 Saunt received his Ph.D. in Early America from Duke University in 1996 and presently works as a Richard B. Russell Professor in American History at the University of Georgia, Athens.Saunt is also the University's Chair of the History Department, Co-Director of the Center for Virtual History, and Associate Director of the Institute of Native American Studies.Born in San Francisco, Saunt graduated from Columbia University in 1989 with a Bachelor of Arts degree in History and received his Master of Arts in American History from Duke University in 1991.