Appointed 2025

Originally from the Denver area, Colin was a postdoctoral teaching fellow and assistant professor of history at the collegiate level for five years before making the turn to teaching twelfth-grade “Comparative Government and Politics” at CRMS. He is grateful to return to the land of mountain trails, fly fishing, and useful snow after a lengthy stay in the concrete jungles of Chicago. Colin enjoys Calvin and Hobbes comic strips, paleography, and trying to keep his houseplants alive despite the best efforts of his young daughter.

Describe your teaching philosophy in one sentence.
The insights generated from collective discussion are generally more powerful than any individual intellect in the room.

What is the most fulfilling aspect of teaching humanistic social sciences to teenagers?
Even students for whom history is a tedious subject can be enlivened when the discussion turns to a topic they are passionate about. Because history presumes to catalog the whole human experience, this excitement should always be within reach. Tailoring my teaching to student interests and building from there, rather than merely beguiling students into caring about the day’s material, is a fascinating and rewarding challenge.