News from Our Alumni - 2016-2022

Leticia Wiggins Wins Emmys

(Posted July 2022)

Congratulations to history alum Leticia Wiggins whose teams were the recipients of three Emmy Awards for work on WOSU public media programming for work produced in 2021. The 58th Annual Ohio Valley Regional EMMY Awards were announced during a virtual ceremony on July 30, 2022.

Frank Blazich Pens New Monograph

(Posted Feb. 9, 2021)

Ohio State History Alum Dr. Frank Blazich has published a new monograph. "An Honorable Place in American Air Power: Civil Air Patrol Coastal Patrol Operations, 1942-1943" is the result of years Dr. Blazich has spent researching records of the Civil Air Patrol's coastal patrol operations of WWII. 

Jeffrey Giauque Appointed Chargé d’Affaires

(Posted October 30, 2020)

In July 2020, history department alum Jeffrey Giauque was made Chargé d’Affaires at the U.S. Embassy in Minsk, Belarus. Giauque has a BA in history and French from the University of Utah and an MA and PhD from Ohio State University in European international history and the history of American foreign relations.  He wrote his doctoral dissertation on the European Economic Community, the predecessor of the EU, and taught international relations and European history at Miami University (Ohio).  

Jelani M. Favors Awarded MAAH Stone Book Award

(Posted September 9, 2020)

Congratulations to history alum Jelani M. Favors (PhD, History, 2006) upon being awarded the 2020 Museum of African American History Stone Book Award. His book, "Shelter in the Time of Storm: How Black Colleges Fostered Generations of Leadership and Activism" also won the 2020 Lillian Smith Book Award. Dr. Favors is currently an Assistant Professor of history at Clayton State University.

Book description (from UNC Press):

"For generations, historically Black colleges and universities (HBCUs) have been essential institutions for the African American community. Their nurturing environments not only provided educational advancement but also catalyzed the Black freedom struggle, forever altering the political destiny of the United States. In this book, Jelani M. Favors offers a history of HBCUs from the 1837 founding of Cheyney State University to the present, told through the lens of how they fostered student activism."

"Favors chronicles the development and significance of HBCUs through stories from institutions such as Cheyney State University, Tougaloo College, Bennett College, Alabama State University, Jackson State University, Southern University, and North Carolina A&T. He demonstrates how HBCUs became a refuge during the oppression of the Jim Crow era and illustrates the central role their campus communities played during the civil rights and Black Power movements. Throughout this definitive history of how HBCUs became a vital seedbed for politicians, community leaders, reformers, and activists, Favors emphasizes what he calls an unwritten "second curriculum" at HBCUs, one that offered students a grounding in idealism, racial consciousness, and cultural nationalism."

Mark Boonshoft Joins Duquesne University

(Posted Febrary 26, 2020)

Congratulations to alum Mark Boonshoft (PhD, History, 2016) on his appointment as a tenure-track assistant professor at Duquesne University in Pittsburgh. He has been teaching at Norwich University in Vermont, and before that held a two-year digital fellowship at the New York Public Library. His book, Aristocratic Education and the Making of the American Republic, will be published by the University of North Carolina Press later this year.

Douglas B. Palmer Receives New Appointment

(Posted February 17, 2020)

Congratulations to Alum Douglas Palmer (PhD, 2004) on his new position as the 27th President of Culver-Stockton College in Canton, Missouri. 

David J. Dzurec Pens New Book

(Posted June 13, 2019)

Congratulations to history alum Dr. David J. Dzurec (PhD, Ohio State, 2008) on his new book, Our Suffering Brethren: Foreign Captivity and Nationalism in the Early United States (Univ. of Mass. Press). From the University of Massachusetts Press website:

"In October 1785, American statesman John Jay acknowledged that the more his countrymen 'are treated ill abroad, the more we shall unite and consolidate at home.' Behind this simple statement lies a complicated history. From the British impressment of patriots during the Revolution to the capture of American sailors by Algerian corsairs and Barbary pirates at the dawn of the nineteenth century, stories of Americans imprisoned abroad helped jumpstart democratic debate as citizens acted on their newly unified identity to demand that their government strengthen efforts to free their fellow Americans. Deliberations about the country’s vulnerabilities in the Atlantic world reveal America’s commitment to protecting the legacy of the Revolution as well as growing political divisions."

