St. Bonaventure’s Chris Mackowski, Ph.D., is among the 150 University of Maine alumni the New England institution is lauding in honor of its sesquicentennial.
Mackowski, a professor of journalism and mass communication at St. Bonaventure, earned a master’s degree in English from the University of Maine in 1995.
The University of Maine Alumni Association, which is featuring profiles of 150 notable alumni on its website as part of the 150th anniversary celebration, pays tribute to Mackowski’s research and writing about the Civil War. The profile, which can be read here, describes him as “A Guardian Angel of the American Civil War.”
Mackowski’s research — and desire to keep the conflict alive and accessible to a wide audience — takes many forms. He has authored books, edited journals, founded a blog and worked for the National Park Service giving tours of the Civil War battlefields.
He has authored a dozen books on the Civil War, including six that are part of the Emerging Civil War book series, and he is managing editor and co-founder of the blog Emerging Civil War (www.emergingcivilwar.com).
“We have really worked hard at Emerging Civil War to help people connect with the story of the Civil War, which is America’s great story,” said Mackowski. “Anyone who thinks the Civil War is old news need only look at the recent news from South Carolina to see that we’re still living with the war’s effects today, so it’s important to know the story so we can understand its legacy.”
“Strike Them a Blow: Battle Along the North Anna,” published by Savas Beatie LLC, is Mackowski’s latest entry in the Emerging Civil War Series. The book zeros in on events between May 20 and May 26, 1864, which is generally recognized by historians as the third phase of the 1864 Overland Campaign. During that phase, the armies maneuvered through central Virginia until they wound up on the banks of the North Anna River, some 20 miles north of Richmond.
At St. Bonaventure, Mackowski’s classroom repertoire includes teaching professional, feature and creative nonfiction as well as pop culture topics such as “Why America Rules the World” and “Tales from the Zombie Apocalypse.”
“I think my credibility as a writing professor is grounded in my experience as a working writer. I try to bring that back into the classroom with me and share it with my students,” said Mackowski.
Mackowski’s University of Maine profile is in good company: Other notable alumni featured include Alaskan Explorer Fred Fickett, 1880; Chuck Peddle, ’59, the father of the personal computer; former New York Yankees’ manager Carl Harrison “Stump” Merrill, ’66; and Stephen King, ’70.
Mackowski, who joined the St. Bonaventure faculty in 2000, holds a doctorate in English/creative writing from Binghamton University, an M.F.A. in creative writing from Goddard College, and a bachelor’s degree in communication from the University of Pittsburgh.