2011 Events

[Dr. James V. Calvi] Northwestern’s annual Constitution Day Event will be held on Wednesday, September 14, from 6:00 to 8:00 PM in EC 109. Dr. James V. Calvi, Professor of Political Science at West Texas A&M University will portray the character of Alexander Hamilton and describe his efforts to ratify the US Constitution. The event is open to the public and is free of charge. The event is sponsored by the NWOSU Masonic Institute for Citizenship Studies and the NWOSU Social Sciences Department. For more information, call Dr. Aaron Mason at (580) 327-8522.

[Alexander Hamilton] Dr. Eric J. Schmaltz is presenting on Saturday, September 24, at 10:30 AM his paper, “Volk auf dem Weg: The Germans from Russia in the Americas,” at the Forty-sixth Annual Northern Great Plains History Conference held at Minnesota State University at Mankato.

Dr. Eric J. Schmaltz is the featured guest speaker on Sunday, October 9, at 3:00 PM at the annual event of the German Society of Tulsa held in Tulsa, Oklahoma. His talk will be “German-American Day, 2011: Germans in Oklahoma.”

On Monday, October 24, the Institute will hold its annual Cultural Heritage Lecture Series Event. This year’s observance will involve Beverly Kinzie and her new book “Images of America: Early Woods County.” The event will be held from 7:00 to 9:00 PM in the Education Center (EC) 109 on the Alva Campus. Admission is free and open to the public. For more information, contact Dr. Aaron Mason at (580) 327-8522.

Dr. Aaron L. Mason, J. W. Platt and Dr. Eric J. Schmaltz are participating in the 2011 Oklahoma Research Day held on Friday, November 4, at Cameron University in Lawton, Oklahoma. Their abstract with poster is “The American Presidency as Seen through Print Journalism.”

Dr. Aaron L. Mason, Dr. Eric J. Schmaltz and Dr. Tony E. Wohlers are holding a joint panel presentation called “Water Management and Conflicts in Oklahoma: Regulating and Competing for a Limited Resource” at the Oklahoma Political Science Association Annual Meeting held on Thursday-Friday, November 10-11, at Rose State College in Midwest City, Oklahoma.

Dr. Eric J. Schmaltz is the featured guest speaker at the annual commemoration of the German Society of Tulsa held on Sunday, November 13, at 3:00 PM at Fort Reno in El Reno, Oklahoma. His presentation will be “German POWs in Oklahoma on the National Day of Mourning (Volkstrauertag), 2011.”

2012 Events

“Under the Glass Dome:  Studying the Past to Understand the Future”:  Guest Speaker Dr. Steven B. Rogers, US Government Investigator of Nazi-Era Crimes, to Speak on Monday, October 8, 2012, 7:00-9:00 PM at Herod Hall Auditorium in Alva

[Dr. Steven Rogers speaking in Herod Hall Auditorium]
Dr. Steven Rogers speaking in Herod Hall Auditorium for the 2012 Annual Cultural Heritage Lecture Series.

The NWOSU Social Sciences Department and the Institute for Citizenship Studies are pleased to host Dr. Steven B. Rogers on Monday, October 8, 2012, from 7:00 to 9:00 PM at Herod Hall Auditorium on the Alva campus as part of its Annual Cultural Heritage Lecture Series.  Dr. Rogers will discuss his academic background and how it prepared him for a distinguished career in the US federal government in his talk, “Under the Glass Dome:  Studying the Past to Understand the Future.”

Dr. Rogers originates from Chicago and has lived in the Washington, DC area since 1976.  He holds degrees in German, German Literature, and Germanic Studies from Florida Southern College (1974), the University of Arizona (1975), and the University of Maryland (1984).  He also studied at the Pädigogische Hochschule and the Albert-Ludwig-Universität in Freiburg, Germany.

Dr. Rogers’ teaching credentials include courses in German language, literature, and culture at the University of Arizona in Tucson, the University of Maryland at College Park, the University College of Maryland, and the Prince George’s Community College, and for several years he was on the summer faculty at Center for Holocaust Studies at the University of Vermont, and at the Human Rights and Holocaust Center of Maine at Bates College, teaching Holocaust-related courses.

In 1978-1979, Dr. Rogers served as a research analyst for the Special Litigation Unit of the former Immigration and Naturalization Service, a task force established to investigate allegations that individuals who assisted in Nazi-sponsored persecution had entered the United States illegally after World War II.  In 1979, he was hired as the first historian for the newly created Office of Special Investigations (OSI) in the Criminal Division of the US Department of Justice which assumed full jurisdiction for the investigation and prosecution of Nazi persecutors residing in the United States.  During his tenure at OSI, he served as case historian on several proceedings involving Nazi atrocities in Latvia, Lithuania and Estonia.  He also served as acting director for Research and Case Development, and later as Senior Historian for Special Projects.  It was in this latter capacity that he monitored the various US border lookout systems attempting to interdict Nazi persecutors attempting to enter the country.  He served on special task forces investigating the postwar fugitives Klaus Barbie and Josef Mengele, Nazi gold and other Holocaust-era assets (for which he received the Deputy Assistant Attorney General’s Award for Special Initiative), and finally he was OSI’s point man on the review of millions of pages of recently declassified records released by federal agencies to the National Archives and Records Administration.  Dr. Rogers retired from the US Department of Justice in March 2010 after almost 32 years of service.  Today he works as a freelance historian and research consultant on a variety of projects.

Dr. Rogers has written and lectured extensively on the investigation of Nazi war crimes and related topics.  His historical essays, literary criticism pieces, poems, translations, and other publications have appeared in several books, journals and magazines.  He is also the editor of A Gradual Twilight:  An Appreciation of John Haines, published by CavanKerry Press in 2003.  He is currently working on a novel whose focus is the Great Halifax Explosion of 1917.

He and his wife Sally Ann divide their time between homes in historic Mount Rainier, Maryland, and New Gloucester, Maine.

 

[Ceremony at Ft. Reno]
Picture taken by Dr. Eric Schmaltz at the German American Society of Tulsa’s annual commemoration of the National Day of Mourning (Volkstrauertag) for German POWs held at the Fort Reno cemetery on November 13, 2011. Both the Oklahoma Governor’s Color Guard and German armed forces representatives participated in the event. Dr. Schmaltz also served as one of the featured speakers. 

Dr. Eric Schmaltz is presenting the talk “Germans from Russia in Kansas and Family History Research” to the Wichita Golden Wheat Chapter of the American Historical Society of Germans from Russia in Wichita, KS, on Oct. 7, 2012.

Dr. Aaron Mason is the featured speaker on the book American Sphinx:  The Character of Thomas Jefferson by Joseph J. Ellis at “Let’s Talk About It, Oklahoma” discussion group sponsored by the Oklahoma Humanities Council at the Alva Public Library in Alva, OK, on Oct. 15, 2012. 

J. W. Platt is the featured speaker on the book Scandalmonger:  A Novel by William Safire concerning the life of Alexander Hamilton at “Let’s Talk About It, Oklahoma” discussion group sponsored by the Oklahoma Humanities Council at the Alva Public Library in Alva, OK, on Oct. 29, 2012. 

The Social Sciences Department and the NWOSU-Masonic Institute for Citizenship Studies will host Matthew T. Schaefer, M.A., Senior Archivist at the Hoover Presidential

Library in West Branch, Iowa, on April 2, 2012, as its Presidential Lecture Series guest speaker. The Presidential Lecture is scheduled for 7:00 PM at the Graceful Arts Center in downtown Alva. The lecture is open to the public, free of charge. A reception will be held immediately prior to the lecture for the public to meet Mr. Schaefer.

