Dr. Marshall C. Eakin is Professor of History at Vanderbilt University, where he has taught since 1983. He completed his undergraduate work at the University of Costa Rica and at the University of Kansas, where he also earned his master's degree. He earned his Ph.D. from UCLA.  Before taking his position at Vanderbilt, he taught at Loyola Marymount University.  He has won many teaching awards at Vanderbilt, including the Jeffrey Nordhaus Award for Excellence in Undergraduate Teaching, the Madison Sarratt Prize for Excellence in Undergraduate Teaching, and a chair of teaching excellence awarded by the University's Board of Trust. In 1999, he was named the Carnegie Foundation/CASE Tennessee Professor of the Year.  Dr. Eakin has published many articles in scholarly journals and popular publications, and is the author of four books, including Brazil: The Once and Future Country and Tropical Capitalism: The Industrialization of Belo Horizonte, Brazil. In 2003, the government of Brazil inducted Dr. Eakin into the prestigious Order of Rio Branco for his contributions to Brazil's relationship with the United States.