Dr. Troy Kickler is Senior Fellow and Managing Director of the North Carolina History Curriculum Project at the John Locke Foundation.

He holds an M.S. in Social Education from North Carolina A&T State University and a Ph.D. in History from the University of Tennessee.

In 2019, he co-edited North Carolina’s Revolutionary Founders (UNC Press). His recent publications also include “Andrew Jackson: A Study in Leadership Style” in Joseph Fornieri, Kenneth Deutsch, and Sean D. Sutton, eds., American Statesmanship: Principles and Practice of Leadership (Notre Dame Press) and “Caught in the Crossfire: African American Children and the Ideological Battle for Education in Reconstruction Tennessee” in James Marten, ed., Children and Youth During the Civil War Era (New York University Press). He has published widely in various newspapers, websites, and academic journals.

From 2005 to 2016, he was the Founding Director of the North Carolina History Project, housed at the John Locke Foundation. In this capacity he wrote or edited approximately 1,000 entries, led numerous constitutional workshops, and directed a lecture and symposia series and a living history events series. He later joined the North Carolina Office of Archives and History and served as Colonial Records Editor.

He has served on state conservation and civic boards and on education advisory boards. He taught high school for 3.5 years and has taught at Barton College and North Carolina State University. He currently teaches for Liberty University.