Gary M. Lavergne is an American writer of non-fiction books about Texas mass murderers Charles J. Whitman and Abdelkrim Belachheb, and serial killer Kenneth Allen McDuff. Raised in Louisiana, Lavergne earned a bachelor of arts degree in social studies education and a master's in education at the University of Louisiana at Lafayette. In 1988, he earned an education specialist degree in educational administration and supervision from McNeese State University. He was a social studies teacher, held administrative positions for both the SAT and the ACT college entrance exam companies, and in between jobs performed stand-up comedy. He worked for the College Board traveling to universities helping administrators understand the SAT. Lavergne is director of admissions research University of Texas. Among Lavergne's books is 1997's A Sniper in the Tower about the 1966 shooting rampage of Charles Whitman, which according to a 2007 Associated Press article is "considered the definitive account of the massacre" and to Frank Rich in a 1997 The New York Times piece is "the authoritative account of the Whitman case".