"Drawing on newspaper accounts, prisoner narratives, and government records, David J. Dzurec III explores how stories of American captivity in North America, Europe, and Africa played a critical role in the development of American political culture, adding a new layer to our understanding of foreign relations and domestic politics in the early American republic."

David Dzurec is currently Chair and Professor in the Department of History at Scranton University. 

Hideaki Kami Wins Book Award

(Posted June 7, 2019)

Congratulations to Ohio State history alum Hideaki Kami (Ph.D. 2015) on winning the Japanese Association for American Studies, Hiroshi Shimizu Award for his book, Diplomacy Meets Migration: US Relations with Cuba during the Cold War (Cambridge: Cambridge University Press, 2018). While at Ohio State, his advisor was Dean Peter Hahn. 

Ian Johnson Receives Position at Notre Dame

(Posted March 12, 2019)

Congratulations to Ian Johnson (OSU PhD 2016), who will be joining the faculty in the department of history at the University of Notre Dame as the new “J. P. Moran Family Assistant Professor of Military History.” Ian will take up this chair in the fall of 2019. Following a year as a postdoctoral fellow at the Clements Center for National Security at the University of Texas, Ian has spent the last two years as Associate Director of the Brady-Johnson Program in Grand Strategy and Lecturer in the Department of History at Yale University. His book, “The Faustian Bargain: Secret Soviet-German Military Cooperation, 1918-1941,” which evolved from his dissertation, is expected to appear with Oxford University Press later this year.

Dr. Selika Ducksworth-Lawton Receives Honor

(Posted January 10, 2019)

Ohio State history alum Selika Ducksworth-Lawton (Ph.D. 1994) has recently been named one of the most influential black leaders in Wisconsin by Madison365, a nonprofit online magazine.

History professor named one of most influential black leaders in Wisconsin
by Judy Berthiaume

(From University of Wisconsin-Eau Claire web site) 

Madison365, a nonprofit online magazine, has included Dr. Selika Ducksworth-Lawton, a UW-Eau Claire history professor, on its annual list of the most influential black leaders in Wisconsin.

In its Black Power list profile about her, the publication notes Ducksworth-Lawton’s expertise in African-American military, national security and civil rights history. The magazine's profile also highlights her work as vice president of Uniting Bridges of Chippewa County, which organizes the Juneteenth and Martin Luther King celebrations in Eau Claire, and her service on the executive board of the Chippewa Valley Chapter of the American Civil Liberties Union of Wisconsin. Also noted were Ducksworth-Lawton’s work advising the Eau Claire Police Department on cases involving race, and her training of officers on issues relating to racial biases.

Ducksworth-Lawton’s book, “Honorable Men: Armed Self Defense and the Deacons for Defense and Justice,” is expected to be published this year. A former military analyst who has taught history at UW-Eau Claire for more than 24 years, Ducksworth-Lawton’s teaching specialties include U.S. social history, African-American history and military history. The longtime faculty member was recently featured in a Blugold Spotlight video, in which she talks about her passion for teaching and her views on history’s role in today's society.

Victoria Clement's new book, Learning to Become Turkmen: Literacy, Language, and Power, 1914-2014, was published in May, 2018 by the University of Pittsburgh Press.

A recent book review by eurasianet describes it as, "a bold attempt at getting under the skin of a notoriously impenetrable country. With her meticulous dive into the archives, Clement provides a salutary study of how the nation’s belated embrace of enlightenment – in late Tsarist decades and more aggressively in the Soviet period – forged an understanding of Turkmenchilik, or 'Turkmen-ness.' In doing this, she has provided a valuable antidote to the zany personality-based image of Turkmenistan most laypeople operate with today." [The full book review is available on the Eurasianet.org website.]

The publisher describes the book as: "Learning to Become Turkmen examines the ways in which the iconography of everyday life—in dramatically different alphabets, multiple languages, and shifting education policies—reflects the evolution of Turkmen society in Central Asia over the past century."

"Learning to Become Turkmen is unique in several respects. There are very few books in English on the history of Turkmens and Turkmenistan, and no other book-length treatment of its language and culture. Clement does an excellent job of broadening the analysis to make it relevant to scholars beyond the handful of 'Turkmenologists' in Western academia." —Adrienne Lynn Edgar, University of California, Santa Barbara, author of Tribal Nation: The Making of Soviet Turkmenistan

(Posted September 14, 2018)

Shannon Li has won the 2018 Purple Pen Competition sponsored by the Institute of Certified Indexers. Her winning index will appear in the book The Politics of Middle English Parables: Fiction, Theology, and Social Practice by Mary Raschko (pending publication autumn 2018, Manchester University Press). Shannon's knowledge of the subject matter and high standards of conceptual analysis were noted by the judges. Shannon has established her own freelance indexing business, Li Indexing. 

