The 2008-09 academic year proved to be an eventful one, with challenges, transitions, and new opportunities. In May 2009 the History department bid farewell to two fixtures of Fiske Hall. Associate Professor and Chair Judith R. Johnson, and Professor Phil D. Thomas have moved on to well-deserved retirement. While the current budget crisis has stymied our efforts to bring in new faculty, we remain hopeful that in the not too distant future we will be able to fill the department’s curriculum gaps to continue to serve the University and our students. Despite these challenges, through the extraordinary generosity of our alumni and benefactors, we continue to offer an exceptional number of scholarships to our students, totaling $9,570.

Continuing our own scholarly tradition, the faculty all maintain their own active, vibrant research programs. While we here at WSU (and our colleagues around the nation) have felt the sting of the recession, we have and will continue to focus on offering our students the best possible.

Scholarships and awards, which are important to our students in both recognition and monetary terms every year, assumed an even greater measure of value for our students in these difficult economic times. Thanks to the generosity of our donors and benefactors, the history department was once again able to offer an array of awards. Three students—one undergraduate and two graduate—garnered prestigious awards in recognition of their research papers. Mindy Wheeler received the John Rydjord award for undergraduate paper for her submission “Politics and Religion in the Twentieth Century: Bob Jones University, the IRS, and the First Amendment.” Alisa Cotter was honored with the Fiske Hall Non-Seminar Paper award for “Paul’s View of Women: Influence on the Acts of Paul and Thecla,” while Emily Long’s paper “The Road to Girton College” collected the Fiske Hall Seminar Paper award.

The department offered an impressive number of undergraduate and graduate scholarships in 2009. Angela Sager received the Kamen scholarship; Elysia Schooler’s academic record was recognized with the Ard Scholarship; Jill Heisler captured the Onsgard Scholarship; Joanne Feyes was honored with the “Jiggs” Nelson Scholarship; and Sunny Scharnhorst was given the Decker Scholarship. This year, as in every year, the history department faced a difficult task in selecting from a pool of worthy graduate students. Two scholars stood above a superior collection of students. Mark Schock received the Gythiel Scholarship and Daniel Papsdorf snagged the Rydjord award.

2009 marked the first year of a new tradition for the history department. The department has unveiled a new Distinguished History Alumnus Award. The inaugural award was given to Eric Melgren. The history department salutes this year’s award winners and gratefully thanks its many supporters who have helped make this student support possible.

This spring, the department said farewell two of its most popular professors, Judith Johnson and Phillip Thomas. Both are retiring after years of service.

A medievalist in training, Thomas also researched and wrote about the American West and environmental history. His "Lost Civilizations" course was among the department's most popular offerings. An active speaker in the community, Thomas was known for his portrayals of Meriwether Lewis through the Kansas Humanities Council.

Known for her passion for Franklin Delano Roosevelt and the Beatles, Dr. Johnson taught classes on Viet Nam, the 1960s, the New Deal, and Mexican history, among others. For the past several years, Dr. Johnson served as the department's chair. Now both professors are relocating to new lives in new parts of the country. Dr. Thomas now spends his time in Creede, Colorado, while Dr. Johnson is enjoying her new life in Albuquerque, New Mexico.

Public History students seem to be involved in an increasing variety of activities. While there is not space to discuss all the activities of public history students, a few cases show the true variety of experiences. Sarah Price is assisting Galyn Vesey in his research on Black Wichita. Mark Shock is working on exhibit for the Mid-America All Indian Center. Melissa Thompson continues her work at Sedgwick County Records Management while Sheri Gaskins remains active as Volunteer Coordinator at Old Cowtown Museum.

The Society of Public Historians remains active on a variety of projects. In the spring, several SPH students attended the Kansas History Teachers Association Conference at Fort Hayes State University and put on a program about professional conduct and practices featuring Marisa Lewis from Hawker-Beechcraft. In May, SPH members went to Kansas City to attend the opening of the new National Archives facility next to Union Station. This fall, SPH was very active in helping sponsor a series of events related to the screening of Traces of the Trade, a Story From the Deep North. At present, they are preparing to attend the Kansas Museums Association conference in Hutchinson.

The program is lucky to have dedicated instructors as well. Bob Keckeisen teaches our museum administration class while Dr. Lorraine Madway from Special Collections and University Archives teaches an archives class and is preparing to a class on public memory in the spring.