Dr. Eric Schmaltz presents a talk, “The Voices in Exile Have Returned: Recent Scholarship on Ethnic German Letters from the Soviet Union Published on the Great Plains from 1917 to 1937,” for the Society for German-American Studies Annual Symposium held at the University of Kansas-Lawrence, Lawrence, KS, 12-14 Apr. 2012.

Dr. Roger Hardaway is speaking on the topic of black cowboys in the American West at the 14th Biennial Maple Leaf and Eagle Conference on North American Studies, University of Helsinki, Finland, on May 8-11, 2012.  This event explores the definition of “North America as West/The West of North America.”

 

[Dr. Eric Schmaltz at a conference in Portland, OR]
Picture taken during a conference sponsored by the Center for Volga German Studies at Concordia University and held in conjunction with the Forty-third International Convention of the American Historical Society of Germans from Russia in Portland, OR, on June 15-17, 2012. Dr. Schmaltz presented a session paper and moderated for a couple of other sessions at the conference.

Dr. Eric Schmaltz presents “Postcards from Ukraine:  Visiting My Ancestral German Villages in May 2011” to the Northwest Oklahoma Genealogy Society at the Alva Public Library on Saturday, May 12, 2012, at 2 PM.  He considers the villages’ early nineteenth-century historical development and the eventual dissolution of these once vibrant communities under the Soviet and Nazi regimes.  He also highlights some pressing issues facing the region

today.  The presentation utilizes maps and numerous photos from the memorable journey. 

Dr. Eric Schmaltz presents his paper, “Carrots and Sticks ... and Demonstrations:  Yuri Andropov’s Failed Autonomy Plan for the Germans of Soviet Kazakhstan, 1976-1980,” at a conference sponsored by the Center for Volga German Studies at Concordia University and held in conjunction with the Forty-third International Convention of the American Historical Society of Germans from Russia, Portland, OR, 14-17 June 2012.

Dr. Eric Schmaltz is traveling to northern England to present a paper on June 22-23, 2012, at Durham University’s conference on the German Diaspora in Eastern and Central Europe and the Former Soviet Union.  His presentation is called “‘A People on the Move’:  The Germans from Russia Diaspora as a Transnational Community after the Cold War.”  Scholars from Europe and elsewhere will be attending the event.  The organizers plan to publish some of the conference proceedings.

Dr. Eric Schmaltz is presenting “Those Other Germans: Germans from Russia in Oklahoma and Family History Research” to the Oklahoma Genealogical Society in Oklahoma City, OK, on July 2, 2012.

Dr. Roger Hardaway is speaking on the topic of black college hockey players at a black community academic conference held at Saint Mary’s University in Halifax, Nova Scotia, Canada, in July 2012.

 

[Eisenhower House in Abilene, KS]
[Eisenhower statue in Abilene, KS]
Pictures from the Leviathan Society's visit to the Eisenhower Presidential Library and Museum in Abilene, KS, on Saturday, March 9, 2013. All pictures courtesy of Dr. Eric J. Schmaltz.
[Durham University in England]
[Center for Volga German Studies]
Picture taken by Dr. Eric Schmaltz during the Workshop on the German Diaspora in Eastern and Central Europe and the Former Soviet Union sponsored by the School of Government and International Affairs at Durham University, England, on June 22-23, 2012. Dr. Schmaltz presented a session paper and moderated for another session at this time. Included is a scenic view of the historic Durham Cathedral near the train station.
Picture taken by Dr. Eric Schmaltz during a conference sponsored by the Center for Volga German Studies at Concordia University and held in conjunction with the Forty-third International Convention of the American Historical Society of Germans from Russia in Portland, OR, on June 15-17, 2012.  Dr. Schmaltz presented a session paper and moderated for a couple of other sessions at the conference.
[J.W. Platt giving a presentation]
[A group visiting Ft. Larned]
Pictures taken by Dr. Eric Schmaltz and Dr. Aaron Mason during the Secondary School Teachers’ Workshop on the U.S. Civil War hosted by the NWOSU Department of Social Sciences and the Institute for Citizenship Studies in conjunction with the Oklahoma Humanities Council and the National Endowment for the Humanities on June 11-14, 2012, in Alva, OK, and Fort Larned, KS.
[The Alamo at night]
[San Fernando Cathedral, San Antonio, TX]
A night image of the historic Alamo in downtown San Antonio, TX.  Picture taken by Dr. Eric Schmaltz.
San Fernando Cathedral in downtown San Antonio, TX, established in 1738.  The crypt with the supposed remains of Alamo defenders William Travis, Jim Bowie and Davy Crockett are kept inside the church’s left-side entranceway. Picture taken by Dr. Eric Schmaltz.
[The Eisenhower Library in Abilene, KS]

Picture from the Leviathan Society's visit to the Eisenhower Presidential Library and Museum in Abilene, KS, on Saturday, March 9, 2013.  Picture courtesy of Dr. Eric J. Schmaltz. 

2013 Events

Dr. Eric Schmaltz is working as a historical consultant and scriptwriter for a TV documentary on Germans from Russia in South America in association with North Dakota State University Libraries' Germans from Russia Heritage Collection and Prairie Public Broadcasting in Fargo, ND.  He travels to Argentina with the producers and film crew for this project in October 2013.  The documentary's completion date is projected for 2014 or 2015.  As contributing editor to the Germans from Russia in Oregon and Washington (GROW) Newsletter, he also continues to publish a short article series on the history of German-Russians in Argentina and Brazil, some of which will be later developed for the TV documentary and perhaps into a longer journal article.

Dr. Aaron Mason will be giving a talk on Timothy Egan's book "The Worst Hard Time" concerning the 1930s Dust Bowl for the “Let’s Talk About It, Oklahoma” discussion group sponsored by the Oklahoma Humanities Council held at the Alva Public Library in late Sept. 2013.

The NWOSU Social Science Department and Institute for Citizenship Studies is holding its annual fall Cultural Heritage Lecture Series on Thursday, September 26, 2013, from 7:00-8:00 PM at the J.W. Martin Library on the Alva Campus.  This year's speaker is Dr. Bill Corbett, Professor of History at Northeastern State University in Tahlequah, OK.  He has written extensively about the World War II Prisoners of War Camps in Oklahoma.  Local community and state groups and NWOSU Social Science Department members have been recently coordinating efforts to preserve the Alva POW Camp's remaining structures and its history for the region.

Dr. Justin Olmstead is delivering a paper entitled “Acquiring America:  The Diplomatic Battle for the United States, 1914-1917” at the Mid-West World History Association held at Wittenberg University in Springfield, OH, on Sept. 27-28, 2013.

Dr. Aaron Mason will be giving a book talk on the subject of the Battle of Antietam during the U.S. Civil War for the “Let’s Talk About It, Oklahoma” discussion group sponsored by the Oklahoma Humanities Council in Woodward, OK, on Sept. 19, 2013.

The NWOSU Social Science Department and the Institute for Citizenship Studies is hosting the annual Constitution Day program at the Alabaster Room in Vinson Hall in Alva on Tuesday, September 17, 2013, from 2:00-3:00 PM.  This year’s topic will be “Historical Considerations of the Separation of Church and State:  The First Amendment and Religious Freedom.”  Dr. Aaron Mason and Dr. Eric Schmaltz will lead the discussion in honor of the 226th Anniversary of the signing of the US Constitution.

Dr. Eric Schmaltz is presenting the talk "Germans from Russia in South America:  New Research Frontiers" at two sessions of the Germans from Russia Heritage Society Annual Convention held in Bismarck, ND, on July 19-20, 2013.

