March 21, 2005, Findlay, Ohio – Dr. Mark Polelle, director of history, political science and the Law and the Liberal Arts Program at The University of Findlay, has been accepted to the West Point Summer Seminar in Military History. The seminar will be May 31-June 23 at the U.S. Military Academy, West Point, N.Y.

The seminar is a three-week program designed to help historians increase their understanding of the study of war and military history. Participants for the seminar are selected based on their potential contributions to the field of military history and upon the contribution the program can make to their future study and teaching.

“It is an honor to be accepted into the program,” Polelle said. “I look forward to learning from world class scholars in the field of military history. This knowledge will help us expand and grow our own history program here at UF. Many students have expressed great interest in military history and this seminar will allow us to offer more courses in the area in the future."

During the seminar, Polelle will attend seminars and lecturers on a series of topics including late Medieval warfare, the Civil War, World War II and the Cold War. In addition, Polelle will participate in a Civil War tactical exercise and study American Revolution and Civil War battlefields.

Polelle adds that he was motivated to apply for the program after seeing the interest and enthusiasm his students expressed when local VFW members visited his History of the Vietnam War class last semester. “Students are hungry for more new knowledge about the effects the nations' wars still have on the country today. This seminar will help me continue to feed their interest in military history,” Polelle said.

Polelle has taught in the areas of history, political science, law and geography at The University of Findlay since 1998. His book “Raising Cartographic Consciousness” was published in 1999. His current research interests include: film and history, law and pop culture, utopian studies, military history and intellectual history.

He holds a bachelor’s degree from the University of Chicago, and a master’s degree, a J.D. and a Ph.D from Rutgers University.