Paul Kattenburg, a native of Belgium, served in the U.S. Foreign Service from 1950-1973, with postings to Washington, Saigon, Manila, Frankfurt, and Guyana. In 1973, Kattenburg took up a full-time professorship at the University of South Carolina. He was named Distinguished Professor Emeritus in 1986, but continued to teach at USC as well as in several visiting professorships. He also served periodically as an instructor for the University of Pittsburgh's Semester-At-Sea program.