Joshua Locke Yearout, a graduate of the Public History Program recently passed away on July 7 due to a long battle with cancer. He was 33, and left behind a wife and young daughter. He completed his thesis on Wichita’s Jazz scene between the world wars. After graduation, he worked as an Archivist at Special Collections and University Archives, Wichita State University Libraries. In lieu of flowers, donations may be made to the Grace H. Yearout Memorial Fund c/o Emprise Bank, 257 N. Broadway, Wichita, 67202.

Kenneth R. Locke, passed away January 14, 2008. He had served as a Presbyterian Minister from 1947 until his retirement in 1982, serving congregations in Indianan, Nebraska, and Kansas City, Kansas. He was Associate Executive of the Synod of Missouri and Executive Presbyter of the Missouri union Presbytery. A native of El Dorado, he was buried at Sunset Lawns cemetery. He is survived by his wife, Alice Locke and four children, including two sons who were ordained and a daughter who married a minister.

Volume Eleven of the student history journal, the Fairmount Folio, was published in May. Mindy Wheeler served as student editor. The volume included articles on topics ranging from ancient history to Colonial America, to South Korean Shamanism. A new segment, an interview with a historian, was added. The inaugural interview was with Dr. Michael Birkner, a specialist in the Eisenhower presidency. Volume Twelve is already under way.

Due to budget cuts at the state level, the Department of History regretfully announces that there will be no History Day at WSU in 2010. Our apologies to all those who wished to participate, but the current financial crisis has forced a number of very unpleasant decisions.

Assistant Professor of history George Dehner had a busy year of presentations and research. In January, George presented his paper on influenza surveillance titled “The Chicken and the Egg” as part of a world history panel at the annual American Historical Association Conference held in New York. In March he presented a lecture “A Little Bird Told Me” to the Jager Club, the history of medicine society at KU school of Medicine (Wichita). This summer he completed his manuscript on influenza in the twentieth century, tentatively titled Reexamining a Fiasco, which is currently under submission to an academic publishing house and at the moment is reworking his article “WHO Knows Best” for resubmission to a journal in the history of medicine. In addition to his usual full slate of classes and graduate students, George and his wife Jodi keep busy by chasing their three boys—Brendan, Patrick, and Sean—around.

Europeanist John Dreifort continues to serve as the department's graduate coordinator in which capacity he tries not to ruin too many budding careers.

He also advises undergraduates in the International Studies major. He is serving his thirty-fifth season as Executive Secretary of the Wichita Committee on Foreign Relations, a "town and gown" organization started by President Harry Corbin in 1956, that meets monthly to consider matters of U.S. foreign policy, national security issues, foreign trade and the like.

He has been selected to serve on the steering committee of the Kansas Department of Commerce Global Perspectives, a program designed to provide Kansans with a greater global awareness and empower them to become global citizens. He continues to work on his book manuscript about the relationship between Eisenhower and DeGaulle during World War II.

Professor Anthony P. Gythiel is in his last year of teaching (he is on “phased retirement,” and must retire at the end of the spring semester). At present, he is teaching Hist 567 Medieval 1200 to 1500. He has a full class, 34 students, who did very well on their first exam. He is still translating texts. His next book, a translation from the German, deals with Evagrius of Pontus, a 4th-century theologian living in the deserts of Egypt. This should be out in November 2009. He also has another book accepted for publication: a work written by Pavel Evdokimov, entitled Orthodoxy. It is a study of historical theology and an important work. Lastly, he wants to translate a major study by Jean Daniélou, entitled Platonism and Mystical Theology. The Spiritual Doctrine of Saint Gregory of Nyssa (c. 330-395 A.D.).

Dr. Robin Henry had another busy year at WSU. In addition to teaching both parts of the U.S. History survey, the constitutional history and women and gender history series, she introduced and taught a graduate course on Gender and Sexuality in U.S. History. Dr. Henry’s biggest project for the year was completing her book manuscript tentatively titled “Criminalizing Sex, Defining Sexuality: Law, Manhood, and Identity in the Nineteenth Century American West.” She is on track to submit it for publication at a university press in early September 2009. In addition to completing her manuscript, Henry presented papers at two academic conferences. In January, she presented her paper “Junior’s Crisis of Conscience: John D. Rockefeller, Jr., the Colorado Coal Wars, and the Reconstruction of Miner Masculinity,” as part of the panel “Philanthropic Globalism: The Rockefellers and Post-Conflict Reconstruction” she organized for the American Historical Association’s Annual Meeting in New York. In April, she presented “In Order to Form a More Perfect Worker: John D. Rockefeller, Jr. and Reconstructing Miner Masculinity in post-Ludlow Colorado,” for a symposium on the history of the Colorado Fuel and Iron Company in Pueblo, Colorado. Finally, Dr. Henry began serving on the Committee on the Status of Women for the Organization of American History, as well as a LAS Senator for the Faculty Senate. Dr. Henry completed her service as director of History Day.

