The History Department at the Ohio State University aspires to distinction in scholarship, teaching, and service. As a top-tier department in an eminent public university, we seek to advance the highest standards of our discipline. Because we believe that research inspires great teaching, our mission is to promote the finest historical scholarship, and to offer both graduate and undergraduate students the most rigorous and intellectually challenging education. Espousing the values of a diverse and collegial community of historians, we explore connections across areas, eras, and themes. We strive to provide comprehensive and challenging understandings of the complexity of the human past to audiences across the state, the nation, and the world at large. Learn more about our department's inner workings by reading our Pattern of Administration.
Originally formed in 1879 as the Department of History and Philosophy, our department has a long and varied history. In 1969, Francis P. Weisenburger wrote, "A Brief History of Our Department," which outlines our early years.
Among other awards, the following faculty have won the Alumni Award for Distinguished Teaching.
2022 -- Theodora Dragostinova
2018 -- Greg Anderson
2018 -- Bart Elmore
2015 -- Robin Judd
2018 -- Greg Anderson
2018 -- Bart Elmore
2015 -- Robin Judd
2013 -- David Hoffmann
2012 -- Hasan Kwame Jeffries
2011 -- Nicholas B. Breyfogle
2011 -- Scott Levi
2009 -- Randolph Roth
2009 -- David H. Steigerwald
2006 -- Geoffrey Parker
2005 -- Mitchell Lerner
1998 -- Mark Grimsley
Department of History Officers 2025-2026:

(Chair Scott Levi)
Chair - Scott Levi
Vice Chair - TBA
Director of Graduate Studies - Yiğit Akın
Undergraduate Studies Chair - TBA
Honors Coordinator - TBA
Regional Campus Faculty Coordinator - TBA
Lecturer Liaison - Jim Harris
Library Coordinator - TBA
Graduate Placement Officer - TBA
Undergraduate Enhancement Officer - TBA
Grievance Resource Officer - TBA
Department of History Committee Chairs 2025-2026:
Graduate Studies Committee - Yiğit Akın
Undergraduate Teaching Committee - TBA
Promotion & Tenure Committee - TBA
Awards & Prizes Committee - TBA
Salary Advisory Committee - TBA
Workplace Climate Committee - TBA
Department of History Centers and Other:
Center for Historical Research (CHR) - Sara Butler, Director
CHR Severitude in History Program - María Hammack and Elizabeth Dillenburg, Co-Chairs
Goldberg Center - Nicholas Breyfogle, Director
Parliamentarian - TBA
Parliamentarian - TBA
Public History Program - David Staley, Director
Origins - Nicholas Breyfogle and Steve Conn (Miami University), Editors
Picturing Black History - Nicholas Breyfogle and Steve Conn (Miami University), Editors
Undergraduate Newsletter - Ray Irwin, Editor
Building Coordinator - Alyssa Reynolds
Safety Coordinator - Alyssa Reynolds
Undergraduate Newsletter - Ray Irwin, Editor
Building Coordinator - Alyssa Reynolds
Safety Coordinator - Alyssa Reynolds
College and University Senate:
ASC Senate Delegate - TBA
ASC Senate Delegate Alternate - TBA
Faculty on Leave
Autumn Semester
TBA
Spring Semester
TBA
FPL = Faculty Professional Leave (leave from teaching & service)
EFS = External Fellowship (leave from teaching & service)
SA = Special Assignment (leave from teaching only)