New Book and New Role for Anna Peterson

History alum Anna M. Peterson (PhD, Ohio State) has been named editor for the Norwegian-American Historical Association. Anna will continue to teach in the history department of Luther College while she holds the editorship. A primary focus of her role will be to oversee the redesign of the journal, Norwegian-American Studies. While at Ohio State, Prof. Peterson's advisor was Prof. Birgitte Søland.
 

Congratulations to Ohio State History Alum Jeffrey Jaynes (PhD 1993), who has just had a new book, "Christianity Beyond Christendom: the Global Christian Experience on Medieval Mappaemundi and Early Modern World Maps," Wolfenbüttler Forschungen 149 (Harrassowitz, 2018) published. Details about the book are available on the Harrassowitz website.

Scott King-Owen Named Bexley Educator of the Year

History alum Scott King-Owen (PhD in History 2011) was named 2018 Bexley Educator of the Year by the Bexley Education Foundation on April 25th. He was recently interviewed about the award by ThisWeekNews.com. The article is available here. Watch our videos featuring Dr. King-Owen in which he discusses his career in teaching and the video,"Where will history take you?" about career pathways with a history degree.

Aaron George joins Tarleton State Faculty

Congratulations to history PhD alum Aaron George who has accepted a position at Tarleton State University in Forth Worth, Texas, teaching the US survey and gender & sexuality histories. While at Ohio State, Professor David Steigerwald was his advisor.
 

Dan Vandersommers Obtains New Position

(Posted June 19, 2018)

Congratulations to history alum Dan Vandersommers, who will be starting in the fall as an assistant professor at the Indiana Academy at Ball State University, an interdisciplinary program. Professor Vandersommers received his Ph. D. in 2014. His advisor was Prof. Randy Roth.
 

Yigit Akin Pens New Book

(Posted March 14, 2018)

Congratulations to alum Yigit Akin (Ph.D., History, 2011) on publication of his new book, When the War Came Home: The Ottomans' Great War and the Devastation of an Empire, (Stanford University Press). Dr. Akin is currently an assistant professor of history at Tulane University. 

The following book description is from the Stanford University Press web site: "The Ottoman Empire was unprepared for the massive conflict of World War I. Lacking the infrastructure and resources necessary to wage a modern war, the empire's statesmen reached beyond the battlefield to sustain their war effort. They placed unprecedented hardships onto the shoulders of the Ottoman people: mass conscription, a state-controlled economy, widespread food shortages, and ethnic cleansing. By war's end, few aspects of Ottoman daily life remained untouched."

"When the War Came Home reveals the catastrophic impact of this global conflict on ordinary Ottomans. Drawing on a wide range of sources—from petitions, diaries, and newspapers to folk songs and religious texts—Yiğit Akın examines how Ottoman men and women experienced war on the home front as government authorities intervened ever more ruthlessly in their lives. The horrors of war brought home, paired with the empire's growing demands on its people, fundamentally reshaped interactions between Ottoman civilians, the military, and the state writ broadly. Ultimately, Akın argues that even as the empire lost the war on the battlefield, it was the destructiveness of the Ottoman state's wartime policies on the home front that led to the empire's disintegration." 

Pam Pennock Promoted to Full Professor at Univ. of Michigan

(Posted August 24, 2017)

Congratulations to Pam Pennock  (Ph.D., History, Ohio State 2002) whose full professorship at the University of Michigan will go into effect in September. She has been employed at the University of Michigan-Dearborn since receiving her PhD. Her second book was published earlier this year by University of North Carolina Press. It is entitled: The Rise of the Arab American Left: Activists, Allies, and Their Fight Against Imperialism and Racism, 1960s-1980s.  

Joe Faykosh Appointed Professor of History at Central Arizona State

(Posted July 6, 2017)

Congratulations to Ohio State History alum Joe Faykosh, (B.A., History, Ohio State, 2006), who has accepted a position as Professor of History at Central Arizona College, beginning in August 2017. He earned his PhD in History from Bowling Green State University in December 2016. His dissertation, "A Party in Peril: Franklin Roosevelt, the Democratic Party, and the Circular Letter of 1924," examined Franklin Roosevelt's behind-the-scenes maneuvering to reform the Democratic Party. He also received Bowling Green State University's Graduate College Distinguished Dissertation Prize for 2017. He was advised at Ohio State by Dr. Robin Judd and Dr. Randy Roth.

