Brief Biography
I was born in Rome, NY on April 30,
1954 at around 11:30 a.m. That makes me now
old.
My
mother, Constance Ann Croniser McConnell,
and my father, John Henry
McConnell, were students at Syracuse
University at the time. I lived
in Syracuse and Boonville N.Y. briefly,
before moving to Rome N.Y.
when I was about 3 years old.
I spent the rest of my childhood
in Rome and graduated from Rome Free
Academy in 1972. I did my undergraduate
work at Princeton University,
graduating in 1976.
I attended graduate school at Stanford
University for two years and then
transferred to the University of
Illinois,
where I received my PhD in 1981.
I spent a 3 year post-doctoral position at Cornell
University, and have been at Syracuse
University since 1984. I am married to Patricia Ford. We have
a daughter, Erin, who is now
old.