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• Professor of History
• Chair, Public and Community Service Studies Department

• University of Notre Dame – Ph.D. History, 1978
• University of Notre Dame – M.A. European History, 1972
• Providence College – B.A. History, 1971

• Development of Western Civilization
• The Era of Napoleon
• Germany in the Era of World War I
• The Rise and Fall of the Third Reich
• Introduction to Service in a Democratic Society

One of the most exciting features of the western educational tradition is the fact that a teacher is not just the bearer of a body of knowledge that never changes. Rather the teacher is a person who is engaged in a process of critically analyzing knowledge and who guides students in that process. Truth, not information, is the goal of that process for both teacher and student. It is that idea of a teacher that I embrace and try to emulate.

No one can teach effectively, however, who does not care deeply about the individuals she or he is teaching. The most important task of teaching is making connections with students. Teaching is not a job; it is for me a ministry. I love to teach and I particularly love to teach history.

My research interests have embraced a number of topics: British Trade, The French Revolution, and Germany during the Nazi Era. However, the powerful influence of folklore and superstition on history has particularly influenced much of my most recent scholarship. Of current interest to me is the history and development of the Society of St. Vincent de Paul and its founder Frédéric Ozanam. As Director of the Feinstein Institute for Public Service, I have become increasingly interested in the role and nature of community service and of the importance of Catholic Social Teaching.  Frédéric Ozanam was a leader in the development of ideas leading to The Catholic Social Tradition. 

• Special Assistant to Vice President for Academic Administration on Assessment Issues and Resources: 1999-2003
• Coordinator, Advisement Program for Undeclared Students: 1983‑1997
• Assistant Dean of Undergraduate Studies: 1985‑1997
• St. Vincent de Paul Meritorious Service Award: 1999
• James H. Roberts Award for Outstanding Service to Warwick Shelter for homeless families: 1995

• 2001 – “Apocalypse Now: Magic and the Millennium,” Journal of Popular Culture 34.4 (2001): 183-194.
• 2000 – “Hitler and The Occult: The Magical Thinking of Adolf Hitler,” Journal of Popular Culture 34.2 (2000):107-125.
• 2000 – “Regulation or Ruination: Parliament’s Consistent pattern of Mercantilist Regulation of the English Textile Trade, 1660-1800,” Parliamentary History 19, pt.2 (2000): 211-232.
• 1999 – “The Coming of the French Revolution and the English Textile Trade, 1783-1792.” Consortium on Revolutionary Europe 1750-1850: Selected Papers 1999, 101-116. Institute on Napoleon and the French Revolution, Florida State  University, 1999.
• 1998 –“Rebel Without a Court: The Pursuit of Sacred and Secular Power by the Frondeur, Jean-françois Paul de Gondi (1648-1654).” Providence: Studies in Western Civilization 4,1(1998): 38-55.
• 1995 – Developmental Advising: A Handbook. Co-authored with Jacqueline Kiernan MacKay. Publication won a national advisement award from the National Academic Advising Association (NACADA).
• 1985-2001: Various Book Reviews published in The Eighteenth Century: A Current Bibliography; The Journal of Economic History; and Providence: Studies in Western Civilization.
• 1985 – Sickinger, Raymond L. and John K. Primeau.  The Germans in Rhode Island: Pride and Perseverance, 1850‑1985.  Providence, Rhode Island Publication Society, 1985.

• 2004 – Invited participant in the “Church in America Leadership Roundtable” held at the Wharton School in Philadelphia , PA
• 2003 – Renew Us, O Lord:  CD of original music composed for the Society of St. Vincent de Paul and performed by Ray Sickinger (15 songs) produced by Viscount Records, Inc.
• 2001-04 – Conducted numerous national workshops for the Society of St. Vincent de Paul, one of the largest Catholic lay organizations serving those in need throughout the world, on effective leadership, Vincentian spirituality, and the history of the Society.
• 2000 – Invited by New England Association of Schools and Colleges (NEASC) to present “Developing a College’s Commitment to Student Outcomes Assessment” at its annual meeting in Boston, MA
• 1999 – “The Coming of the French Revolution and the English Textile Trade, 1783-1792.” Presented at the annual conference of the Consortium on Revolutionary Europe, Charleston, South Carolina. Paper published in the Proceedings of the conference.
• 1998 – “Hitler and The Occult: The Magical Thinking of Adolph Hitler.” Presented at the annual conference of the New York State Association of European Historians held at SUNY Oswego.

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