Helen Hundley’s article “N.M. Iadrintsev and the Search for Ghengis Khan’s Capital, Kharakorum,” appeared last August in Sibirica. Her article, “Defending the Periphery: Tsarist Management of Buriat Buddhism,” will appear next spring in Russian Review. She continues to serve as faculty adviser for the Fairmount Folio. She continues to serve as the Russian and East European Book Review Editor for the national journal of the history honorary, Phi Alpha Theta, The Historian.

Professor Willard Carl Klunder wrote a book review of Lincoln and Douglas: The Debates that Defined America, by Allen Guelzo, published in Civil War Book Review; and Roll Call to Destiny: The Soldier's Eye View of Civil War Battles, by Brent Nosworthy, published in Journal of Southern History. He published an entry "Lewis Cass," in The Essential Lincoln: A Political Encyclopedia, CQ Press. Dr. Klunder continues to serve as an at-large member of the Faculty Senate and a director of the WSU Intercollegiate Athletic Association.

Dr. Craig Miner, Willard W. Garvey Distinguished Professor of Business History, is on sabbatical leave this fall. He recently completed the manuscript “Steam and Credit: America Adopts the Railway 1825-1862” to be submitted for publication this fall. His next project concerns the great national boom and bust real estate cycle of the late 1880s and early 1890s. It will result in an article to be published in 2011 and a subsequent book. His book Seeding Civil War was selected as a Kansas Notable Book for 2009 by the State library’s Kansas Center for the Book.

He is active in the community as well, having been appointed to the Editorial Advisory Board for Kansas History. He serves as a historical advisor for a project on Black History in Wichita in the 1940s and 1950s. He is part of the Digitization Advisory Committee at the Kansas State Historical Society and will be keynote speaker for the southwest regional conference on the Civil War Centennial in 2011.

He did numerous interviews with local and regional media as well as two international ones. One of the international ones was for Le Figaro (Paris) and was published in French in a series of articles on Obama’s America published July 27, 2009. Other interviews included one with the Discovery Channel on the Dust Bowl, and one with KPTS TV for its documentary on the 1970 WSU plane crash.

His talks in the community included “Kansas in 1859” for the Episcopal Diocese of Kansas, Jan. 20, 2009, and a program for the Wichita Area Chamber of Commerce, Feb. 19, 2009 called “The Current Financial Situation and Wichita History.” He gave a speech at the Faculty Scholarship Recognition Program Feb. 22, 2009 called “The Electronic Revolution in Historical Research.” His talks regarding the parallels between modern economic conditions and those of the past included one for the Society of Financial Services Professionals, Wichita, May 20, 2009 called “Financial Crisis and History.” He participated in a program for Soul of the People, May 20, 2009 on Adapting to the Dust Bowl at Special Collections and University Archives. He delivered a speech at the Kansas City branch of the National Archives called “The Kansas Nebraska Act: Recipe for Disaster” on Aug. 20, 2009.

Dr. Ariel Schwendner Loftus had a productive year. She gave a paper “Civic honors for young girls in Hellenistic Athens” at the annual meeting of Classical Association of the Middle West and South in Minneapolis and met with an editor from Blackwell about using her research on funerary monuments as part of a longer project, a sourcebook about women in Athens. This summer she made an outline of 4 chapters and wrote Chapter One: Athenian Families a Diachronic approach about changing marriage rules and household composition in Athens. She also proposed this as a paper for the CAMWS meeting in Oklahoma City in March 2010. She continues to teach about women in the ancient world and is looking forward to using her own book in class next semester.

She can now get into Fiske Hall thanks to a summer of physical therapy, and since Dr. Miner graciously offered his lovely first floor office. She and Gregg Schwender may try a transatlantic flight next summer, maybe even all the way to Athens.