Dr. Roger Hardaway is presenting on an American West history topic at an international academic conference held in Budapest, Hungary, in late June 2013.

Dr. Aaron Mason is serving as an associate editor for the Oklahoma Political Science Association's annual volume Oklahoma Politics.  Fellow Institute member Dr. Tony Wohlers at Cameron University in Lawton, OK, is also the journal's chief editor.

Dr. Eric Schmaltz is presenting the talk “‘The Long Trek’ of Ethnic Germans from Soviet Ukraine to Nazi-Occupied Poland between 1943 and 1945” at the spring gathering of the Golden Spread Chapter of the American Historical Society of Germans from Russia in Shattuck, OK, on April 21, 2013.

Dr. Aaron Mason will be speaking to the Friends of the Alva Public Library on Monday, April 15, 2013, on the classic historical novel "In Cold Blood" by Truman Capote.

Dr. Roger Hardaway is presenting on the topic of "Buffalo Soldiers" on Thursday, February 14, at a Rotary Club Luncheon Meeting in Alva, OK.

On Saturday, January 19, 2013, Dr. Eric J. Schmaltz will give a presentation at the Research at the Oklahoma  History Center in Oklahoma City on “Germans from Russia in Oklahoma and Family History Research.”  His focus will be on family history research of descendants of German-Russian heritage in Oklahoma and the Great Plains states. He will give a brief history of the migration of German-Russians into the region and then highlight some of the key publications, archival records, heritage and professional organizations, Websites, and family history research trends of this group today.

2014 Events 

The NWOSU Social Sciences Department is fortunate this year to have three major awards going to our departmental students.  Jose Martinez, a political science major, has been named The Brad Henry Scholar and will spend a year studying in Wales.  Kylie Pethoud is the Oklahoma State Legislative Intern and the Newman Civic Engagement Award Winner.  Kylie will intern with Senator Bryce Marlatt during the final weeks of the legislative session.  Kylie is a Social Work major and Political Science minor.  Josie Hasenauer, a Social Science major, is the recipient of a Congressional Internship and will spend the summer in Washington D.C. interning with Senator Mike Johanns of Nebraska.

Dr. Aaron Mason, associate professor of political science, and Dr. Eric Schmaltz, associate professor of history at Northwestern Oklahoma State University, co-authored a recent article in the interdisciplinary Journal of Environmental Assessment Policy and Management published out of United Kingdom.  The article, “Tragedy of the Commons Meets the Anti-Commons:  Water Management and Conflict on the Southern Plains of the United States,” treats the policy challenges of administering precious natural water resources in the region today.  The findings make clear that political decision-makers at all levels will increasingly have to take into account water policy matters. 

Mason and Schmaltz collaborated with colleagues Dr. Tony Wohlers of Cameron University in Lawton and Dr. John Wood at Rose State College in Midwest City.  Both Wohlers and Woods are also involved with the NWOSU Institute for Citizenship Studies, which is co-directed by Mason and Schmaltz.

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In connection with the Leviathan Society of the Northwestern Oklahoma State University Social Sciences Department and Institute for Citizenship Studies, Dr. Aaron Mason, associate professor of political science, and Dr. Eric Schmaltz, associate professor of history, recently accompanied two students to the Spiro Mounds Archeological Center near Spiro, OK. 

The group included Harold Henson, Alva sophomore; and Ralyssa Taylor, Alva sophomore.

The group took a scheduled tour through the Archeological Center before walking the trail site, which consists of twelve mounds as well as the recreation of a traditional house.  Spiro was one of the major centers of Native North America’s Mississippian Civilization, containing at its peak a total population of over 10,000.  With a wide trade network spanning much of what is now the continental United States, Spiro flourished between the 800s and 1400s A.D.

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In early fall 2009 Mason and Schmaltz established the Leviathan Society at Northwestern. This informal group in the Social Sciences Department encourages students interested in topics on government, politics and history to participate in campus sponsored activities and trips.  It consists of students majoring in political science and history, though membership is open to students of all majors.

For more information about the Leviathan Society or the Institute, contact Mason at mason@nwosu.edu or (580) 327-8522 or Schmaltz at ejschmaltz@nwosu.edu or (580) 327-8526.

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Dr. Justin Olmstead is presenting paper entitled “Peace, a Tactical Approach:  How Britain and Germany Abused the Promise of Peace during the First World War” at the International Conference “The Advocates of Peace, 1899-1917” in Paris, France, in Jan. 2014.  It is sponsored by the University of Paris-Est and the German Historical Institute.

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Dr. Aaron Mason gave a public talk on the subject of President Abraham Lincoln at a local women's group on Friday, January 17, 2014, in Alva, OK.

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At the beginning of March 2014, Dr. Roger Hardaway spoke on Black Army Soldiers at a gathering in Watonga, OK.

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The Social Sciences Department and the NWOSU Citizenship Institute are proud to bring to the Alva Campus, Dr. Gregory Cumming, Supervisory Archivist at the Richard Nixon Presidential Library.  Dr. Cumming will present this year’s annual Presidential Lecture titled “Richard Nixon: Meet the Man You Do Not Know” on March 27, 2014, at 7:00 p.m. in the Education Center Room 109.

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Dr. Eric Schmaltz presents on the topic of "Wrought Iron-Cross Cemeteries of the Germans from Russia" before the Golden Spread Chapter of the American Historical Society of Germans from Russia on Sunday, April 6, 2014, 12:30 PM, in Shattuck, OK.  He will provide brief opening commentary to Dr. Timothy Kloberdanz's well-received 2002 video documentary, "Prairie Crosses, Prairie Voices:  Iron Crosses of the Great Plains."

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Dr. Eric Schmaltz gives a public talk with Power Point on Saturday, April 26, 2014, 10 AM, at the Sod Museum in Aline, OK, entitled, "Germans from Russia in South America:  New Research Frontiers."

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Dr. Eric Schmaltz reflects with Power Point  on “A Historic October 2013 Tour of German-Russian Settlements in Argentina” on Sunday, April 27, 2014, 1:30 PM, to the Golden Wheat Chapter of the American Historical Society of Germans from Russia in Wichita, KS. 

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Dr. Eric Schmaltz and Dr. Justin Olmstead are each presenting a paper at the annual World History Association Conference under the theme of "Licit and Illicit Transnational Networks in World History" held at the University of Costa Rica in San Jose, Costa Rica, on Tuesday-Friday, July 15-18, 2014. Dr. Olmstead will speak on "Changing Definitions and Opinions:  Britain, the United States and the Restriction of Trade during the First World War," while Dr. Schmaltz discusses "The Transnational Exchange of Ideas:  The Ethnic German Dissident and Emigration Movement’s Impact on Soviet Domestic and Foreign Policy, 1972-1987."  They also hope to visit fellow Institute colleague Dr. Mario Carvajal of Costa Rica while there!  For more information, please see the conference link:  http://www.thewha.org/event/23rd-annual-wha-conference-costa-rica-2014/

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Dr. Eric Schmaltz presents two papers at the Germans from Russia Heritage Society's annual convention held on Wednesday-Sunday, July 23-27, 2014, in Spokane, WA.  His first talk will be as keynote speaker:  "Coming ‘Full Circle’:  South America’s Germans from Russia and Other 21st-Century Reflections on Our Global Diaspora."  His second will be a session presentation called, "The Ethnic German Dissident and Emigration Movement’s Impact on Soviet Domestic and Foreign Policy, 1972-1987."

