Public History at WVU

Happy first day of classes!

Don't forget, Graduate Student Orientation will take place this Friday from 3:30-5:30 pm in Brooks 225.

We are looking forward to a great Fall 2024 semester!

Look who Dr. Bingmann ran into at the 2024 Society for History in the Federal Government Annual Meeting at the Library of Congress. Dr. Joel Christenson, Dr. Karina Garcia Esposito, Dr. Scott Thompson, Tristan Williams, Pete D'Arpa, and Dr. Richard Hulver. Tristan joined the Department of State Historian's Office in May and Dr. Josh Howard, MA WVU and PhD Middle Tennessee State (pictured below) recently started working as the Assistant Historian for the Senate.

Congratulations to our Public History graduates! We are so proud of all that you have accomplished during your time at WVU. Best of luck in all your future endeavors!

Are you interested in a career in the federal government? Do you want to learn more about these types of positions? Join us for a conversation this Thursday (April 11) at 3pm in Chitwood Hall, G5. Drs. Dusch and Siekmeier will share information and advice based on their experiences.

Meet alumna Elizabeth Satterfield!

After completing her undergraduate degree, Elizabeth returned to WVU to receive a dual Masters in Public History and Public Administration. Classes focused on working with local communities challenged her and allowed her to “gain the necessary skills and connections to build a career here in West Virginia.” After completing her Masters degrees, Elizabeth joined the team at Arthurdale Heritage as their Curator and Director of Education which allows her to “create exhibitions, manage archival collections, develop educational programming, preserve historic structures, write grants, and much more.” Elizabeth credits the History Department at WVU for her position which allows her to “do the work I love every day here in West Virginia!”
http://arthurdaleheritage.org

WVU was well-represented at American Association for State and Local History conference in Boise, Idaho. Congratulations to Aaron Hollis, MA Alum, who received an AASLH Leadership in History Award for West Overton Village and Museums' exhibit "Forging Ahead and Falling Behind: Industrial Growth in a Rural Community." MA Alum Maureen Lavelle (far right) recently started a new position as History Program Manager for the city of Boise. MA and MPA Alum Elizabeth Satterfield and Professor Emeritus Barb Howe proudly represented WV by wearing their t-shirts for Friday's "wear your history or museum t-shirt day." Elizabeth won a prize for her WVU Phi Alpha Theta "HILF" shirt (Historians I would like to Fight). WVU Public History alumni are joined by PhD student Ben Sussman. .

Guided Tours of Easton Roller Mill, June 25, July 23, August 27, and Sept. 24

Look who Dr. Bingmann bumped into at National History Day in College Park, MD. PhD students Max Abbott and Ben Sussman judged entries at the national contest. Max judged senior papers and Ben judged both junior and senior exhibits. PhD student Kristen Bailey judged junior papers. Since 2016 the WVU Public History program has hosted the WV Affiliate National History Day contest.

In March, Dr. Thornton took her Local Research Methods class to Hinton, West Virginia to learn more about Black History in the region. Their visit was featured in the local paper. You can read more here: https://www.bdtonline.com/news/wvu-students-explore-black-history-of-hinton/article_67fda13a-ccda-11ed-bf93-b718675992ce.html

Thank you to everyone who attended today's unveiling of the the Pomeroy Foundation marker for Lenna Lowe Yost!

If you weren't able to make it, you can stop by and see the marker anytime! It is located on the Downtown Campus, right outside of Elizabeth Moore Hall.

Join us at Elizabeth Moore Hall tomorrow, April 25th, at 4:15 for the unveiling of the marker for Lenna Lowe Yost! The marker is funded by the Pomeroy Foundation to honor the 100th anniversary of woman's suffrage.

Lenna Lowe Yost was a key leader and activist in the women's suffrage movement. Born in Basnettville, West Virginia, Yost went on to serve as the state president of the Women’s Christian Temperance Union, the state legislative chair of the West Virginia Federation of Women’s Clubs, president of the West Virginia Equal Suffrage Association, and legislative representative for the national WCTU. She also lead efforts to build efforts to build Elizabeth Moore Hall here at WVU.

We hope to see you at this special event!

Today we're spotlighting Public History alum, Jonathan Tracey!

