After publishing in the area of eighteenth and nineteenth century British humanitarianism, I moved into the political and economic history of the Empire. I finally narrowed my research to the Colonial Office and Australia, producing a book on an Australian governor (Sir George Gipps). Then, for seven years I studied economic development late nineteenth-century Australia, particularly river boat transportation in southeasern Australia. As a result, I published four major articles in Australian historical journals and a book. Recently, I finished Instant University, a history of the University of California, Irvine from 1960-1985. In 1988, I was appointed UCI Historian by the Chancellor.