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Dr. Eric J. Schmaltz presents twice on August 2, 2014, at a conference hosted by the Center for Volga German Studies (Concordia University, Portland, Oregon) and held at Bethany College in Lindsborg, KS.  The conference theme is “Celebrating the 250th Anniversary of the Founding of the First Volga German Colony.”  His discussions are “The Ethnic German Dissident and Emigration Movement’s Impact on Soviet Domestic and Foreign Policy, 1972-1987” and “Reform, ‘Rebirth,’ and Regret:  A Brief History of the Former USSR’s Ethnic Germans in the Last Days of Communism, the Post-Cold War, and Beyond, 1988 to the Present.”  See the Center’s Website for more information:  http://cvgs.cu-portland.edu/events/2014Aug2.cfm

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Dr. Eric J. Schmaltz is a featured speaker on Saturday, August 9, 2014, at the All-State Meeting of the Central Oklahoma Chapter of the American Historical Society of Germans from Russia held at the Edmond Mennonite Church in Edmond, OK.   His presentation is called “Ethnic Germans and the Recent Crimean and Ukrainian Crises in Historical Context.”

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The NWOSU Social Sciences Department extends a public invitation to attend the Annual Cultural Heritage Lecture Series set for September 17, 2014, at 7:00 p.m. in the Student Center Ballroom on the NWOSU Alva Campus.  Lance McDaniel, Executive Director of the deadCENTER Film Festival organization, will be the event’s featured guest lecturer.  Mr. McDaniel’s lecture will focus on Oklahoma’s Heritage as Film Genre and the growing film industry in Oklahoma.  He will also discuss his career path from Oscar winning films in Los Angeles to low budget independent films made in Oklahoma.   He has earned degrees from Stanford University and Oklahoma City University.  His career in film directing and producing is significant.  Lance is an Alva native and an independent filmmaker who has worked on 14 feature films, including Oscar winner Million Dollar Baby. Lance’s documentary about the 2010 governor’s race, First & Female, was nominated for two Emmy Awards, and, his latest film, Light from the Darkroom, is a religious thriller set in Panama, but filmed in Oklahoma that will screen September 18 at Alva's Rialto Twin Theatre. 

In addition to the Cultural Heritage Lecture on September 17, Mr. McDaniel and his staff are working with the Alva Cultural Enterprise District to host the First Annual Salt Fork Film Festival.  As part of the film festival, deadCENTER will present two workshops on the NWOSU Alva campus from 1:30 to 5:00 in the Student Center Ballroom.  Workshop #1 begins at 1:30 p.m. and workshop #2 begins at 3:15 p.m.  Students, faculty, and the general public are invited to participate in these workshops which discuss film making, directing, production, and acting. 

On September 18, deadCENTER will sponsor a series of film making workshops with Alva High School students.  The evening of September 18, deadCENTER will feature film viewings at the Rialto Theater in downtown Alva.  There is no cost to attend and all events are open to the public.

For more information about the Cultural Heritage Lecture or the Salt Fork Film Festival please contact Dr. Kay Decker at 580-327-8521 or Matt Adair at 580-327-8456 in the Mass Communications Department.

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Dr. Kay Decker is the Chair of the Inaugural Salt Fork Film Festival to be held on September 17-18 featuring deadCENTER Film Festival staff and Executive Director, Lance McDaniel.  Film workshops, the Cultural Heritage Lecture, Films, and Receptions will take place in a variety of venues over the two-day period.

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Dr. Aaron Mason will be giving a presentation for the “Let’s Talk About It, Oklahoma!” discussion group sponsored by the Oklahoma Humanities Council.  The lecture is the “Prince Among Slaves” at the Woodward Library on Thursday, September 18, 2014, at 7:00 PM.  The book “Prince Among Slaves” tells the story of Abdulrahman Ibrahim Ibn Sori, a West African prince who was made a slave in the United States and freed forty years later.  Based on a biography by Northern Virginia Community College history professor Terry Alford, the book chronicles Abdulrahman’s true life African-Muslim-prince-turned-American-slave drama cycle with historical and scholarly commentary along the way. 

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The NWOSU Social Science Department and the Institute for Citizenship Studies is hosting the annual Constitution Day program at the Alabaster Room in Vinson Hall in Alva on Monday, September 22, 2014, from 2:00-3:00 PM.  Dr. Aaron Mason will direct the discussion in honor of the 227th Anniversary of the signing of the US Constitution.

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Dr. Aaron Mason will be giving a presentation for the “Let’s Talk About It, Oklahoma!” discussion group sponsored by the Oklahoma Humanities Council.  His discussion is called “Making Sense of the Civil War,” based on the James McPherson book “Crossroads of Freedom.”  It will held at the Alva Public Library on Monday, October 6, 2014, at 7:00 PM.

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On Saturday, October 11, 2014, Dr. Eric J. Schmaltz gives two presentations at the “2014 Kansas Roundup” in connection with Fort Hays State University’s Volga German Society Oktoberfest in Hays, KS.   His afternoon presentation will be “Germans from Russia in Argentina and Brazil.”  His evening banquet talk is entitled “Coming ‘Full Circle’:  South America’s Germans from Russia and Other 21st-Century Reflections on Our Global Diaspora.”  For more event information, please see:  http://www.germancapitalofkansas.com/index.asp?DocumentID=693

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Dr. Kay Decker will be speaking at the Oklahoma Arts Council-Statewide Arts Conference.  She will join Ron Frantz and Hope Mander as a panel discussant in the “Our Town, Revitalized: The Oklahoma Cultural District Initiative” session on October 23, 2014, in Norman, Oklahoma.

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Dr. Kay Decker wrote and was awarded a $60,000.00 USDA Rural Business Enterprise Grant for the Downtown Revitalization Project in Alva sponsored by Freedom West CDC.  The announcement was received in August 2014

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Dr. Kay Decker wrote and was awarded a $7,400.00 Cultural Enterprise District Year #2 Planning Grant.  This grant is for year #2 activities of the 3-year program for the City of Alva.  This funding was received from the Oklahoma Arts Council. 

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Dr. Aaron L. Mason, associate professor of political science, and Dr. Eric J. Schmaltz, associate professor of history, gave a joint presentation "Comparative Federalism between the Former Soviet Union, the Russian Federation and the United States: Ethnic Minority Rights and Sovereignty in the Case of Ethnic Germans and the Cherokee Nation" at the annual conference of the Oklahoma Political Science Association (OPSA) held on November 6-7, 2014, at Redlands Community College in El Reno, Oklahoma. Both hope to develop further the presentation into a viable research article for the OPSA's annual journal "Oklahoma Politics." One conference highlight was Mason winning this year's OPSA Teacher of the Year Award.  

 2015 Events

Dr. Aaron Mason will be delivering his paper, "The Thirteenth Amendment:  Reconsidering Its Origins and Impacts," at the Oklahoma Political Science Association's (OPSA) Annual Meeting held at the University of Central Oklahoma in Edmond on November 5, 2015.

On Thursday, October 22, 2015, Dr. Aaron Mason led his second fall discussion this year for the “Let’s Talk about It, Oklahoma” event.  Held on NWOSU’s Woodward Campus, the discussion concerned The American Café, a novel by Sara Sue Hoklotubbe.

Dr. Aaron Mason is presenting a paper entitled “Executive Power and Executive Orders” at the Iowa Conference on Presidential Politics held on the campus of Dordt College in Sioux Center, Iowa, on October 29-31, 2015.

At 7:00 PM on Monday, September 21, 2015, Dr. Aaron Mason will be the featured speaker at the "Let's Talk About It, Oklahoma:  Native American Writers of the Plains" event scheduled at the Alva Public Library.  He will be discussing the book Fool's Crow by James Welch.  The Inasmuch Foundation and the Kirkpatrick Family Fund provide generous funding for these programs.  For more event information, please call the Alva Public Library at 580-327-1833. 