Jon received his M.A. in Public History and Certificate in Cultural Resource Management in 2021. While at WVU, he taught undergraduate English courses and TA'ed in the History Department, which was a great way to merge academic scholarship and filter it for different audiences. He spent his summers working for the National Park Service. Shortly after graduation, he took a position as Historian/Cultural Resource Program Manager at Cedar Creek and Belle Grove National Historical Park. The park shares the stories of Virginia's Shenandoah Valley including Indigenous Peoples, European settlement and slavery, the Civil War battle, and postwar life. He manages National Historic Preservation Act compliance, coordinate structure and landscape restoration, conduct research, and help out with interpretation of the park's resources and stories.

While still at Cedar Creek and Belle Grove National Historical Park, for the next few months Jon is on temporary assignment as Acting Site Manager. In this role he supervises park staff and coordinates NPS efforts with a variety of local preservation organizations that they partner with.

Of the Public History Program at WVU, Jon says,
"I really appreciated WVU's efforts to ground coursework and lectures in up-to-date scholarly discussions as well as to provide hands-on experience. Not only were the field trips to a variety of types of sites useful, but class projects always had practical career applications. My work with National Register listings was especially helpful! There are a lot of very different careers in the Public History field, and the program does a good job exposing students to many of them."

Want to share your story? If you're one of our amazing alumni, just message our page and let us know what you're up to!

Today we would like to spotlight one of our amazing alumni, Steven Semmel!

Steven graduated from WVU in 2018 with a Master’s in History: Public History focus. After graduation, he began working seasonally for the National Park Service at Gettysburg National Military Park as a Park Ranger. At the end of the summer of 2022, he shifted from the National Park Service to the Department of Defense. He started as a Library Technician at the U.S. Army War College in Carlisle, Pennsylvania. His current role is assigned to the Exhibits branch at the U.S. Army Heritage and Education Center (USAHEC), within the Army War College.

His responsibilities include working the reference desk at the main academic library at the Army War College, designing online exhibits, aiding with on-site group tours and special events/educational programs, and providing support with design, research, and implementation of rotating and permanent exhibits for the USAHEC Museum.

Of his experience at WVU, Steven says, “I cannot thank the Public History Department at WVU enough for the skills they taught me and the guidance and mentorship they provided me during my time there. The public history field is ever evolving, and the Public History Department prepares you to be as adaptable as possible.”

⌛️ We are closing in on this Wednesday, March 22! The WVU History Department is participating in a donation challenge this year. Tune in tomorrow to learn more! Find out more about the 24-hour fundraising event and how you can participate ➡️ dayofgiving.wvu.edu💛💙

On Friday, March 10th, we held an open house for prospective MA Public History Students. Visitors met with faculty members, enjoyed a lunch with current graduate students, and were given a tour of the Downtown and Evansdale campuses. Thank you to everyone who attended! If you have any advice for students considering WVU, let us know in the comments!

Last month, Dr. Thornton took a group of undergraduate and Public History graduate students on a field trip to Friendship Hill National Historic Site. The group went on a guided house tour and learned more about historic preservation.

WVU Public History alumna Elizabeth Satterfield will be speaking at this event. It is this Friday, March 3rd, at the Art Museum. Check it out!

For Lunchtime Looks at noon this Friday, March 3, Elizabeth Satterfield, Curator and Director of Education at Arthurdale Heritage, will give a talk on Blanche Lazzel’s “Justice” mural currently on display in the museum’s McGee Gallery. “Justice” was created as part of the Public Works Art Project, the federal arts assistance program formed to help artists during the Great Depression. Likewise, the community of Arthurdale was established as the nation’s first New Deal homestead community. Satterfield holds master’s degrees in Public History and Public Administration and is committed to preserving local history and culture. She will use this expertise as a lens to explore the connections between her work at Arthurdale and the Art Museum’s preservation and display of “Justice,” highlighting the intersections of public art and public history. This is an in-person event. A recording will be posted to the Art Museum’s YouTube playlist in the days following the talk.

IMAGE: Blanche Lazzell (1878–1956)
McGee Gallery view featuring “Justice,”1934
Oil on canvas
Art Museum of West Virginia University Collection
2011.19

Next Monday the Africana Studies is co-sponsoring an amazing event: a poetry reading by Cheryl Boyce Taylor. Please check out the flyer for more information about Cheryl Boyce Taylor and her work. The reading will take place at 7:30 p.m. in the downtown library.
Everyone is invited and encouraged to attend the event!

