Professor Sparkes is now retired from NKU Chase College of Law, where he was also Director of the Chase Local Government Law Center. He received his B.S. in chemistry from Rensselaer Polytechnic Institute, his J.D. from DePaul University College of Law, and his LL.M. in International and Comparative Law from Notre Dame Law School, studying at its London Law Centre. He is a member of the New York bar.

While at Chase, he taught a portfolio of courses pertaining to federal, state, and local government that included Administrative Law. Before teaching at Chase, he served in state and local government. That service included time spent as an administrative law judge and as counsel to several units within the New York State Department of State, among them the Division of Administrative Rules. His work at the department earned him its Special Achievement Award, and while at Chase he was honored by the International Municipal Lawyers Association with its William I. Thornton Faculty Award.