Dr. Robert Owens spent his fifth year here at WSU enjoying some particularly excellent students in his History 501-502 sequence (American Colonies and Revolutionary America, respectively), as well as some fine students in History 132 (U.S. Since 1865). He delivered his paper “A Tale of Two Treaties: The Fort Stanwix Cessions of 1768 and 1784” at the Society for Historians of the Early American Republic (SHEAR) annual meeting in Springfield, IL, in July of 2009. He also wrote several book reviews and served as a referee for a proposed book manuscript and two scholarly journal articles. He is currently laboring over the manuscript for his second book-length project, tentatively titled “Pan-Indianism and Panic: How the fear of Indian confederacies shaped Anglo-America, 1763-1815.” Despite his best efforts, Dr. Owens was elected to a three-year term as the History Department’s Chairperson in May 2009.

Keith Pickus continues to serve as Associate Provost for the university and is actively involved in strategic planning initiatives for the Division of Academic Affairs and Research. This past April he delivered the keynote speech for the State Holocaust Commemoration event that was held in Topeka.

Dr. Jay M. Price spent the spring of 2009 working with a team of students and local historians to produce a photo history of the local Lebanese community. Arcadia Publishing will release Wichita’s Lebanese Heritage in early 2010. The summer and early fall have involved working with a host of local organizations to bring two documentarians to Wichita for a screening of the film Traces of the Trade: A Story From the Deep North. He is making great progress on turning his research from last year’s sabbatical trip into the manuscript for Temples for a Modern God, a study of religious architecture after World War II. In addition to directing the Public History Program, teaching, giving talks in the community, and research, he also serves on the board of the Kansas Humanities Council and has been recently appointed to the State Historic Sites Board of Review.

Dr. Niall Shanks (Curtis D. Gridley Professor of History and Philosophy of Science) has had another busy year. His term (2008-2009) as President of the Southwest and Rocky Mountain Division of the American Association for the Advancement of Science ended in April when he delivered the Presidential Address, “Two Centuries of Darwin and the Darwinians,” at the annual meeting of the association held this year at the University of Tulsa. In October 2008, Shanks delivered a lecture series on the history and philosophy of science at East Tennessee State University. In addition to writing numerous book reviews, Shanks has published three articles over the last year dealing with aspects of the theory of evolution and its implications for biomedical research. Shanks’ latest book, Animal Models in the Light of Evolution (co-authored with Ray Greek, MD) should be available in print by the end of November. Shanks, along with Ray Greek and Mark Rice, MD. (Department of Anesthesiology, University of Florida Medical School) is currently engaged in research into the origins of the so-called “universal response” to inhalation anesthetics (halothane, enflurane, isoflurane, etc). Historically this was believed to be a diffusion problem, current research points to a long and complex evolutionary history.

Dr. Craig L. Torbenson, contributed two chapters in his co-edited Brothers and Sisters: Diversity Within College Fraternities and Sororities that was published in spring 2009. One chapter presented a general history of college fraternities and sororities while the second chapter looked at religious fraternities and sororities. He also completed a family history manuscript that covered the lives of his grandparents and great grandparents on his father’s side. He continues volunteering at the LDS Family History Library and helping individuals do their own family history research. His is the undergraduate advisor for the department. During the summer he put in two patios and several mulch/rock beds in the backyard and painted the outside of his house.

Kim Allen, B.A., 1984, is a history and language teacher at St. Luke's School in Greenwich Village in New York City. A human rights educator and activist, she also engages in various projects that advance social justice and international understanding. Her students partner with Newcomers High School in Queens, a high school for newly arrived immigrants, and they worked directly with the Coalition of Immokalee Workers on immigrant rights. Kim was recently the translator and coordinator for a new film about these Mexican and Guatemalan migrant workers in Florida. Next year, Kim will be travelling to Japan to work personally with Nagasaki survivors, as well as to collaborate with Japanese teachers on ways to effectively teach about difficult chapters in our respective histories.

Paul Babich, B.A., 1970, retired on June 15, 2009 after a 39 year career as a Social Studies teacher in Wichita Public Schools at Mayberry Junior High (1970-1988) and South High (1988-2000). The last nine years were spent as a full time release officer of the local teachers union, United Teachers of Wichita. Vice president, 2000 to 2005. President, 2005-2009. Appointed by Governor Mark Parkinson on July 1, 2009 to a four year term on the Kansas Supreme Court Nominating Commission.

