Dr. T. H. Baughman (“Bock-man”) is professor emeritus of history at the University of Central Oklahoma. His interest in the Polar Regions began when Ian M. Whillans, the late noted glaciologist, invited Tim to join an expedition to Marie Byrd Land in Antarctica as his token humanist. That expedition also included Lonnie Thompson, now recognized around the world as one of the foremost scientists of climate studies.
Tim is a highly-regarded lecturer, both in the expedition cruising circuit but also, to business and civic groups where he often uses the examples of polar explorers to provide a vehicle for discussing leadership in the world of commerce. He has made more thirty trips to Antarctica. His popularity as a lecturer and story teller prompted him to issue Biographical Vignettes, a collection of some of his favorite stories.
Dr. Baughman has published extensively in the field of polar history. Among his publications are Before the Heroes Came: Antarctica in the 1890s (University of Nebraska Press, 1994), Ice: The Antarctic Diary of Charles F. Passel (Texas Tech University Press, 1995) and Pilgrims on the Ice: Robert Falcon Scott’s First Antarctic Expedition (University of Nebraska Press, 1999). He has also published a short popular biography, Shackleton of the Antarctic (Bison Books, 2009) which provides readers with an account of the great explorer in the context of his entire life, rather than focusing on the Endurance expedition, an approach that gives greater meaning to the Shackleton story.
A committed teacher who believes that the goal of a college education is to provide life-changing experiences, Tim enjoys teaching European history and opening the benefits of knowing about the past to his students.