Jennifer Staton, UAH History Alumna, Headed to University of Leeds

Those UAH history degrees keep sending people places, this time with Jennifer Staton, who graduated in 2009. This fall, she will be on her way to the University of Leeds to study for an MA in Linguistics and English Language Teaching. She had a tough decision to make between Leeds and the University of Arizona, but she thinks she has made the right choice. She currently works as a Communications Coordinator at a contracting company with the Department of Defense. Her duties involve working on marketing projects, as well as aiding with "proposal coordination and research" and serving as an administrator for the company's Internet server. 

Jennifer sees her time at the Department of History at UAH as beneficial to her current job. She writes, "I couldn't have made it this far without the critical thinking skills that I learned from being encouraged by you guys (ack, passive voice!) to dig deeper at whatever I was studying.  Those skills apply even to my current occupation as a Communications Coordinator, and I've been very successful to date specifically because I was surrounded by great professors who helped push me out of my comfort zone."

Being at UAH also helped her decide to study at Leeds: "The reason why I've chosen to go to Leeds for a linguistics degree is because of the time spent at UAH as a Writing Center consultant helping the Intensive English Program students, along with the work I did as a Fulbright ETA in Celle, Germany.  I want to go back into doing that type of work, either as an ESL teacher or as a leader in the education industry."

We hope everything goes well for you in Leeds, Jennifer. All the best!

Dr. John Kvach promoted to Associate Professor

It just keeps coming in for the good professor. Last week, the Department's own Dr. John Kvach received tenure and was promoted to the position of Associate Professor. Furthermore, he was named Outstanding Junior Faculty Member for the College of Liberal Arts. As noted on this blog, his book De Bow's Review: The Antebellum Vision of a New South was published last November by The University Press of Kentucky, and he recently won two awards from the Daughters of the American Revolution. 

Dr. Kvach's hard work both in and out of the classroom has certainly earned him these designations. This is all wonderful news, and we are happy for our colleague. Cheers, Dr. Kvach!  

Dr. Frances Roberts in Alabama Women's Hall of Fame

Dr. Frances Roberts was something of an institution at UAH. She was one of the first faculty members of the university, and she played a role in making the Department of History, as well as serving as the Department's first chairperson. Last March, she was inducted into the Alabama Women's Hall of Fame at Judson College in Marion, Alabama.

Charles Westbrook (BA, Political Science and History, 2010, UAH) and Dr. Johanna Shields, Professor Emerita from the Department of History, were very helpful and persistent in getting Dr. Roberts in the Hall. Westbrook has done extensive research on Dr. Roberts, and Dr. Shields was hired by, and worked with, Dr. Roberts. Both Westbrook's and Dr. Shield's efforts paid off, and to a wonderful success.

More information on Dr. Roberts and the work of Westbrook and Dr. Shields can be found here: http://www.uah.edu/news/people/5438-uahuntsville-hosts-honorary-reception-for-frances-roberts-hall-of-fame-induction#.Ux9myD9dXkt

Todd Fulda on his Master's Work at UAH

The Department likes to keep updated on its alumni, and last December Todd Fulda graduated with his Master's in History from UAH. This was a well-earned achievement that required a great deal of work, but Todd doesn't seem to mind. He writes, "I enjoyed every moment I was a grad student in UAH's history department. I went in with high expectations and each professor I had exceeded those expectations. Call me masochistic, but I enjoyed the late nights spent doing research in the library and writing papers on various topics. All together, I feel I grew significantly as a historian while working on my master's and it made moving back to Alabama worth it." It's good to see his time was well-spent (and from the looks of it, filled with caffeine).

For his Master's, Todd wrote a thesis titled The Badgers of Reform. His abstract give a brief glimpse into his work: "This thesis examines the Progressive and Socialist movements both on the national scene and in the state of Wisconsin to discover their similarities and differences. The analysis relies upon extensive primary sources including newspapers and archival documents as well as secondary sources including books and journal articles to answer this question. Ultimately, the information provided by these sources shows that the Progressive and Socialist Movements in Wisconsin both developed their own, distinctive ideologies and methods that were often quite divergent from their parent movements on the national level. The Badgers of Reform argues that these differences were key factors in helping Wisconsin Progressivism and Socialism survive through the 1920s while the national movements died out in the wake of World War I."

We are happy for Todd's achievement and wish him future success. Congratulations Todd!