piecing together both their careers in royal service and the policies that directed them from a variety of disparate financial, administrative, legal, and chronicle sources compiled in the 13th century. Working with the actual documents, written some 800 years ago, is quite an electric experience.
Being part of a team and institution that specializes in creating and delivering high quality educational opportunities is an extremely satisfying experience.