This spring, the History Graduate Student Association is reviving our tradition of holding a conference to allow undergraduate and graduate students to present their research. The conference’s theme this year is: “Challenging Old narratives, Charting New Courses.” The conference will be held on campus (Woodburn Hall) on April 15, 2023. All are welcome to attend and are encouraged to submit a paper!
The submission deadline has been extended to March 15th! To submit you will need to email a 300-word abstract for your paper or panel detailing the topic, thesis, and connection to the conference theme to the email below.

Dr. Bingmann's Historic Site Interpretation class recently made the most of the nice weather by having class outside. The Public History Department is ready for spring! ☀️

We are proud to have Melissa in our department!

For this week’s Spotlight, we would like to feature one of our graduate students, Melissa Thompson! Melissa is a first-year Ph.D. student whose research focuses on Twentieth-Century U.S. History with minor fields in Nineteenth-U.S. History, Public History, and African American History. Melissa is interested in the history of labor, social and cultural history, as well as the
history of gender and sexuality with a focus on masculinity studies.

This week for our current student spotlight, the West Virginia University Public History Program would like to feature Erica Uszak! Beginning her graduate studies at WVU this fall, Erica is pursuing a M.A. in Public History and a Certificate in Cultural Resource Management. Let's get to know Erica more by hearing what she has accomplished before beginning at WVU, what she is working on in her classes this semester, and what she hopes to pursue as a career in her own words!

"I live in the western suburbs of Cleveland, Ohio, and I am excited to pursue my passion for public history and the Civil War Era at West Virginia University. I graduated summa cm laude from Gettysburg College this past May with a Bachelor of Arts in history and minor fields in public history and Civil War Era Studies. My favorite time periods to study are the Civil War and Reconstruction Eras (nineteenth century U.S. history). I am working on a number of projects for my classes, including a Cultural Landscape Report about Harpers Ferry and the effects of flooding on its cultural resources. I hope to expand my experience in research and archives through my graduate assistantship at the West Virginia and Regional History Center, and learn and experience other areas of public history that I have not delved into before. I have spent the past three summers working for the National Park Service at Fredericksburg and Spotsylvania National Military Park and Gettysburg National Military Park. I plan to return to my seasonal ranger position at Gettysburg next summer and hope to pursue a permanent career in the National Park Service after completing my master's degree in public history."

We want to congratulate Erica in all her accomplishments and look forward to all her future work in the Public History field!

This week for our alumni spotlight, the West Virginia University Public History Program would like to feature Abby Tancin! Graduating in 2018 with a M.A. in Public History and a Certificate in Cultural Resource Management, Abby has accomplished much since her time at WVU. Let's take a look and hear about Abby's experiences from her own words!

"Almost immediately [after graduation] I started as the collections service assistant at the Pennsylvania State University Fayette, Eberly Campus in their Coal and Coke Heritage Center (CCHC). I felt lucky to have found a job so quickly, even if it was only part time. My dream has always been to work in a museum and I was doing just that. I started off working through a backlog of artifacts that took me almost a year to document. It ranged from mining tools to household items, immigration papers to family bibles. I ran into some identification problems with mining equipment and photographs of structures. When that happened, I had the opportunity to reach out to the US Steel and United Mine Workers organizations to ask for assistance. In that position I learned how to document archives and create collections of materials to better assist researchers and public patrons.

I continued to work in this position for the next four years. Towards the end of 2021 the position of archivist became available and I threw my hat into the ring. While I was nervous about the amount of experience I had, or did not have, in comparison to other applicants, I knew that my ideas for the future of the museum and collection would provide me with the opportunity to compete for the opportunity. I was offered and accepted the position in June of 2022 and started in July. Right now I am sorting through projects that were started by the pervious archivist and determining what direction the museum should move towards. I look forward to working with the Chancellor of the campus to form a committee to restructure and redesign the museum to create a more inviting and interactive environment.

My work at WVU, especially with the Wiles Hill Project, has provided me with great ideas of how to engage audiences and encourage discussion. The CCHC is somewhat outdated, with archaic terminology and very word-heavy exhibits. I am looking forward to working with the public, other museum directors, and professors to create an environment that will draw in the public, pay homage to the lives of miners and their families, and share many of the rare artifacts housed in storage."

We want to congratulate Abby on all her accomplishments following her time here at West Virginia University, and wish her a fun-filled and successful future!

