A Letter from the History Department Chair – Mike Huner

For much of the past thirty years, Michelle Duram and David Stark enriched the History Department at Grand Valley State University. We lost both to cruel sicknesses this academic year. read more 

What Does the Study of History Mean to You?- Matthew Grace (Class of 2017)

I believe history's primary value comes from its ability to teach us about ourselves and our society. I'm not talking about learning the typical names, dates, and events we all had to memorize in middle school and high school. Instead, I am referring to how history has the power to make us question and reevaluate our core beliefs. read more

Alumni Social Studies Panel Informs Future Teachers about Joys, Challenges of Profession

 A panel of four local educators—all graduates of the Social Studies Program at Grand Valley State—spoke about the teaching profession with current undergraduate students in a wide-ranging panel discussion held at the Alumni House on Monday, March 25, 2024.  Professors Annie Whitlock and Scott Stabler organized the panel for the Alumni Outreach Committee. read more

Two Seniors Use Their Digital Skills to Update Local Historical Websites

Senior Katelyn Fletcher loves to research, and she is good at it.  “I like to organize,” she points out.  A research project is “like a big puzzle.”  She is not alone.  Her fellow senior Hannah Krebs has a similar passion for research, having completed two major digital history projects in the last year. read more

Alumni Spotlight:  Thomn Bell (Class of 2004)

He graduated from Grand Valley State University with a degree in Social Studies in 2004.  While at GVSU, he served as student body president from 2002 to 2003.  After graduating from Grand Valley, Thomn earned an M.S. in Higher Education and Student Affairs and a Ph.D. in Education and Human Services at Colorado State University.  He studied whiteness in the context of critical theories of race and became interested in how to disrupt its effects in education and to promote diversity and inclusion in higher education.  Thomn has worked for the Michigan Department of Education, he has taught at universities, and he has led efforts to promote diversity and address racial injustice in non-profits and higher education.  As such, he has been a leader on these matters and on the front lines of emerging cultural conflicts in our state and nation. read more

David Stark Remembered as Dedicated Mentor and Accomplished Scholar of Colonial Puerto Rico

Professor David M. Stark passed away on the morning of October 19, 2023, in his home. He died after a nearly four-year battle with brain cancer.  David leaves a profound legacy with the Grand Valley State University History Department and the College of Liberal Arts and Sciences as well as GVSU’s Brooks College of Interdisciplinary Studies, and the field of Latin American History at large. read more

Long-Time Department Coordinator Helped Thousands of Students Over Thirty-Four-Year Career at GVSU 

Faculty, staff, and former students mourned former Department Coordinator Michelle Duram, who died on March 26, 2024, from complications due to Alzheimer’s disease.  Professor Dennis Devlin hired Michelle as the coordinator for the History Department in 1990—“one of my very best hires,” he stated.  Before her retirement in 2020, Michelle became the “heart and soul” of the department, in the words of Professor Carolyn Shapiro-Shapin.  read more

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September 27-28th, 2024- Great Lakes History Conference (GLHC)- Intoxicated Warfare: Psychoactive Substances, Violence and Trauma

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Nov 2, 2024- Homecoming

March 15, 2025- Michigan History Day, District 4, hosted at GVSU

April 25-26, 2025-Michigan Council for the Social Studies Conference

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