Tom Waldemer received a BA in Economics (1978), an MA in Spanish and Portuguese (1982) and a Ph.D. in Hispanic Languages and Literatures (1991) from the University of California, Santa Barbara. His teaching experience includes Assistant Professorships at Hanover College (1991-94), St. Olaf College (1996-98), and The Colorado College (1995-96; 1998-2001). He joined the Iowa State Faculty in the Fall of 2002. He has published several articles on his main research interest in 20th Century Latin American historical fiction. He is currently working on a study of Brazilian fiction and cinema focusing on literary, cinematic, and pop cultural portrayals of Getúlio Vargas.