A Northwestern Oklahoma State University graduate student recently presented a paper at an international academic conference in Europe.

Sarah Hardaway, who will receive her Master of Arts degree in American Studies in December, attended the “Tenth International Conference on Social Sciences” at the University of Split in Split, Croatia, June 11-14.

Hardaway, who is a museum assistant at the Cherokee Strip Regional Heritage Center in Enid, presented “The Filibuster in the United States Senate.” Her paper evolved from research she conducted in a political science class taught by Northwestern’s Associate Professor Aaron Mason.

Hardaway said she enjoyed the opportunity to attend her first international conference and interact with scholars from all over the world.

“Academics attending the conference came from 47 different countries,” Hardaway said.

In addition, Hardaway noted that the experience of traveling to an eastern European country made the experience even more rewarding.

“Visiting Croatia was an incomparable cultural experience,” she said. “Reading every book written about the country couldn’t teach me what I learned from seeing it with my own eyes.”

One of the scholars that Hardaway met at the conference was Ivo Josipovic, a professor of law at the University of Zagreb who served as president of Croatia from February 2010 to February 2015.

“Meeting President Josipovic, who is an eminent scholar as well as a dynamic political leader, was definitely the highlight of the conference,” Hardaway said.

Hardaway also said that she hopes to present additional research papers at other academic conferences in the future. For more information on graduate programs at Northwestern please contact the Coordinator of Graduate Studies Rebekah Wagenbach at (580) 327-8410 or by email at rmwagenbach@nwosu.edu. 

At 3:00 PM on Sunday, October 4, 2015, Dr. Eric J. Schmaltz is going to be the featured speaker at the annual German-American Day hosted by the German American Society of Tulsa.  The event will be held at the Society's headquarters located at 15th & Terrace Drive in Tulsa, Oklahoma.  It is free and open to the public and will be followed by a short reception.  For more information, please contact the Society at (918) 744-6997. 

Northwestern Student Completes Internship with Senator

One history major from Northwestern Oklahoma State University completed an Oklahoma Legislative Internship with Sen. Bryce Marlatt this past May.

[Jordan Evans with Senator Bryce Marlatt] Pictured is Jordan Evans (left) after completing and Oklahoma Legislative Internship with Senator Bryce Marlatt.

Alva campus senior Jordan Evans, from Edmond, spent five days at the Capitol. The Social Sciences Department and the Northwestern Citizenship Institute sponsor legislative and congressional interns each year to qualified students in the Social Sciences Department.

“Going into the internship I was definitely worried,” Evans said. “The Capitol is a pretty intimidating place. After meeting the senator and the others I would be working with, I became much more comfortable and began to enjoy my time there.”

Students can spend anywhere from one week to three months working in the Oklahoma State Capitol or the United States Capitol learning about legislative- and budget-setting processes.

“I had many memorable moments while interning for the senator,” Evans said. “I sat in on the voting of the Indian Cultural Center in downtown Oklahoma City; I went on the Senate floor and met the other senators; but the most memorable moment was going to lunch with the senator, the office manager and some of the lobbyists. The experience showed me how building relationships with those you work around is one of the most important aspects of the job.”

Evans is interested in a political career, more specifically in the public sector.

“Even if it were not a full time job, I feel very drawn to aid my community in any way I can. By becoming involved in government, whether it is at the local, state or national level, we can help shape the environment around us.
“The experience opened my eyes to the variety of career options that would still allow me to help the public,” Evans said.

After the internship, Evans’ perspective changed on the legislative process.

“I definitely have a better appreciation for how the legislative process works and for some of the added things that I would not have considered,” Evans said. “Having a book knowledge on the legislature gave me an idea of what to expect, but getting the hands-on experience really deepened my understanding.”

For more information on this internship opportunity or the Department of Social Sciences, please contact Dr. Kay Decker, chair, at (580) 327-8521 or kldecker@nwosu.edu.

 Phi Alpha Theta Inducts Three Northwestern Students

Three Northwestern Oklahoma State University students have been inducted into the Phi Alpha Theta honor society.

Those inducted include Rance Castleberry, Alva senior; Dylan VanCuren, Ponca City senior; and April Smith, a senior from Lucien.

The purpose of Phi Alpha Theta is to promote the study of history through the encouragement of research, good teaching, publication and the exchange of learning and ideas.

Dr. Roger Hardaway, professor of history, has been the adviser to Northwestern’s Phi Alpha Theta chapter since 2004.

Hardaway explained that membership is open to only a few students each year.

“Members do not have to be history majors, but they do have to take several courses in the discipline and also have excellent grades,” Hardaway said. “By being selective in its membership, Phi Alpha Theta ensures that being inducted into the organization is truly an honor.”

Phi Alpha Theta was organized in 1921 at the University of Arkansas and has more than 850 chapters throughout the United States. Currently, more than 900,000 people, including all current Northwestern history professors, are members.

“These three students are to be commended for maintaining good grades and for upholding the lofty goals of Phi Alpha Theta,” Hardaway said.

For more information contact Hardaway at (580) 327-8520 or by e-mail at rdhardaway@nwosu.edu.

On November 18-19, 2015, Dr. Eric Schmaltz is presenting his paper, “What’s in a Name?:  Russian Germans, German Russians, or Germans from Russia, and the Challenges of Hybrid Identities,” at the academic conference “Russian Germans in a Comparative Context:  New Research Perspectives” in Berlin, Germany, hosted by the Federal Institute for Culture and History of Germans in Eastern Europe.  Schmaltz will be discussing the development of ethnic German from Russia identity and self-identification in North America as it took shape by the late 1960s and early 1970s.

April 29, 2015

 

Josi Hasenauer, a senior at Northwestern Oklahoma State University, is among 201 students from 36 states who have been

[Josi Hasenauer] Josi Hasenauer, named as Newman Civic Fellow.

named as Newman Civic Fellows in recognition for service to their local communities. 

The Newman Civic Fellows program was established by Campus Compact in honor of co-founder Frank Newman, who dedicated his life to creating opportunities for student civic learning and engagement.

The award is designed to recognize college students who have demonstrated an investment in finding solutions for the challenges faced by communities across the nation through service, research and advocacy. Each of Oklahoma’s fellows will receive a $500 scholarship from Oklahoma Campus Compact. Students are nominated by their college or university president.

“Josi exhibits outstanding campus and community involvement,” said Dr. Janet Cunningham, university president. “She is serving as an AmeriCorps Tutor at Alva Middle School and will become a social sciences teacher after she graduates.”

“She served as an intern for U.S. Sen. Mike Johanns (Nebraska) in Washington D.C., this past summer and is passionate about investing time in the lives of students.”

Hasenauer is committed to positive change in her role as a student and beyond.

“When I was younger, I always told my friends and family I was going to be President of the United States,” Hasenauer said. “I thought if I was President then I could change the world. I now know I don’t need a title to change the world or a person’s life. What I do every day on campus, in schools, and in the community is changing the world - one conversation, one problem, one smile at a time.”

“Through tutoring students at the middle school, I am changing lives of students by encouraging them to believe in themselves, work hard, find value in the little things (even the negatives count), and show them how fun learning can be. I am changing people’s lives by investing my time and energy to support their dreams, see them for who they are, and listen to them."

 

Dr. Eric J. Schmaltz is presenting his talk, “What’s in a Name?:  Russian Germans, German Russians, or Germans from Russia,” as part of the panel on “Germans from Russia” with Dr. Ann Braaten and Dr. Jessica Clark at the Fiftieth Annual Northern Great Plains History Conference hosted by the State Historical Society of North Dakota and Bismarck State College, in Bismarck, ND, on 1-3 Oct. 2015.  Dr. Clark also serves as an NWOSU Institute member.
 