Barbara Jean Beale, B.A., 1989, M.A. 1994, is currently an ordained pastor of the Evangelical Lutheran Church in America (ELCA), serving 2 parishes: Zion Lutheran Church of Arneckeville, near Cuero, Texas and St. Luke's Lutheran Church of Schroeder near Goliad, Texas. She also serves as the coordinator for Southwestern Texas Synod's Resource Center in Seguin, Texas. Life is good out in the country with the cows, deer, feral hogs and "chupacabras!”

Eva Misty Bernal, B.A. 2009 is beginning an m.a. in Anthropology at Wichita State University. She spent the summer in Orleans, France, with the sister cities program.

Karl Fritz Beyer, B.A. in Liberal Arts in 1960, went on to receive a B.A. in Mechanical Engineering from the University of Kansas in 1966. His career began with the Coleman Company and ended with his retirement from the Stanford University utilities department in 1991. Since his retirement he has worked nearly full time as elder of building and grounds for Covenant Presbyterian Church in Palo Alto where “the only way I could resign was to have a heart attack.”

Lawrence P. Buck, B.A., 1966, completed a Ph.D. in history at The Ohio State University in 1971 and is a Professor of History at Widener University, Chester, PA. His recent work involves studying the image of the Roman “monster” of 1496, called the Pope-Ass by Philip Melanchthon and Martin Luther. He presented "The Papal Antichrist Commonplace ca. 1520: Form and Content of an Apocalyptic Epithet" at the Sixteenth Century Studies Conference, October 2008, in St. Louis, MO. He also serves as a consultant for Mr. James Faber, rare book dealer in London, to help evaluate a newly-discovered Wunderzeichenbuch (or wonder book) that includes a painted illustration of the “Roman monster.”

Albert Castel, B.A. 1950, M.A. 1951, went on to receive a Ph.D. in History from the University of Chicago in 1955 went on to teach at UCLA, the City University of New York, and Western Michigan University. Retired since 1992, he has published 15 books, 93 articles, and around 300 book reviews. His 1957 book, Decision in the West: The Atlanta Campaign of 1864, received the Beveridge Prize from the American Historical Society and the Lincoln Prize. His latest manuscript, Victors in Blue: The Union Generals Who Won the Civil War and the War Among Themselves, is scheduled for publication from KU Press in 2010.

Richard Cooley, M.A., 1989, is currently in the History Department at Grand Valley State University in Allendale, Michigan, where he is an Associate Professor. He is on the board, and serves as secretary for, the Michigan Council for History Education. He is also on the board and serves as secretary for the Ottawa Area Intermediate School District. This district coordinates services for Career Technical Education, Special Education services and curriculum and instruction work for 15 schools districts in West Michigan.

Frances Anderson Crow, B.A. 1941 became interested in American history thanks to the leadership of Dr. Rydjord. As a result, she recorded many facts about her family’s history of pioneering and homesteading and settling in the West in an audio tape. She is a Methodist, Republican and counts her blessings every day. She is also an Indianapolis Colts fan and had season tickets for 20 years until she was in her 80's. She still roots for K.U. and Wichita State. She was happily married to Dick Crow for 38 years until he died in 1983.

Cynthia DeCamp , B.A., 1970, is still working as a Nurse Practitioner at a convenient care clinic in metro Atlanta and hopes this job will carry her to the point where she can join the ranks of the retired. She is an officer and board member for the Little Creek Farm Conservancy, where she boards her horse, Lacey. This group maintains one of the last working horse farms in suburban Atlanta. This year for Christmas she joined a Mozart Study Tour to Salzburg with a Study Tour to Gettysburg, Antietam and Harper's Ferry taking place later in the year. Both of her parents died in Wichita this year, which has made for numerous trips.

Cornelius J. Dyck, M.A., 1955, retired from teaching at associated Mennonite Biblical Seminary in 1989 after serving for 30 years. He received a Ph.D. from the University of Chicago in 1962 and went on to publish six books and one volume of a Mennonite Encyclopedia as well as numerous articles. He has been married to Wilma Regier Dyck since 1952.

