Scholarships and Awards
Pullman doctoral student Greg Atkins wins multiple awards
Doctoral student Greg Atkins wins the Edward and Margery Bennett History Graduate Scholarship, the William D. Aiken Travel Grant, and the Frederick Dumin Memorial Scholarship. Greg, a fourth-year doctoral candidate, uses the history of Colorado Springs to explore the connections among Christianity, business, and politics in the United States from the late 1800s through today.
Doctoral student Sikang Song earns CAS Doctoral Student Achievement Award in the Humanities
Sikang Song was awarded the 2016 College of Arts and Sciences Doctoral Student Achievement Award in the Humanities. He is an all-but-degree PhD candidate working with former Asia Program director, Dr. David Pietz. His research fields are Modern China, World History, and Global Environmental History. His research focuses on the ecological, social, and cultural constructions of tobacco growing and tobacco industry in North China during the early twentieth century.
Ai Wang (PhD ’14) accepted position at Winona State University
The WSU Department of History is pleased to announce that Ai Wang, who received her PhD in East Asian History, has accepted a tenure-track position at Winona State University, Winona, Minnesota. Her dissertation, “City of the River: The Hai River and the Construction of Tianjin, 1897-1948,″ was under the supervision of Professors David Pietz (now at the University of Arizona), Jeff Sanders, and Heather Streets-Salter (now at Northeastern University, Boston).
Congratulations, Dr. Wang!
Graduate student Jason Hogstad earns CAS Master’s Student Achievement Award
Jason Hogstad was awarded the 2016 College of Arts and Sciences Master’s Student Achievement Award in the Humanities. Jason is an MA student who has finalized his thesis titled “Splitting Hares: Eastern Oregon Pest Control and the Urban/Rural Divide, 1900-1925.” He has also worked as a history educator at the High Desert Museum and with the WSU Athletics Department as a tutor.
Pullman graduate student James Pappas named president of local Phi Alpha Theta History Honors Society
Dr. Karen Phoenix, faculty advisor for the Phi Alpha Theta, Gamma-Psi chapter at WSU, was proud to announce that PAT initiated James Pappas, a graduate student in the History program at WSU Pullman, as next year’s president. James was joined by Samantha Case and welcomed five new initiates on May 4, 2016: Nicole Hayes, Lindell Jonathan Schuh, Jeremy Villars, and Robin Weigel as new undergraduate members.
WSU team wins Washington Consortium for the Liberal Arts PR Campaign contest
The Department of History congratulates one of its majors, Kevin Schilling, as part of the Washington Consortium for the Liberal Arts (WaLA) Public Relations team who was the first to receive a $10,000 award to implement their campaign. This interdisciplinary team competed with other undergraduate students from colleges and universities across the state to design a public relations campaign promoting the value of the liberal arts to the citizens of the state of Washington and the region.
CAS Global Case Competition team will travel to Geneva in November
History/political science major Madeleine Hunter led her CAS Global Case Competition team to first place. Advised by history department faculty member Dr. Ken Faunce, the team looked at the growing number of Americans incarcerated because of debt. As a result of winning this competition, Madeleine, her teammates, and Dr. Faunce will travel to Geneva, Switzerland, in November to present their findings on America’s debtors prisons to a group of United Nations dignitaries.
SURCA 2016 History Student Awardees and Faculty Mentors
The Department of History was well represented in WSU’s largest-ever Showcase for Undergraduate Research and Creative Activities (SURCA) on March 28. We are pleased to announce four students who received prestigious awards.
Spencer Vaughan, WSU Vancouver student, wins Research Award
WSU Vancouver history major Spencer Vaughan was one of three undergraduates to place in the campus-wide (all disciplines) 2016 Research Showcase for his podium presentation, “Fire and Agriculture: A Comparative Analysis of Cultural Practices,” completed under the direction of Dr. Steve Fountain. Vaughan receives a prize of $150.