Alum Spotlight: Professor Robin Payne

With whom did you study while you were at WSU? Was there any faculty mentor that still stands out to you?

I did both my BA and my MA in history at WSU and had so many wonderful professors along the way. I always especially enjoyed classes with Professor Kathy Meyers and Professor Fritz Blackwell. My mentors, Professor Janice Rutherford and Professor. Leroy Ashby, especially played important roles in my development as a scholar and an educator. Professor Rutherford was my undergraduate advisor and directed my honors thesis—she was one of the first to encourage me to pursue graduate school and taught me the critical skills I would need to succeed once I got there. Professor Ashby—whose classes were among the most impactful I had in all of my undergraduate and graduate education—became my advisor and mentor when I transitioned into the MA program. I had the good fortune to serve as his teaching assistant and to have him direct my master’s thesis. So much of how I understand history, research and write, and teach come directly from him and his steady guidance. 

What was it like to make the transition from WSU undergraduate to WSU master’s student? Any advice for students thinking about studying at WSU?

Continuing at Washington State University for my master’s degree was one of the best decisions I made in my academic career because it enabled me to work more closely with Professor Ashby. His mentorship, more than anything, prepared me for my PhD work at the University of North Carolina, Chapel Hill. I also had the good fortune to gain valuable teaching experience as a teaching assistant in WSU’s graduate program and forged friendships and connections amongst my cohort that last to this day.

My advice to any student considering graduate school would be to make the most of the connections you are able to cultivate with your professors and colleagues—those will sustain you through the rigors of graduate school and beyond!

What were the fellowships and/or grants that helped you along the way?

One scholarship that was especially meaningful for me was the Howard C. Payne Award (no relation!) for Excellence in Research, which I received for a paper I wrote about Rosa Parks and the Montgomery Bus Boycott. The scholarship of course helped to offset the financial burden of higher education, but perhaps more importantly, the recognition of my work boosted my confidence as a scholar. It was the first direct recognition I received for my research and writing, and the accolades certainly gave me considerable momentum as I moved forward. The strong foundation I received at WSU was also directly responsible for grants and fellowships received at other institutions later on, such as the Scholars for Tomorrow fellowship at UNC-Chapel Hill or the Margaret Storrs Grierson Scholars-in-Residence Fellowship at Smith College.

Can you tell us a little bit about your life after WSU and highlight some of your recent accomplishments?

After I finished my MA at Washington State University, I moved to North Carolina to work on my doctoral degree at UNC-Chapel Hill. While there, I worked closely with my mentor Professor Jacquelyn Dowd Hall, who directed my dissertation, “Love and Liberation: Second-Wave Feminisms and the Problem of Romantic Love.” An article derived from that research was featured in The Journal of Women’s History. I completed my PhD in 2010 and then joined the faculty at Fairmont State University in West Virginia in 2012. While at Fairmont, I have risen to the rank of Professor of History. In 2020, I became the director of the Honors Program at Fairmont State University, and through 2022–2024, I have served as the co-dean of the West Virginia Governor’s Honors Academy—a specialized program for the best –and brightest rising high school seniors in the state. In 2023, I received the William A. Boram Award for Teaching Excellence, which is Fairmont State’s most prestigious teaching award. 

What’s one lesson from your time on the Palouse that you carry with you?

Having spent six years in the midst of those beautiful rolling hills, the Palouse will always hold a special place in my heart. I learned so many important life lessons during those years—lessons about hard work and following your dreams and seizing the moment. But I think the most important lesson I learned was that finding your people makes all the difference. This was especially true of my time in the history graduate program at Washington State University, where the community I forged with my mentors and my colleagues allowed me to thrive and grow as an historian and as a person.

Alumni News

• Cynthia Ross (PhD 2011, World History)
  An assistant professor of history at Texas A&M University-Commerce, was named editor of World History Connected, a free, open access online journal.
• Beth Erdy (PhD 2013)
  Accepted a new position with the National Park Service. She will be Museum Curator for the Pacific West Region of the National Park Service.
• Alicia Callahan (May 2023 graduate)
  Callahan was recognized as one of four Portz Scholars by the National Collegiate Honors Council for her honors thesis, “Soldiers of the Super Sixth,” on the long-term effects of combat and liberating the Nazi concentration camp at Buchenwald on the soldiers of the Sixth Armored Division in World War II. Alicia’s thesis was nominated by the WSU Honors College for this award. Her thesis advisor was Associate Professor Ray Sun. In recognition of her award, Alicia will receive a stipend and will present her research at the 2023 conference of the NCHC in Chicago this November.
• Greg Atkins (PhD 2019)
  Accepted an assistant professor of history position at Fort Hays State University, where for the past four years he worked in administration. He is continuing to revise his dissertation for publication.