Joan (Rowton, Van West) Einwohner, Ph.D., B.A., 1948, went on to complete a master's degree at the City College of NY and followed by a Ph.D. in 1963 from Adelphi University, Garden City, NY in psychology with postdoctoral work in 1960 (yes, done before completing the Ph.D.) at the Postgraduate Center for Mental Health in Child Psychiatry and Child Guidance in New York City. She retired as a School Psychologist at the age of 55 and is now self-employed in private psychotherapy practice. She is currently President of the Division of Women's Issues (for the second time) of the New York State Psychological Association. She feels that her background in history has been enormously helpful in providing a world view and adding depth to her work and travel experiences. She hopes that the staff at Wichita U. could be told how valuable their instruction has been in helping to give her a perspective of our place as a world power that could not have been anticipated by a young graduate shortly after World War II.

Eric Engstrom, M.A. 1966, had a wonderful opportunity to spend a month in China this spring, visiting Shanghai, Beijing, Xian, Nanjing, Hong Kong and Macau. His hosts in Shanghai were originally from Wichita. He recommends a visit to this fascinating country to which we are now so tied economically.

Tim Frieden, B.A. 1951, is the state of Kansas Attorney for the Death Penalty Defense Unit.

Dan C. Fullerton, M.A., 1998 went on to complete PhD. in History from the University of Kansas, becoming an Assistant Professor for the US Army's School of Advanced Military Studies (SAMS) at Fort Leavenworth, KS. For the last two years, he has worked as the Deputy Director of the Advanced Operational Art Studies Fellowship (AOASF), a war-college program for senior field grade officers transitioning them from tactical to strategic level leadership. He teaches courses in Strategic Decision Making, the History of Civil-Military Relations, Twenty-first Century Conflict, Regional Studies, and Strategic Leadership and have coordinated and led multiple fieldwork trips around the US and overseas to UK, Belgium, Germany, China, and Australia. He will be participating on a Society of Military History panel on Interwar/WWII US Army modernization in the spring of 2010.

Pat Glass, B.A., 1967, is retired from the US Army after 25 years, including 5 years as an assistant professor teaching military history. After military retirement, Pat worked for a number of groups teaching computer software. He is still Active in Boy Scouts (over 53 years now). Even though retired, he still works with his wife of 41 years, Jennifer, in real estate.

Robert Green, B.A., 1949, retired from law in 2002. He and his wife of 63 years, Louise Moses Green, continue to be active in the Friends of the Library Board in El Dorado. He continues to read and write for pleasure and continues to drive to family events from Washington state to South Carolina.

David Haight, M.A., 1970, was an archivist at the Eisenhower Library from April 1, 1971 until August 1, 2008. Although now retired, he still serves at the Eisenhower Library as a volunteer working on security-classification matters and other tasks as needed. He recently wrote an article that has been accepted for publication in Prologue: The Journal of the National Archives entitled "Meeting the Threat: Dwight D. Eisenhower and the Management of Overhead Intelligence Collection"

Kathleen Epps Hankins, B.A. 1967, is a chair for the Worship Committee at Hillside Christian Church. She researches family history and retains memberships in Alpha Chi Omega Sorority Alumnae, the Junior League of Wichita Sustainers (inc., Wit & Wisdom), the National Trust for Historic Preservation, the local Historic Preservation Alliance, Inc., Kansas Aviation Museum, & the Sedgwick County Zoo.

Tamara L. Hanna, B.A., 1996, is Executive Director Coronado Quivira Museum / Rice County Historical Society in Lyons, KS.

Virginia Hirning , B.A. 1942 Is a retired English teacher from USD 259.

G. Allan Johnston, B.A. in liberal arts with majors in history and political science, 1961 received his M.C. P. (Master of City Planning) degree from Georgia Tech in 1965 with a career that included work Greensboro NC and Atlanta GA and with the FDIC in Atlanta, Boston and Raleigh. A member of Kansas ETA of Sigma Phi Epsilon, he was unable to attend the 50th anniversary celebration of in April of this year. He is now retired and resides in Raleigh NC with wife Gail. He visited Wichita in June and visited with several WSU alumni that were fellow members. Dr. Kelley Sowards was one of his favorite professors and one who helped him greatly in developing scholarly skills. At some point on one of the visits we will once again visit Fiske Hall and meet some of the current faculty.

