A native of Elkader, Iowa, Carroll Engelhardt graduated from Central Community High School in 1959. He received his B.A. from the University of Northern Iowa and his Ph.D. from the University of Iowa. He taught history at Concordia College from 1970 until 2003. After his retirement he taught part time as an adjunct professor four more years. He is the author of On Firm Foundation Grounded: The First Century of Concordia College (1891-1991), Gateway to the Northern Plains: Railroads and the Birth of Fargo and Moorhead (2007), nine articles, and more than thirty book reviews published in state and regional historical journals. He was the recipient of a 1990 Sears Foundation Award for Excellence in Teaching and Campus Leadership and elected to the Reuel and Alma Wije Distinguished Professorship (2000-2003).