Allison Gough Receives New Appointment

(Posted June 29, 2017)

Congratulations to Allison Gough (PhD, History, Ohio State, 2000) on her appointment to Dean of the College of Liberal Arts at Hawai'i Pacific University.

Hawai'i Pacific University Senior Vice President and Provost Matthew Liao-Troth states, "Dr. Gough will be responsible for leading the College of Liberal Arts, developing internal and external partnerships, driving enrollment, and ensuring the overall success of the college." 

"Dr. Gough joined HPU in 2002 as a full-time faculty member and has served as Chair of the Department of History, Chair of the Faculty Assembly and, most recently, the founding Dean of the Honors Program. Her professional experience as well as her teaching and research background reflect her commitment to international and interdisciplinary education and her interest in global social movements. Dr. Gough’s research focuses upon the continuities and international dimensions within American social movements, particularly the anti-slavery and civil rights movements, and on the history of Africans and African-Americans in Hawai‘i and the Pacific."  

"Born and raised in England, she completed her undergraduate studies in history, politics and geography at the University of Durham. Dr. Gough advanced her education at The Ohio State University and received her M.A. and Ph.D. in American history."

"With her professional experience as well as her teaching and research background, Dr. Gough is well-positioned to lead HPU’s College of Liberal Arts."

While at Ohio State, Professor Van Tine was Dr. Gough's advisor.

Patrick Potyondy Appointed 2017 Mellon/ACLS Public Fellow

(Posted June 21, 2017)
  

Congratulations to Patrick Potyondy (PhD, History, 2016) on being chosen as a 2017 Mellon/ACLS Public Fellow. Patrick has been appointed as Legislative Policy Specialist for the National Conference of State Legislatures. Founded in 1975, the National Conference of State Legislatures (NCSL) is the nation’s bipartisan organization providing state legislators and legislative staff with support, ideas, connections, and a strong voice on Capitol Hill.

The ACLS states that, "This year’s 20 fellows, each a PhD in the humanities, will take up two-year, full-time positions with nonprofit organizations and government agencies working in the fields of policy, civil rights, arts and culture, and the media. The Mellon/ACLS Public Fellows program is made possible by a grant from The Andrew W. Mellon Foundation. The Mellon/ACLS Public Fellows program is designed to provide PhDs in the humanities or humanistic social sciences with significant, career-building experience in the government and nonprofit sectors. Each award comes with an annual stipend of $67,500, health insurance for the fellow, and additional funding for professional development. Fellows receive professional mentoring from their host organizations and peer mentoring overseen by the Public Fellows alumni council."  

Stewart Dippel Pens New Book

(Posted June 19, 2017)

"Redeemed at Countless Cost: The Recovery of Iconographic Theology and Religious Experience from 1850 to 2000" by Stewart Dippel (PhD, History, 1983) will be published by Peter Lang in August. 

Kyle Nappi Attends 2017 Manfred Wörner Seminar

Ohio State History Alum Kyle Nappi (B.A., History, 2012) is currently in Europe participating in the 2017 Manfred Wörner Seminar – a transatlantic leadership program sponsored by the German Marshall Fund of the United States. As part of this program, he will travel to Belgium, the Netherlands, and Germany with 14 other young Americans and 15 Germans (with similar backgrounds) to examine and discuss U.S./German/European security policy as well as security interests. Participants will gather for meetings at the European Commission, NATO headquarters, German Chancellery, Defense Ministry, the U.S. Embassy in Berlin, and the Bundestag (among others). Another Ohio State alum (Robyn Rodriguez - a 2011 PhD military history graduate) is also participating in the program.

Christopher Allen Howard Receives PhD from University of Akron

(Posted June 7, 2017)

Christopher Allen Howard, (BA in History, 2000, Ohio State) received his PhD on May 25, 2017 from the University of Akron. The crux of his dissertation, "Black Insurgency: The Black Convention Movement in the Antebellum United States, 1830 - 1865", is that during the antebellum era, black activists organized themselves into insurgent networks, with the goal of achieving political and racial equality for all black inhabitants of the United States. He argues that the Black Convention Movement functioned as the era’s premier activist organization that inadvertently pushed the American nation toward civil war and the destruction of institutionalized slavery.