Bob Keckeisen, B.A., 1977, M.A., 1982, marks his 27th year with the Kansas State Historical Society where he has been museum director since 1991. In June of this year, the museum celebrated the 25th anniversary of the opening of its current facility on the west side of Topeka. Bob continues to teach the Museum Administration class at WSU, and last year he began teaching a Museum Management class in the Museum Studies graduate program at the University of Kansas. Bob is teaching both classes this fall semester.

Donna McCalla, B.A., 1971, M.A. 1973, has, after two years of planning and grant writing, produced Testimonies of a Quiet New England Town, a film depicting the abduction and seizure of Cesar and Lowis Peters and their eight children. The Peters were slaves of the infamous Tory, Reverend Samuel Peters. They were the first slaves formally emancipated by the official Connecticut General Assembly following the Revolutionary War, and the event is the first documented evidence of anti-slavery action in the state. The film will be shown on PBS later this year and then submitted to a number of film competitions. McCalla, still president of Hebron Historical Society, continues to do renovation projects on historical properties in Hebron, CT, where she resides. For more information, check out www.QuietTestimoniesTheFilm.org and there's a lot of Hebron history on www.HebronHistoricalSociety.org.

Eric F. Melgren, B.A., 1979, was nominated by President Bush on July 23, 2008 to be a United States District Judge for the District of Kansas with the ceremonial investiture taking place at Miller Concert Hall, Duerksen Fine Arts Center, on the WSU campus on January 9, 2009. The federal court of the District of Kansas convened for this ceremony, and Senator Sam Brownback and Congressman Todd Tiahrt were in attendance, along with his successor the Acting United States Attorney Marietta Parker, who presented him to the court. He was very pleased to receive the Distinguished History Alumnus Award from the WSU History Department in April 2009.

Gary Miskimon, B.A., 1974 (actually - 63-68 & then again in 73-74 finishing w/a B.A .– History/Political Science) is the Director for the Administration and Parking Division for the Redevelopment Agency of the City of San Jose. Last February, he received the “Pride of San Jose” award for “Excellence” from the Mayor and City Council for the performance of these functions. He wife, Jeanette, and he graduated this year from the 3-year Institute for Leadership in Ministry (operated by the Diocese of San Jose) and now serves in several Catholic social justice activities/organizations. They helped to found the Awaso Hope Foundation, an organization building a K-9 school in Awaso, Ghana. Check out their website at: http://awasohope.homestead.com (and send a check).

Ellen Myers, B.A. 1983, M.A. 1986, continues to teach English, History and Spanish at Pilgrim Christian Academy in Wichita. On occasions she speaks about her families experiences in Nazi Germany and during the Holocaust. She published several short stories in 2008-9.

Tim Myers, M.A., 1988, outside of being the Lead Instructor for the Social Sciences Department at Butler Community College for the past several years and becoming a part-time Director of Education of a church in Wichita as of March it was my personal life that got very exciting this past year. His daughter, Laura, taught English in the Czech Republic this past year and this May he got to go visit her and her school.

Vincent C. Nealey, B.A. 1969, retired from Fort Knox last year and took the year off to regroup with his wife. This year he opened a law office and began teaching for Indiana Wesleyan University. This coupled with membership on the Elizabethtown Planning Commission, Civil Service Commission and various other civic activities and boards seem to be encroaching on all of the anticipated free time.

Tarasina Pack, B.A. 2006, is currently director of Marketing and Business Development at town East Square. She received her M.B.A. in spring of 2009.

After graduating from WSU, Werner J Roekle, M.A., 1970 taught for two years in Kewaunee, Wisconsin. In 1972., he accepted a position as principal of St. Paul's Lutheran School in Saginaw, MI. During this time he was appointed to the Michigan State Ad hoc Committee for non-public schools. He also served on the State of Michigan Teacher Certification Committee. After forty-five years in the Lutheran Schools, he retired in 1997. After retirement he taught English as a second language for two years. His wife of 55 years, Marilyn, and he maintain a home in Freeland, MI (near Saginaw), as well as Sun City West, Arizona in the winter months.

Kirk Scott, M.A., 1999, is currently a sales representative for Cengage higher Learning in Kansas City. An accomplished jazz musician, he continues to seek out gigs.

Brady G. Simmons, B.A. 2004, is a patrol officer with the Haysville Police Department and is currently working on a recent history of the department. He is the treasurer and scrip for the Haysville Fraternal Order of Police Lodge 69.

