A native of Lebanon, he earned a B.S. degree in Electronics Engineering from California Polytechnic State University, and holds a Ph.D. from the University of California, Berkeley. Before coming to Raleigh, he taught at Ball State University in Indiana. Professor Khater has contributed much to his field of Middle East History. His books include Inventing Home: Emigration, Gender and the Making of a Lebanese Middle Class, 1861-1921, and A History of the Middle East: A Sourcebook for the History of the Middle East and North Africa. Professor Khater has also contributed the Middle East and North Africa section to The World and Its People, a high school textbook. He has published a substantial number of articles and reviews, and has made conference presentations throughout the United States and overseas. He has been particularly active in bringing his expertise to audiences at North Carolina colleges, high schools, and churches. Professor Khater has been awarded a number of teaching accolades and grants during his tenure at N.C. State, and has also obtained fellowships from the National Humanities Center, American Philosophical Society, National Endowment for the Humanities, Fulbright Foundation, Council of American Overseas Research Centers. His professional affiliations include the Middle East Studies Association, American Historical Association, Triangle Islamic Studies Group, and Mediterranean Studies Group, and the Chair of the Committee on Middle East Studies at NC State. He also sits on the editorial boards of several journals and book series.