Dr. Eric J. Schmaltz is the featured speaker at the Iowa Wild Rose Chapter of the American Historical Society of Germans from Russia in Des Moines, IA, on 26 July 2015.  His topic is “The Germans from Russia in South America.”

 

 

The NWOSU Institute for Citizenship Studies and Social Sciences Department are planning a short program for April 14, 2015, at 1:30 p.m. at the Lincoln Bust on the Herod Hall Lawn on the Alva campus.  This program is to recognize the 150th Anniversary of Lincoln’s Death and the 100th Anniversary of the gift of the Lincoln Bust to NWOSU by the Graduating Class of 1915.  A short recitation of the Gettysburg Address will be given and information about the influence of President Lincoln on the United States will be provided.  Handouts describing the Lincoln Stained Glass windows at the First United Methodist Church here in Alva will also be made available.

 

This program is open to the entire campus community and the general public.  Following the program, the film, "Lincoln," will be shown in Jesse Dunn Rm. 306.  We invite each of you to attend.
 

 Judge Richard J. Rinebolt Estate bequests gift to Northwestern Foundation (NWOSU Foundation Release)

 

The late Judge J. Rinebolt of Findlay, Ohio, has bequeathed $2,500 to the Northwestern Foundation & Alumni Association that will be used to create an endowment to benefit the Institute for Citizenship Studies.  Rinebolt, originally from Ohio, found himself in Alva after enlisting in the Army Air Corps during World War II. At that time, Northwestern was the site of the 92nd C.T.D., college training detachment, where Rinebolt learned to fly the P-51 Mustang fighter plane that would take him on 30 missions over France and Germany.

After the war, Rinebolt travelled back to Ohio and completed law school at Ohio Northern University and was admitted to the Ohio bar in 1948. He worked in general law practice until 1956 when he began his tenure as a prosecutor. Rinebolt was appointed a judge of Findlay Municipal Court by the governor in 1976. He continued his judgeship through 1997.

The endowment from Rinebolt will help defray the costs associated with guest speakers on campus, as well as financially assisting various student organizations such as Pi Sigma Alpha, Phi Alpha Theta and the Leviathan Society. The money also will assist Northwestern’s Department of Social Sciences research efforts.

“On behalf of the Institute for Citizenship Studies, I wish to express my deep appreciation to Judge Rinebolt and his family for the thoughtful and generous act by which he has honored the University,” said Dr. Aaron Mason, associate professor of political science and co-director of the Institute for Citizenship Studies. “His life and example serve as an eloquent testimony to the proper definition of good citizenship and community service.”

The Institute for Citizenship Studies is an organization that tasks itself with fostering civic engagement through public service, promoting annual events such as Constitution Day, the Cultural Heritage Lecture Series and the Presidential Lecture Series.

 

 

Dr. Roger Hardaway recently published an article entitled “Black Hockey Players in Europe.”  It appears in the current edition of The Journal of Hockey Research of the Society for International Hockey Research in Toronto, Ontario, Canada.

 

[Nach Ubersee Cover] In early 2015, the German Cultural Forum of Eastern Europe in Potsdam, Germany, is publishing Dr. Eric Schmaltz’s article, “Deutsche aus Russland in Amerika—Eine Geschichte der Selbstbehauptung und Transformation” [“Germans from Russia in America:  A Story of Retention and Transformation”] in the new book Nach Übersee—Deutschsprachige Auswanderer aus dem östlichen Europa um 1900 [Overseas:  German-Speaking Emigrants from Eastern Europe around 1900].  The short article is based on his presentation to the Forum in December 2010 in Potsdam, Germany.  The book cover also includes one of Dr. Schmaltz’s historic family photographs taken in 1920s North Dakota.   For more information, go online to:  http://www.kulturforum.info/de/article/1020652.nach-uebersee.html.

 

 

The Northwestern Oklahoma State University Institute for Citizenship Studies and the Department of Social Sciences proudly announce their annual Presidential Lecture Series topic for 2015 – “Franklin Delano Roosevelt.”  The program is set for Monday, March 23, at 7:00 PM in the Joe J. Struckle Education Center, Room 109, at Northwestern-Alva. This event is free and open to the public.

Speaking on one of America’s most important and transformative chief executives is Dr. George McJimsey, emeritus professor of history from Iowa State University in Ames and the acclaimed author of numerous books.  His notable works include:  Genteel Partisan: Manton Marble 1834-1917 (Ames:  Iowa State University Press, 1971); The Dividing and Reuniting of America, 1848-1877 (Kansas City and Chicago:  Forum Press/Harlan Davidson Press, 1979/1985); Harry Hopkins:  Ally of the Poor and Defender of Democracy (Cambridge, Massachusetts:  Harvard University Press, 1987); and The Presidency of Franklin D. Roosevelt (Lawrence:  University Press of Kansas, 2000).  McJimsey is well-known and respected among Franklin Roosevelt scholars and will be a great complement to our FDR theme this spring. 

For more information, call the Institute for Citizenship Studies office at (580) 327-8525 or email mason@nwosu.edu.

Dr. Eric Schmaltz will be giving a Power Point discussion on his October 2014 trip to Kansas called “A Visual Tour of Hays and Victoria, Ellis County, Kansas:  Volga German Iron Crosses and the Cathedral of the Plains” to the Golden Spread Chapter of the American Historical Society of Germans from Russia in Shattuck, Oklahoma, at 1:00 PM on April 19, 2015, at the Senior Citizens Center.

Dr. Eric Schmaltz will be presenting on “Russia’s Kaliningrad Enclave:  Debates over Free-Trade Zones and Settlement of Ethnic Germans (1990-2000)” to the American Historical Society of Germans from Russia (AHSGR) Chapter of Portland, Oregon, on May 23, 2015.

Dr. Eric Schmaltz will be giving a session presentation called “Die Heimat in South America:  Germans from Russia in Argentina and Brazil” at the Forty-sixth International Convention of the American Historical Society of Germans from Russia (AHSGR) in Billings, Montana, on July 17-18, 2015.  It will coincide with the new documentary film on the topic which premieres this summer and is produced by the North Dakota State University Libraries Germans from Russia Heritage Collection and Prairie Public Broadcasting in Fargo.  Dr. Schmaltz is serving as a historical consultant to the documentary.

Dr. Zuhdi Jasser, specializing in internal medicine and nuclear cardiology in Phoenix, Arizona, a former Lt. Commander in the United States Navy, and founder of the American Islamic Forum for Democracy, will serve as Northwestern Oklahoma State University’s Constitution Day speaker on Thursday, September 17, 2015, on the Enid campus.  Dr. Jasser is a nationally recognized speaker and activist, appearing on numerous cable network programs.  He is also author of the recent book, A Battle for the Soul of Islam:  An American Muslim Patriot’s Fight to Save His Faith.

 

More event information will be forthcoming early in the 2015 fall term.  Dr. Jasser’s Website is:  http://aifdemocracy.org/.

Dr. Eric J. Schmaltz makes his first journey to Africa on Thursday-Saturday, September 24-26, 2015, to present at the University of Ghana in Accra for the Inaugural and First Biennial Conference of the Pan-African Association for Asian Studies in Africa (A-ASIA) in cooperation with the International Convention of Asian Scholars (ICAS):  “Asian Studies in Africa:  The Challenges and Prospects of a New Axis of Intellectual Interaction.”  Dr. Schmaltz will be speaking on the political development and cultural status of the large minority of ethnic Germans in Soviet Kazakhstan for an international panel on ethnic Germans in Central Asia led by Dr. J. Otto Pohl of the University of Ghana, who is also a NWOSU Institute member.  See Website: http://africas.asia/

2016 Events

November 28, 2016

In the last half of 2016, Dr. Eric Schmaltz, professor of history at Northwestern Oklahoma State University and co-executive director of the endowed NWOSU Institute for Citizenship Studies, presented at a number of conferences from coast to coast.