Dr. Leonard Moore Named Interim VP at UT Austin

(Posted June 7, 2017)
Leonard Moore (PhD in History, Ohio State, 1998) has been named interim vice president for diversity and community engagement at The University of Texas at Austin. While at Ohio State, his advisor was Emeritus Professor Warren Van Tine.

UT Austin President Gregory L. Fenves states, "As a scholar, Dr. Moore has examined the intersections of race, history and politics in groundbreaking ways. As a teacher, he has challenged UT students to understand their world, to answer difficult questions and to seek truth in their studies and in their lives. And now, as interim vice president, Dr. Moore will apply his expertise to strengthen our commitment to diversity and inclusion on campus and throughout the city of Austin.

Dr. Moore has served as a faculty member at UT since 2007 and has been the senior associate vice president for diversity and community engagement since 2013. In his current role, he manages about 30 programs and initiatives in the Division of Diversity and Community Engagement (DDCE). He teaches hundreds of students per semester and has published two books, with a third scheduled for release in 2018.

The DDCE oversees an essential part of the mission of our university. It fosters diversity and inclusion, improves relationships with our community and works on behalf of all Longhorns to ensure that all voices and perspectives are heard and reflected in our policies and practices. Dr. Moore has the experience, the historical understanding and the passion to lead this division at a critical moment in the nation’s history and during this important time of transition for the DDCE.

Dr. Moore will begin as interim vice president on July 17 and will serve while a national search is conducted for the permanent position. The search plan will be announced early in the new academic year."   

Carol Anderson wins National Book Critics Circle Award

(Posted April 4, 2017)
Ohio State history alumna Carol Anderson (PhD, history, 1995), an Emory historian, has won the National Book Critics Circle Award for her book, "White Rage: the Unspoken Truth of Our Racial Divide" (Bloomsbury). The New York Times bestseller examines the policies that have disenfranchised African Americans. Anderson is the Charles Howard Candler Professor and chair of African American Studies at Emory University.

New Publication by Rachael "Ray" Ball, PhD

(Posted March 13, 2017)

Professor Ball's book Treating the Public: Charitable Theater and Civic Health in the Early Modern Atlantic World will appear in print next month (April 10) from LSU Press.  

Professor Ball received a PhD in History at Ohio State in 2010 and is currently an Assistant Professor of History and International Studies at the University of Alaska Anchorage. She is the recipient of the 2016 UAA Chancellor's Award for Excellence in Teaching.  

(Posted Feb. 6, 2017, updated May 24, 2017)

Congratulations to alum Frank Blazich, Jr., Ph.D. in Military History, 2013, on his new position at the Smithsonian Institution. Frank is the Curator of Modern Military History in the National Museum of American History. He is responsible for collecting and interpreting modern American military history objects and sharing this work through exhibitions or print media.

Frank has also just published a new book, "Bataan Survivor: A POW's Account of Japanese Captivity in World War II." The book is described as, "A forgotten account, written in the immediate aftermath of World War II, which vividly portrays the valor, sacrifice, suffering, and liberation of the defenders of Bataan and Corregidor through the eyes of one survivor." 

Audra Jennings publishes book on the history of disability and disability rights movement in the United States

Posted November 1, 2016

Drawing from extensive archival research, Out of the Horrors of War demonstrates that disabled citizens in the World War II era organized a national movement for economic security and full citizenship, reshaping the U.S. welfare state and laying the foundation for the disability rights movement.

Alum Zach Bell Podcasting about 1960s History

Posted September 28, 2016

Zach Bell, a 2014 graduate of the Ohio State History Department and 2014 Teach for America Corps Member, has been working on several digital history projects with Stanley Nelson author of the upcoming book Devils Walking. This book details the brutal killings of a secretive branch of the Klu Klux Klan known as The Silver Dollar Group based in Louisiana and Mississippi during the 1960's. 

Anna Peterson wins Historisk Tidsskrift Prize

Posted September 16, 2016

Former Ohio State History graduate student Anna Peterson has received the prize for the best and most innovative contribution to Historisk Tidsskrift (the Norwegian Journal of History) for 2015. Her award winning article, "Single Mothers and Midwives Respond to the Castberg Laws, 1916-1940," details the Castbergian Child Laws of 1915, which gave equal rights to children born in and out of marriage. Anna Peterson is currently an Assistant Professor of History at Luther College.