From all at the Department of Public History at West Virginia University, we want to wish you all and your families a happy Thanksgiving!

This week for our alumni spotlight, the West Virginia University Public History Program would like to feature Megan McNish. Here is what Megan has accomplished since her graduation from the WVU Public History program in her own words!

“After graduating from WVU in 2018, I moved to Columbia, SC where I was a historic preservation planner working at the local level, reviewing historic preservation projects. This built on my coursework while at WVU, where I took my first historic preservation classes. While in this role, I assisted historic district residents through the design review process, developed and implemented outreach programming, and co-managed the social media for the planning department. I recently started a new position with the Pennsylvania State Historic Preservation as the Eastern Region Community Preservation Coordinator, where I assist communities with local preservation issues and implementing preservation regulations. I also provide technical assistance to Certified Local Governments in the eastern part of Pennsylvania.”

We want to congratulate Megan on all her accomplishments following her time here at West Virginia University, and wish her a successful future!

This week for our alumni spotlight, the West Virginia University Public History Program would like to feature Maureen Lavelle. Here is what Maureen has accomplished during her time at West Virginia University and since her graduation from the WVU Public History program in her own words!

“One of the greatest strengths of the WVU Public History program is exposure to the wide variety of work experiences for students to see and learn about! Through field trips, invited guest speakers and internship/GA opportunities, students see how their degree can be adapted to so many different careers: exhibit design, public interpretation, research, preservation work, and more! It helps to know why you want to get your degree, and thoughts on what you might want to do, and the WVU Public History program enhances that by exposing students to more options; helping them to become more flexible in their career goals, and more marketable to potential employers!"

"As a graduate student, I worked an AmeriCorps position at the Old Hemlock Foundation in Bruceton Mills, and later as an assistant at the county clerk's office. I participated in several group projects, including wayside designs for the Pearl S. Buck birthplace, exhibit design for Wiles Hill Elementary, and a historic district expansion for Welch, WV. In classes, I was particularly interested in the discussions and examples of how public interpretation projects could (or whether they should) cross into activist spaces, to educate as well as empower audiences to some kind of action."

"After graduation in 2018, I continued my pursuit of a permanent position with the National Park Service and worked as a seasonal employee at historic sites across the country, including Civil War battlefields, a Cold War missile silo, and a 19th century military fort in New York harbor. To my surprise, the first permanent position I received was at Death Valley National Park. I assumed that this desert park would offer me little career development, but I discovered a lot more practical history work, and use of skills that I developed at WVU than I ever realized!"

"While working at a natural-resource focused park, my colleagues were happy to send history/cultural resource projects my way! In partnership with the cultural resource manager, we successfully applied for two women's history grants and used the funds to hire a full-time researcher. Our team developed and designed a women's history exhibit for the museum, designed a wayside exhibit about a female mining entrepreneur, and collected ten oral histories from women connected to Death Valley, including several Timbisha-Shoshone women who advocated for tribal and land rights in the 1980s and 1990s. After two years in Death Valley, I became the Lead Interpretative Ranger at Camp Nelson National Monument in Kentucky. This new NPS site focuses on self-emancipation of African American families during the Civil War."

"My time at WVU and the foundation I built there has helped me in ways I could not imagine, and I am grateful for the effort that professors put in to providing those variety of options! If I could offer any advice to current or prospective students, I encourage them to be open to the idea of traveling across the country for work, if possible, and to be open to working in any kind of field or historic subject! Maybe your passion lies in Civil War history, but your first job might be in something completely different, and with an open mind, you can find so much satisfaction in applying your skills in an area you might not have known anything about! It will make you a more well-rounded professional in your field and open your career path to exciting and enriching possibilities!”

We want to congratulate Maureen on all her accomplishments following her time here at West Virginia University, and wish her a successful future!

Last week, on November 2nd, Dr. Melissa Bingmann and a couple of students in the Public History Methods course visited Pendleton County, West Virginia to talk with members from the Pendleton County Historical Society and visit the county museum. One of the options for final projects in the class is working with a West Virginia county, highlighting key historical events and primary sources for high school students to then write WV county histories for the America 250th Anniversary. The trip to Pendleton County greatly helped public history students learn about the resources already at hand that they can utilize for their future projects. Here are some photographs from the trip, courtesy of Rachel Olson!

https://pchswv.com/about-us/