[Pauline Schlegel Lehl in Russia] Following discussions related to national minority policies in the former Soviet Union at international conferences held this past summer in Concord, California, and Rapid City, South Dakota, Schmaltz presented in mid-November at the Annual Convention of the Association for Slavic, East European, and Eurasian Studies (ASEEES) hosted in Washington, D.C. His paper titled “Letters to Pauline (Schlegel) Lehl: Family Correspondences from Russia to Oklahoma, 1913-1937” was invited as part of a special academic panel concerning early Soviet-era letter exchanges from Russia and the Soviet Union to North America.

PICTURED RIGHT: Volga German immigrant Pauline (Schlegel) Lehl (1893-1982) from Russia in 1913.

Schmaltz has been investigating a large corpus of 180 handwritten letters mailed between 1913 and 1937 from Russia’s Saratov Province in the Volga Region and elsewhere to rural Ingersoll and Alva.

“Though now virtually forgotten, Ingersoll, which was Volga German immigrant Pauline (Schlegel) Lehl’s initial place of residence, claimed a post office until 1942,” he explained. “Original envelopes stamped and delivered from Russia show that her relatives’ early letters arrived in Ingersoll, and later on in Alva after she was married to her husband, William.”

This large body of correspondences from family and friends spanned the period preceding the First World War’s outbreak to Soviet Communist dictator Joseph Stalin’s Great Terror. The preserved letters offer a glimpse into daily life during one of the most transformative and violent eras in modern world history. Sometimes through subversive writing techniques and coded language to avoid official censors, they related to the outside what was happening inside the old country.

[Envelope from the letters]

PICTURED LEFT: An original envelope from December 1914 mailed from Russia to Ingersoll, Oklahoma. 

Schmaltz noted that part of the family story is tied to the University of Kansas in Lawrence.

“Between 1988 and 1992, this branch of the Lehl family in Kansas was able to enlist the professional services of Dr. Eugenia Felton, a noted Russian linguist of Estonian background who had worked for many years at the university and who is now passed away,” he said. “In 1994, the family reproduced her handwritten translations on typewriter for a self-publication. Around this time, after the Cold War, the family had the good fortune through a Russian pen pal to reconnect with surviving relatives in the former Soviet Union. After both sides of the family reunited, most of the original letters were returned as a gift to family in Russia.”

In October 2013, immigrant Pauline (Schlegel) Lehl’s granddaughter, retired educator Ella Marie (Lehl) Frederick of Wichita, Kansas, generously donated to Schmaltz one of only two original typed sets of the entire letter collection for the expressed purpose of historical preservation. He has now completed a digital scan of all original typed and translated manuscripts, as well as the handful of remaining original documents such as envelopes and letters, for further editing as part of an anticipated published book compilation and related projects.

[family letter] PICTURED RIGHT: Part of an original family letter in Russian written in May 1919.

“This collection represents one of my larger, long-term projects,” Schmaltz said. “It is an enormous honor and privilege to be involved with sharing to the public this incredible family treasure that still bears witness to major historical events nearly one century ago and that embodies the enduring power of the human spirit across space and time.”

During spring term and beyond, Schmaltz plans to present other talks on the Lehl letter collection, including at the Cherokee Strip Regional Heritage Center in Enid and the 2017 Annual Meeting of the Oklahoma Historical Society (OHS) held at the Cherokee Nation’s Hard Rock Hotel and Casino in Catoosa. He also hopes eventually to publish his findings as an article in the Society’s quarterly journal, “The Chronicles of Oklahoma.”

For more information on Schmaltz’s upcoming talks contact him at (580) 327-8526 or ejschmaltz@nwosu.edu.

[Student Visits Kelsey, Hardaway, Schmaltz and Decker]

U.S. Congressional Staffer, Hannah Dirks, departmental alumna, visiting faculty members (left to right: Ken Kelsey, Dr. Roger Hardaway, Dr. Eric Schmaltz, and Dr. Kay Decker) in Jesse Dunn Hall on November 22, 2016.

On November 10-11, Dr. Aaron Mason will be presenting at the 2016 meeting of the Oklahoma Political Science Association (OPSA) held at Oklahoma City University. The paper is entitled “An Interpretation of the Constitutional Theory of American Indian Tribes and Its Ramifications for Modern American Federalism."

Dr. Roger Hardaway, professor of History at Northwestern Oklahoma State University, is the author of an article in a book published this fall by the University of Oklahoma Press. The book, “Black Cowboys in the American West: On the Range, On the Stage, Behind the Badge,” was edited by Professors Bruce Glasrud of Sul Ross State University in Texas and Michael Searles of Augusta State University in Georgia.

Hardaway’s article, “Oklahoma’s African-American Rodeo Performers,” was first published in the summer 2011 issue of “The Chronicles of Oklahoma.” The essay explores the great number of black Oklahomans who have excelled in rodeo arenas at all levels of competition. These include not only men and women who have competed in rodeos but also others—like clowns, bullfighters, pick-up men, and trick riders—who are also crucial to the success of any rodeo performance.

“The editors asked me to contribute to their book because I have been studying African-American rodeo personnel for several years,” Hardaway said. “I have given numerous presentations on black cowboys at historical conferences, and I have published several articles and books on the black experience in the American West.”

When Hardaway first began researching cowboys, his focus was on “working” cowhands—those who labor on ranches. Just as rodeo performances grew out of ranch work, his interest in black cowboys began to shift from those who worked on ranches to those who seek to entertain audiences in rodeo arenas.

“Black cowboys and cowgirls participate in all aspects of the sport of rodeo,” Hardaway said. “While many of them rodeo mostly for fun in their spare time, others are professional athletes who earn their livings going down the rodeo road. And, since Oklahoma has a rich western heritage and was once a territory that sanctioned slavery, it is no accident that the Sooner State has produced numerous successful African-American rodeo performers at all levels of competition and in all rodeo events.

“I was also happy to be able to give some notice to two of my former Northwestern students who have been professional rodeo contract personnel,” he said.

Hardaway’s former student Jeff Rector is the only African-American pick-up man working in Professional Rodeo Cowboy Association (PRCA) events. Rector has just been chosen to work the PRCA’s National Finals Steer Roping competition being held in Kansas this fall. The other student, Sam Gress, has been an award-winning bullfighter (those who protect bull riders) in several professional rodeo associations.

“I was extremely pleased with the article when I wrote it,” Hardaway concluded, “and I am doubly happy to have it reprinted in such a quality work edited by two outstanding historians and published by one of the most distinguished university presses in the United States.”

 For more information on Hardaway’s research, contact him at (580) 327-8520 or rdhardaway@nwosu.edu.

NWOSU History alumna, Hannah Dirks, was hired as a Washington, D.C. staffer for Congressman Steve Russell of Oklahoma. A native of Woodward, Oklahoma, Hannah recently graduated from Kent University in Kent, England, with her Masters in War, Society and Media Studies.

On Monday, November 7, 2016, at 7:00 PM, Dr. Aaron Mason will be holding a talk for the “Let’s Talk about It, Oklahoma” event on the book The American Café by Sara Hoklotubbe. The presentation will take place at the Alva Public Library in Alva, Oklahoma. It is free and open to the public.

