Dr. Jeffrey Cole | Faculty Highlight | Portage Learning
What makes a Portage Learning education so special? It all starts with our faculty, who guide our students with great passion and expertise. Today, meet Dr. Jeffrey Cole. Dr. Cole is Co-Chair of our Humanities Department and a Professor of History in the Humanities Department. He has been teaching college students for the past 30 years.
Educational Background — Dr. Cole earned a Bachelor of Arts degree in History and a Master of Education degree in Curriculum & Instruction from the University of Lynchburg in Virginia. He then earned his PhD from Bowling Green State University in Ohio. His doctoral coursework focused on five areas: U.S. History, U.S. Foreign Policy, East Asian History, Latin American History, and Policy History. His doctoral research concerned the Great Depression and New Deal in the South.
Portage Learning Career — Dr. Cole designed the two U.S. history courses Portage Learning offers when he joined our faculty in 2021. He teaches HIST 141 and HIST 142.
What he enjoys about Portage Learning — “I enjoy working with students from across the world. Some have a background in U.S. history, and some know nothing about it, especially those who live outside the United States,” he said. “It is rewarding to help those who have already studied U.S. history learn new things and those who know nothing about U.S. history gain a working knowledge of it.”
What should colleges know about Portage Learning courses? — “I require the same rigor in my Portage courses as I do my in-person classes,” Dr. Cole explained. “It's vital that students learn to write well and I hold all of my students to high standards.” Dr. Cole also films a series of “field trips” to important sites to help students gain a better understanding of America's past. Dr. Cole’s courses have included visits to Washington, D.C., Philadelphia, Gettysburg, the Henry Ford Museum in Dearborn, Mich., and Pittsburgh. “Segments from these field trips are integrated into both U.S. history courses and help bring history alive for students. I appreciate Portage's willingness to try this novel approach to course development.”
Accomplishments — Dr. Cole was director of his college's program in Rome for six years and a faculty member in residence there for two years. He takes students to Italy regularly to study history, art, architecture, and literature in an approach he calls a "classroom without walls." Last summer he taught research and writing skills to high school students at an international school in Jakarta, Indonesia, and he will return this summer to teach that seminar as well as a course called "The Problem of Evil." “I love to travel and experience the richness of cultures that are not my own.”
Did You Know? — I am writing a book about the Federal Transient Service, a relatively-unknown New Deal agency. No one has chronicled this fascinating entity that served tens of thousands of wandering men from 1933-35. It was part of the Federal Emergency Relief Administration's efforts to combat the Great Depression.
What Students Say — An African student wrote this to me about the Civil Rights material we covered in HIST 142: “I would like to express my appreciation for this module as it has been incredibly insightful. I've gained a thorough understanding of the origins of the Civil Rights Movement and, notably, the treatment of African Americans. It's disheartening to learn about some of the worst human atrocities tried in courtrooms, where, unfortunately, juries acquitted some perpetrators. As someone new to the United States, this information has provided me with a different perspective on the ongoing disparities within the U.S. population, particularly as we approach the elections."
