2018-2019 History Department Highlights
The 2018-2019 school year has been a busy and exciting year for History Department faculty, graduate students, and undergraduates both inside and outside of the classroom! From researching and publishing to presenting and working in the field, staff and students can take pride in their remarkable range of achievements.
We congratulate all students and faculty for their amazing work this year and extend special felicitations to those graduate students and undergraduate seniors moving on to the next phase in their journey! Additionally, we commend the numerous History Department members who presented at and facilitated sessions for conferences across the country, including the American Historical Association, the National Council on Public History, the American Association for State and Local History, and more. Please join us in celebrating the following achievements and awards for History Department undergraduates, graduate students, and faculty in the 2018-2019 academic year.
Undergraduate Student Accomplishments
Bradley MacDonald was awarded this year鈥檚 Paul S. Lietz Award. 鈥孴he Paul S. Lietz Award for Outstanding Historical Scholarship is the history department's highest honor. Chosen by the history department faculty, the award is given to a graduating senior based on the merit of the student鈥檚 scholarly work.
Winners of the 2019 Undergraduate Essay Contest included:
- First Place: Matthew Walcutt for 鈥淭he Art of Delusion: The Style and Evolution of Nazi Propaganda throughout World War Two.鈥�
- Second Place: Norman Frazier for 鈥淐ommon Volk: Centuries-Old Ideals within the Contemporary German Far-Right.鈥�
- Third Place: Jessica Zi for 鈥淢oney and Morality during the Viking Age.鈥�
Ailis Yeager won the 2019 Blogging Contest with her 鈥淧irates and Sailors: A Deeper Look into the Unknown.鈥�
Phi Alpha Theta inducted many new members at this spring鈥檚 Weekend of Excellence. Outgoing board members Norman Frazier, Matthew Lewis, Amela Kalezic, Meghan Olson, and Victoria Blinn welcome the new officers:
- Kathleen Koehnke, President
- Daniel Hauser, Vice-President
- Annie Alderman, Secretary
- Shelbi Shultz, Treasurer
- Morgan Zygmunt, Community Relations Chair
History Major Matthew Pajor of the St. Joseph Seminary was a recipient of this year's . Pajor is pursuing a Bachelor of Arts in History, Philosophy, and Political Science. The Presidential Medallion is awarded by the University's deans to students "who have exemplified a commitment to leadership, scholarship, and service throughout their time at Loyola."
After much planning and organization by students and faculty alike, the History Club became an official Loyola student organization! Much credit goes to Norman Frazier, the club's first President, for his hard work getting this project off the ground. Congratulations are also in order for the club's additional inaugural officers: Matty Lewis (Vice President), Amela Kalezic (Secretary), and Meghan Olson(Treasurer).
Graduate Student Accomplishments
Recent PhD graduate Meagan McChesney won the Council of Graduate School Programs Dissertation of the Year 鈥� Humanities Award for 鈥淓xhibiting Sovereignty: Tribal Museums in the Great Lakes Region, 1969-2010.鈥�
PhD student Cate LiaBraaten won the Robert W. McCluggage Award for the Outstanding Graduate Research Paper for 鈥淧laying Properly: Adult Supervision and Gender in Chicago鈥檚 Progressive Era Playgrounds.鈥�
Public History MA/MLIS student Bianca Barcenas was been awarded a for Graduate Students in Archival Administration.
Graduate students Jenny Clay and Nathan Ellstrand worked with the Women and Leadership Archives to create the . Showcasing images alongside more than 30 interviews, the site shares the stories of women religious, students, staff, and faculty from Mundelein College.
PhD student June Coyne was elected as the 2019-2020 Loyola Graduate Student Advisory Council President.
PhD candidate Chelsea Denault was awarded the Spirit of Laudato Si Sustainability In Learning Award during this year's weekend of excellence. The "Sustainability in Learning" recognition rewards students for their efforts incorporating sustainability into their academic experience through research, publication, or coursework advancing sustainability knowledge.
Graduate students Nathan Ellstrand, Emily Davis, Lisa Hartman, and Alexandra Gradwohl worked with the Rogers/Park West Ridge Historical Society on the two day event, highlighting the religious diversity of Chicago's Far North Side.
Graduate students Kristin Jacobsen and Matthew Amyx were inducted into Alpha Sigma Nu, the Jesuit national honor society.
PhD candidate Katie Macica received the OAH Graduate Student Travel Award and presented at the Organization for American Historians 2019 conference in Philadelphia.
Masters Student Bryan Morey received the Loyola Research Experience for Master鈥檚 Programs Fellowship for work on 鈥淪habbona Woods: Conducting Public History for the Forest Preserves of Cook County.鈥�
PhD candidate Ruby Oram received an Arthur J. Schmitt Dissertation Fellowship in Leadership and Service for 2019-2020.
PhD candidate Kelly Schmidt, received the 2019 National Society of the Colonial Dames of America 鈥揑L award for graduate study in American history. She received a Research Travel Grant from the at the University of Notre Dame.
PhD candidate Hope Shannon published an article, "," in New England Museum Association New England Museums Now.
PhD Candidate Ella Wagner was named as a . As a fellow, Ella will participate in a summer workshop aimed to help prepare doctoral students for careers both within and outside the academy.
Faculty Accomplishments
Anthony Cardoza published a new book, .
Dr. Elliott Gorn also published a new book, entitled
Professor Aidan Forth's "sophisticated and beautifully written" first book, , was awarded the for the best book in British Studies since 1800. Learn more about Dr. Forth's work in this interview.
Professor Timothy Gilfoyle was named Loyola鈥檚 2018 Faculty Member of the Year. He also served as editor in chief for the , a two volume, 1712-page scholarly achievement published in 2019.
Completing his five-year term as co-editor of , Dr. Ben Johnson was awarded the 2019 Roger D. Bridges Distinguished Service Award from the Society for the History of the Gilded Age and Progressive Era.
Professor Christopher Manning has been chosen as a member of the (ACE) .
Michelle Nickerson was awarded a Fullbright Core Fellowship for Summer 2020 at the Center for American Studies, University of Heidelberg. She also contributed to the new .
The has awarded Professor Kyle Roberts a . He will be working with his fellow award winner, Benjamin Bankhurst (Shepherd University), on 鈥淭he Maryland Loyalist Project.鈥�
Professor Emerita Barbara Rosenwein's has been awarded a .
Professor Gema Santamaria published her article, "Lynching and the Politics of State Formation in Post-Revolutionary Puebla 1930-50s" in The Journal of Latin American Studies. She also received a 2019-2020 Research Grant from the Hank Center for Catholic Intellectual Heritage.
Professor Elizabeth Tandy Shermer will be an Obama Fellow at the at the University of Mainz this summer 2019. Professor Shermer has also received a .
Professor Elena Valussi was promoted to senior lecturer. She also has organized a conference on which will take place June 25-26, 2019.
Professor Alice Weinreb's book, Modern Hungers: Food and Power in Twentieth-Century Germany, was awarded the inaugural .
Congratulations to all on an exciting and productive academic year!