Tischauser, Leslie V. 1942–

PERSONAL: Born December 29, 1942, in Chicago, IL; son of Vincent (a plumber) and Ruth (Sponholtz) Tischauser; married Constance Gannet, January 5, 1970; children: Jeffrey G., Michael T. Ethnicity: "Multicultural." Education: University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign, B.A., 1972; Northeastern Illinois University, M.A., 1975; University of Illinois at Chicago Circle, Ph.D., 1982. Politics: Democrat. Religion: "Ethical humanism." Hobbies and other interests: Baseball, butterflies, fishing in Lake Superior.

CAREER: Prairie State College, Chicago Heights, IL, professor of history, 1982–. Volunteer on midnight shift for local homeless shelter. Military service: U.S. Army, 1961–64.

MEMBER: Community College Humanities Association.

WRITINGS:

A History of Chicago, Roosevelt University Press (Chicago, IL), 1983.

The German Question in Chicago, Garland Publishing (New York, NY), 1992.

Black/White Relations in American History, Scarecrow Press (Lanham, MD), 1998.

Black History for White People, Prentice-Hall (Englewood Cliffs, NJ), 1999.

The Changing Nature of Racial and Ethnic Conflict in United States History: 1492 to the Present, University Press of America (Lanham, MD), 2002.

A College for All People: Prairie State College, 1981–, 2005.

Contributor to reference books.

SIDELIGHTS: Leslie V. Tischauser once told CA: "I write on race relations with the intent of promoting racial understanding and healing. I am above all a historian and believe that well-written history can improve our cultural and social lives. My major influences are the historians John Garraty and John Hope Franklin, as well as T. Walter Wallbank.

"I have written more than 100 articles for major reference books and particularly like to write about extremely obscure and 'boring' topics, such as the 1922 cod-fishing treaty between the United States and Canada. My writing process is to do as much research as possible, sit down, stare at the blank screen for a while, and tell the story.

"My inspiration for writing on the subject of race relations is the fact that my father was a Nazi!"