Christine Simmons-Henkel, B.A. 1974, has been the Manager of Professional Development at Tinker Federal Credit Union in Oklahoma City, OK, where she manages employee training and development activities for all 500+ employees and 22 branches across the state of Oklahoma. Although there was never enough time to travel as much as she liked, she and her husband did make it to Lake Powell, the North Shore of Lake Superior, and the California coast.

Ray Soderholm, M.A., 1970, is still mostly retired, though he does substitute teaching at Minnetonka High School, west of Minneapolis, once or twice a week, mostly in social studies or English. He is one of the leaders of a book discussion group composed mostly of retired teachers, librarians, and professors.

Charles Stansifer, M.A., 1954, is a professor emeritus at KU, with a specialty in Latin American issues. He has given talks on Latin American history, has been a guest lecturer in introductory classes on Latin America at KU, and has been especially active with organizing tours of South America and Central America. He visited Costa Rica as part of the 50th anniversary of the relationship between KU and the University of Costa Rica. In spring 2009, he taught a course in U.S. history to a group of twenty-two Paraguayan students at the Universidad Catolica in Asuncion, Paraguay, his eleventh visit to that country. This fall, he came to Wichita to look at the Rydjord archives as part of a generational study of Latin American historiography.

Scott W. Stucky, B.A., 1970, is a judge for the U.S. Court of Appeals for the Armed Forces. Planning for the centennial of the courthouse building in Washington, D.C., he hired Benjamin Hruska, a 2004 m.a. graduate as an intern to work on the project.

Thomas D. Watts, B.A., 1963, is a long-time faculty member at the University of Texas at Arlington. Selected publications: Entries in George T. Kurian, ed. The Encyclopedia of Christian Civilization; “Albert the Great,” “Catholic Worker Movement,” “Faith-Based Organizations,” “Stanley Jaki,” “Gregor Mendel,” “Malcolm Muggeridge,” “Paulists,” “James A. Schaeffer,” & “William Temple”; “Nigerian Leader of Christian-Islamic Dialogue: Francis Cardinal Arinze, “Journal of Comparative Social Welfare 24(2), October, 2008, pp. 199-204; “Faith-based Organizations, Social Thought and Social Welfare,” Social Justice Review 99 (5-6), May-June, 2008, pp 77-80. He also wrote published a book re-view of Espírítu Santo De Zūñiga: A Frontier Mission in South Texas, by Tamra Lynn Walter, in Catholic Southwest: A Journal of History and Culture.

Myron L. Webster, B.A. in Liberal Arts, 1965; B.A. in Education, 1965; M.A. , 1968, is a retired educator (United States history and Advanced Placement United States History--APUSH). He continues to serve as a spotter for the public address announcer at Cabrillo High School's home football games (28 years and counting) and is also privileged to help new teachers on the APUSH ListServ with course outlines, daily outlines, quizzes, review techniques, tests, etc. He is a member of Are You Ready? Ministries Church where he wife (the former Elaine Woydziak) is the pastor and of the Are You Ready? Ministries Interchurch Pageant Company.

Richard Welch, M.A., 1970, teaches at CW Post College of Long Island University, and has added a course at the NY State U at Farmingdale. He just published the book "King of the Bowery, Big Tim Sullivan, Tammany Hall and New York." He has also gotten into curating museum exhibitions, including one on a Revolutionary espionage ring active on Long Island, and one on local Civil War history. He now lives in Northport, NY.

O. Glendale Wheeler, B.A. 1967, is retired after 35 years in the insurance business. When not traveling with his wife, he remains an active member of the Kiwanis, recently elected governor of the Montana Kiwanis District.

John L. Whitlock, B.A., 1969, was, until his retirement, Patron Services Director, Blind & Physically Handicapped Library Services for the Mississippi Library Commission.

John Wooley, B.A. 1954 served as Federal Magistrate Judge in Wichita, Kansas from June 1969 until his retirement in October 1993. He graduated from the Washburn School of Law in February 1956 and practiced law until becoming judge. He is now enjoying retirement by fishing, hunting, reading, and investments. He and his wife, Colleen Lee, celebrated their 51st anniversary in August.

Roger Zwemke, B.A. 1965 in German and History, retired commander in the U.S. Navy and manager with the Boeing Company, continued to volunteer with several organizations including the Wichita Radio Reading Service. His travels this year will include a turn to the U.S. Naval War College in Newport, R.I.