He received a Ph.D. from the University at Buffalo in 2003. Subsequently, he taught at the University of New Brunswick Saint John, Canada, and the University of Northern Colorado before joining UAA in the fall of 2005. Dr. Ha’s primary research interest is the political economy of the U.S. government in the first half of the 19th century. He has published several articles, and his book "The Rise and Fall of the American System: Nationalism and the Development of the American Economy, 1790-1837" was published in 2009 by Pickering & Chatto Publishers of London. He received a Fulbright Fellowship, 1989-1991.