Quick Facts on Michael B. Stoff

• Born in 1947 in the Bronx in New York City; is the son of shop owners
• Graduates high school in 1965 in Long Island in New York City
• Earns bachelor’s from Rutgers University in 1969; is the first in his family to attend college; develops love for the world of higher education
• Fascinated with the “surprising twists and turns” of history, decides to make it his career; as the grandson of European immigrants, chooses American history as “a way of finding new roots”
• Earns doctorate from Yale University in 1977; teaches there for two years after graduation
• Joins the UT Austin faculty in 1979
• Since 1998 has been involved with the Normandy Scholars program in which students study World War II in class and in Europe
• Has taught at Yale and summer institutes sponsored by the National Endowment for the Humanities at Bard and Vassar Colleges
• Publications include “Oil, War, and American Security: The Search for a National Policy on Foreign Oil, 1941-1947,” “The Manhattan Project: A Documentary Introduction to the Atomic Age,” “Nation of Nations: A Narrative History of the American Republic,” and “American Journey: The Quest for Liberty”; current book project addresses the atomic bombing of Nagasaki
• Begins serving as interim Plan II director in 2006
• In 2008 is named a distinguished lecturer by the Organization of American Historians
• In June 2008 is named director of Plan II, which he describes as “one of the premier honors programs in the country”