Craig Pilant

BIOGRAPHY

A native of San Francisco, Professor Pilant received his bachelor’s degree (political science – major – and philosophy – minor) at Loyola University of Chicago, and subsequently attended both the University of Illinois where he obtained his Master’s in Medieval and English Reformation history, and did studies at the University of Notre Dame and at the Rome Center of Loyola University.

After a teaching stint in Austin, Texas, Dr. Pilant moved to the Bronx, where he taught high school for seven years while he was obtaining a degree in educational administration and his doctorate in historical theology. He received his doctorate in 1997, and completed his studies at Fordham with the M.B.A. in marketing and information systems. Since that time, he has also participated in MOOC courses, most recently with the Università di Sapieza in Rome.

He has taught for over three decades at both Fordham University (NY) and Saint Peter’s University (NJ).

Since that time, Dr. Pilant has worked extensively in the field of enrollment management at several local graduate institutions of higher learning. He came to the County College of Morris with the rank of Assistant Professor in 2005, focusing on early and medieval European history. Since then he has also taught honors’ division courses, as well as Early Modern and Modern European history. He has also taught the History of Russia during the spring term for several years, and developed a course in Middle Eastern history. He was promoted to the rank of Associate Professor in April 2011, and full Professor in 2017. He went on on sabbatical during the Spring of 2018. During that time, he worked on materials and talks dealing with European art history, as well as on the development of Christianity in the Mediterranean world.

Over the years Professor Pilant has had memberships in several professional societies, including the American Academy of Religion, the American Catholic Historical Society, and the National Association of Graduate Admissions Professionals. He has published several articles for edited essay collections, book reviews, and is working on research for several potential projects. He gives public talks on a variety of historical and cultural subjects, both at the County College of Morris and, since Fall of 2011, for the great Horizons Project, sponsored by the Morris School District. He has also done editorial work, creating instructor manuals and testing materials for Norton Publishers.

Professor Pilant has been an avid traveler, having spent part of his college senior year in Rome. Since 2010, he has given numerous presentations on cruise ships, dealing with art, culture, and history, on Celebrity, Royal Caribbean, and, most recently, Viking.

He has been the recipient of numerous teaching awards, including the Bene Merenti award from Fordham University, as well as national recognition with the NISOD award from his tenure at the County College of Morris.