Mike Kukral

Born near his grandparent's farm in Richfield, Ohio, Kukral graduated from Revere High School in the same class as serial killer Jeffrey Dahmer and John Derf Backderf. He played trombone in the Ohio University Marching 110 for eight years while earning degrees in Geography, Environmental Science, and Political Science. Next he received a PhD from the University of Kentucky in Geography. During this time he was a Fulbright Scholar in Prague in 1989-90 and took part in the Velvet Revolution. His boss there was Ambassador Shirley Temple Black. In 1997 Columbia University published his book "Prague 1989, Theater of Revolution," the only account from an American participant. Since 1999 Dr. Kukral had been the geography professor at Rose-Hulman Institute of Technology in Terre Haute, Indiana. His classes are some of the most popular at the college. He leads students in fields studies in Europe and Africa. Summers are spent on the Oregon Coast in a beach house.