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Name: Dr. Joseph F. Patrouch
Hometown: Kettering, Ohio
Job Title/Department: Associate Professor, Department of History
Campus: Modesto A. Maidique Campus
In a nutshell: I’m a historian of early modern Europe, with an emphasis on the lands of the Austrian Habsburg Dynasty.
Number of years at FIU: 19
What do you enjoy most about your job?
The interaction with students and the opportunity to research.
What do you think students and your fellow faculty/staff should know about your department?
We are a relatively small undergraduate major with graduate programs, from the master’s of arts level to Ph.D. Students have the chance to work closely with respected scholars and to interact with other students at all levels of study. I coordinate FIU History’s internship programs. Many students do not know about the opportunities that exist in the South Florida community to intern with history-related groups and institutions, tying in-class learning to public history experience.
Where is your favorite spot on campus? Why?
The gazebo near DM with the plaque remembering the late professor Chris Gray. He was a friend and a FIU History colleague. Stopping at the gazebo from time to time reminds me of him.
What is one thing you wish everyone knew about FIU?
I would like people to know about the quality of the research done by the faculty working in non-applied fields. Research as an intellectual enterprise not tied to money is an important undertaking.
How are you “Worlds Ahead”?
I am an internationally recognized scholar in my field. This year I published in the Netherlands my second monograph, Queen’s Apprentice, a study of the childhood of an archduchess who went on to become Queen of France in the late 16th century. I have also translated and edited an Austrian book on Vienna and been both a Fulbright Scholar and a Fulbright Student. I am very interested in international education and have served as president of the local chapter of the Fulbright alumni association. I also am an editor of the online discussion group HABSBURG, a worldwide scholarly forum for discussion of topics relating to the histories and cultures of central Europe.
Family snapshot:
My wife, Felice Lifshitz, teaches with me in the Department of History. We have a 9-year-old autistic daughter, Quinn, who helps me place the challenges of my life in perspective. I also have a son, Daniel, who is in graduate school in Vienna studying urban planning.
Word that best describes you: Friendly.
First paying job: Fry cook and counter staff member at a recreation center for the employees of NCR Corporation.
Favorite TV show: The Colbert Report.
What is playing on your iPod?
Don’t have one.
Your proudest accomplishment:
Earning a Ph.D. at Berkeley while raising an infant with my wife and living on a TA stipend.
What do you do when you are not working at FIU?
Go to Marlins games with my daughter, swim, read the newspaper.
Our most impactful research:
I'm from the FIU class of 1993. I majored in History and had the opportunity to take several of Professor Patrouch's classes. I found them interesting, enlightening and challenging and I believe most of my classmates felt the same. He, along with his wife and other professors in FIU's history department, helped to make my experience at FIU a life changing one. Thanks Professor Patrouch!