Eric has spent much of his life, both as a student and an educator, in the public university setting and is committed to helping students thrive during their university years and beyond. Among his favorite aspects of leading the Upper House Fellows Program is the opportunity to explore big questions with students as they discern their callings and develop a vision for how they can impact the world for good.

At the SL Brown Foundation, Eric also serves as Foundation Advisor to the Lumen Center. He is a Teaching Professor in History at the University of Wisconsin–Madison, where his work centers on the intellectual and religious history of early modern Europe. He holds a B.A. in History from the University of Michigan, an M.Div. from Trinity Evangelical Divinity School, and an M.A. and Ph.D. in History from UW–Madison.

Eric grew up in Sweden and has lived in the U.S. since high school. He met his wife, Cindy, a UW–Madison professor of medicine, in college, and they are the proud parents of three grown sons. His other loves include reading and traveling widely, learning languages, music of many kinds, and beautiful summer evenings with friends on the Memorial Union Terrace.