Iraq War veteran and law professor Christopher Cooper's path to the academy has been anything but traditional. Having worked from the age of 13, he enlisted in the Marine Corps at 17 and earned his GED. He later earned a bachelor's degree in government and public administration, then joined the New York City Police Department. Then, he decided to study law, eventually earning his J.D., and embarked on an academic career that eventually landed him at St. Xavier University. But he was still in the Reserves, and in 2004 he was deployed to Iraq. His injuries from his time there have left him plagued by illness, and when he returned to St. Xavier, he felt that the university was not doing all it could to accommodate him. He filed a lawsuit, but has since settled with the university and taken a non-teaching position. He has also taken up old pursuits: in addition to his academic research, Cooper is back in the courtroom arguing federal civil rights cases.