Faculty Focus
Jennifer Regan-Lefebvre
Professor of History
Since joining the faculty in 2013, Professor of History Jennifer Regan-Lefebvre has earned a reputation as a prolific scholar and beloved teacher: At Trinity’s 199th Commencement in May, she received the Trustee Award for Faculty Excellence, and her “History of Wine” course is a perennial favorite.
“Teaching something like wine is a really great way to pique students’ curiosity and open their eyes to a way in which history is culture, it’s economics, it’s politics, it’s social change,” she says.
She knows the subject well. Regan-Lefebvre holds a WSET (Wine & Spirit Education Trust) Level 3 wine certification, earned during the pandemic after 100 hours of study. Her 2022 book, Imperial Wine: How the British Empire Made Wine’s New World, received the prestigious André Simon Award and was the product of a decade of research.
Ask her to name a favorite wine, and she’ll scoff. “That’s like asking if I have a favorite book or a favorite child. What I love about wine is that there’s always more to learn. But,” she concedes, “I never refuse champagne.”
Her love of history took root in Hingham, Massachusetts, where she was drawn to her hometown’s colonial past. When she was 10, her family moved to London after her father was tapped by the National Football League to help launch its European league. What was supposed to be a short stay turned into nearly a decade.
Regan-Lefebvre graduated from the American School in London, where the city itself became a classroom. She often rode the bus to the National Gallery and marveled at the layered architecture on the way. “One of the beauties of London is you can go down a street and see three or four centuries represented architecturally,” she says.
As an Irish-American in London during The Troubles, she felt a strong pull toward Irish nationalism. “I find it kind of ironic,” she says of her decision to study British imperialism. “But I’ve definitely made peace with my Britishness.”
At Georgetown University, she majored in international history and got her first taste of teaching while tutoring for Capital Educators, a company co-founded by Debbie Pine ’92. “That’s where I cut my teeth as an educator,” Regan-Lefebvre says. The experience of preparing lessons and managing a classroom proved formative.
By graduation, she suspected academia might be her path—even as she mulled a career in diplomacy. She enrolled in a master’s program at Queen’s University Belfast and ultimately earned a Ph.D. “I just loved research,” she says. “I love learning, and I didn’t want to stop.”
At Trinity, Regan-Lefebvre shares this love of learning with her students. In one course on parliamentary debate, students reenact historical debates using only contemporary information. The exercise sharpens their ability to analyze evidence, to structure arguments, and to speak with confidence. “I stand by that as a really good, if wacky, way to teach writing and argumentation,” she says.
She also shares her own writing with students. “That sounds self-serving,” she laughs, “but it’s very useful. I want to be vulnerable with them about the challenges for writers. If you’re having a tough time with writing, that doesn’t mean you’re bad at it. It means that you’re doing it.”
Regan-Lefebvre’s impact extends well beyond the classroom. “From my first semester at Trinity College through today, [she] has been a thoughtful and generous mentor in my life,” says Haley Dougherty ’18, who recently graduated from Harvard Law School. “Professor Regan-Lefebvre instilled in me a sense of confidence and academic curiosity.” Dougherty credits her former professor with encouraging a transformative study-abroad experience and providing a rare opportunity to work as an undergraduate research assistant, including presenting at a conference together in Australia.
In addition to teaching, raising three children, and chairing Trinity’s History Department, Regan-Lefebvre is co-editing a six-volume series on the cultural history of wine. She’s also writing a short book on how history is used to market and sell wine.
How does she find the time? “I don’t,” she quips. “Sometimes you just have to admit defeat! I’m always tired, but I’m an extrovert and I thrive on this. I love being around people, I have a very supportive spouse, and I’m always trying to impose order on the chaos.”
By Eliott Grover
Photo by Nick Caito
