Professor Joseph G. Dawson was born in Ohio, but has lived most of his life in the South, including the states of Georgia, Florida, North Carolina, Louisiana, and Texas. Dawson’s research focuses on the American military in the 19th century, including aspects of the regular army, volunteer army, the navy, the Marine Corps, the military’s interaction with society, and military government. He served as Director of A&M’s Military Studies Institute from 1986 to 2000. His experience in the graduate program has involved directing 13 Ph.D. students and 26 M.A. students, and he is chair of other graduate student committees.