Maxine Schwartz Seller grew up in Wilmington, North Carolina, and received  her BA  in History from Bryn Mawr College in 1956 and her PhD in American social history from the University of Pennsylvania in 1965. Her most recent position (1974-2006) was  as Professor in the Graduate School of Education and Adjunct Professor in History at the University at Buffalo. Her teaching and research have focused on the history and education of women, immigrants, and other distinctive communities within the United States. She is the author or editor of nine books and dozens of articles and reviews and has held several national offices. Married to Robert H. Seller, MD, for sixty years, she  has three children and five grandchildren.