Dr. Eric Schmaltz will be making introductory remarks before showing the 2005 Prairie Public Broadcasting (Fargo) video documentary, “Schmeckt Gut: The Food Ways of the Germans from Russia,” at the Golden Spread Chapter of the American Historical Society of Germans from Russia on October 9, 2016, at the Senior Citizen Center in Shattuck, Oklahoma.

Through the Leviathan Society of the endowed Northwestern Oklahoma State University (NWOSU) Institute for Citizenship Studies and the Department of Social Sciences, Northwestern students paid a late September visit to the Dwight D. Eisenhower Presidential Library and Museum in Abilene, Kan. Besides taking a tour of the various sites on location, they also were invited to a luncheon downtown hosted by Mr. Timothy D. Rives, Deputy Director of the Eisenhower Presidential Library and Museum.

Dr. Aaron Mason, professor of political science, and Dr. Eric Schmaltz, professor of history, both also serving as the NWOSU Institute’s co-executive directors, arranged for the visit and accompanied the students there. They wish to thank Mr. Rives for making this group tour special, particularly the supervised visit to the library’s archives, where he discussed with students possible careers in public history. For the past several years, Mr. Rives, who claims Oklahoma roots and whose grandmother graduated from Northwestern many years ago, has served on the NWOSU Institute’s board as well.

Established in early fall 2009 under Dr. Mason and Dr. Schmaltz, this informal group within NWOSU’s Social Sciences Department and the Institute encourages students interested in topics on government, politics, and history to participate in campus-sponsored activities and go to significant historical sites and off-campus cultural events. It consists of students majoring in political science and history, though membership is open to students of all majors.

For more information about the Leviathan Society, Institute, or Department of Social Sciences, contact Dr. Aaron Mason at (580) 327-8520 or mason@nwosu.edu or Dr. Eric Schmaltz at (580) 327-8520 or ejschmaltz@nwosu.edu.

(From left to right): Standing before the West Wall mural in the Eisenhower Museum’s entrance hall, Corey Shirey (Alva sophomore political science major); Jacque Ruhl (Alva freshman political science major and history minor); Deputy Director Timothy D. Rives; Dr. Aaron Mason; Dr. Eric Schmaltz; and Mahmoud Taleb (Alva junior computer science major and political science minor). 

Jana Brown will present an overview of the life of a cowboy in the Cherokee Outlet at the Sod House Museum near Aline, Oklahoma, on Saturday, September 17, 2016, at 10:00 a.m. Her program will feature a review of the book Cherokee Outlet Cowboy.

Brown will discuss cattle ranching in the Cherokee Outlet prior to land openings and white settlement. In addition to a history of cattle ranching during this era, Brown will review the book Cherokee Outlet Cowboy written by Laban Samuel Records and edited by Ellen Jayne Maris Wheeler. In the book, Records wrote about his life as a lineman on the T5 and Spade ranches in the outlet prior to the land run. His narrative includes rich descriptions of the landscape and fauna of the region prior to settlement and describes the duties and everyday lives of cowboys.

Professor Jana Brown is the Social Science Education Coordinator and an instructor of history at Northwestern Oklahoma State University. She is currently seeking a Ph.D. in history at Oklahoma State University in Stillwater.

Dr. Aaron Mason will be leading a discussion on the book by Jeanette Wells, The Glass Castle, at the NWOSU campus in Woodward, Oklahoma, on Thursday, September 15, 2016, at 7:00 PM. This presentation is part of the “Let’s Talk About It, Oklahoma” series. The event is free and open to the public.

Dr. Roger Hardaway, professor of History at Northwestern Oklahoma State University, presented a paper at an academic conference in Europe this summer.

The 16th International Conference on Diversity in Organizations, Communities and Nations met at the University of Granada in Spain in late July.

Hardaway’s paper was titled “Leigh Whipper: African-American ‘Western’ Actor”. Hardaway noted that Whipper, who lived from 1876 to 1975, had an acting career that lasted more than 70 years. Most of his career was spent on the stage, including performing in several Broadway productions. Whipper also starred in several movies, mostly when he was in his 60s and 70s. Six of his movies were “westerns”—a genre of films that rarely featured black actors.

Four of the western movies in which Whipper acted were lightweight entertainment vehicles that were basically forgettable; these included three B-grade movies starring Roy Rogers. But two of Whipper’s performances were as strong supporting characters in films that were nominated for “Best Picture” Academy Awards and have since become cinematic classics.

In 1939, Whipper starred in the first filmed version of John Steinbeck’s novel, “Of Mice and Men”. Whipper played “Crooks”, a stable hand on a ranch in California in the early 20th century. Then, in 1943, Whipper was an itinerate preacher named “Sparks” in “The Ox-Bow Incident”, based on the novel by Walter Van Tilburg Clark. This movie is about a lynch mob run amok in 1880s Nevada; Sparks tries unsuccessfully to prevent the mob from lynching three men suspected of murdering a rancher and stealing his cattle.

“I have been researching Whipper for several years,” Hardaway said. “His career is significant for several reasons; the paper I presented in Spain highlighted his work in ‘westerns’ when such roles for black actors were few and far between. His performances in ‘Of Mice and Men’ and ‘The Ox-Bow Incident’ are dynamic ones in Oscar-caliber film masterpieces that deserve wider recognition than they have received.

“The paper I presented this summer,” Hardaway continued, “is a first step in shedding some academic light on Whipper’s talents. I hope to turn the paper into a journal article, and I plan to continue to research and write about Whipper’s life and career in the future.”

 For more information on Hardaway’s work contact him at (580) 327-8520 or rdhardaway@nwosu.edu.

The NWOSU Institute for Citizenship Studies and Department of Social Sciences are proud to host Mr. Kyle Starkey as part of the Annual Cultural Heritage Lecture Series on Monday, September 19, 2016, at 7:00 PM at the Graceful Arts Gallery in downtown Alva, Oklahoma.

Mr. Starkey, currently a doctoral graduate student at the University of Wisconsin-Milwaukee’s Department of History, is presenting on the topic “Life behind Barbed Wire: Recreation and German POWs in the States.” His talk is based on extensive research on the German POW camp system in Oklahoma and across the United States during the Second World War. Camp Alva was at the time one of several major POW camps in the nation. In early 2015, NWOSU hosted Mr. Starkey while he was conducting field work on the subject. 

 This event is open and free to the public. For more information, contact Dr. Eric Schmaltz, professor of history, in the NWOSU Department of Social Sciences at (580) 327-8526 or ejschmaltz@nwosu.edu.

The NWOSU Institute for Citizenship Studies and Department of Social Sciences are proud to announce its Annual Constitution Day Event for 2016.  This year’s topic will be “George Mason:  The Man Who Would Not Sign.”  The program will be held on Tuesday, September 13, at 7:00 PM on the Alva Campus of NWOSU in the Education Center (EC) Room 109.  The program will feature Mr. Scott Stroh III, who serves as the Executive Director of George Mason's Mansion Gunston Hall located in Mason Neck, Virginia.  The program will explore the life and contributions of George Mason (1725-1792) as a leading Revolutionary, Founding Father, and Anti-Federalist.  The event is free and open to the public.  For more information, please contact Dr. Aaron Mason, professor of political science, in the NWOSU Department of Social Sciences at (580) 327-8522 or email at mason@nwosu.edu.

Northwestern Oklahoma State University’s Social Sciences Department played host to the initiation ceremony for history honor society Phi Alpha Theta and the political science honor society Pi Sigma Alpha on Monday, April 25, 2016.

Phi Alpha Theta is a professional society with a mission to promote the study of history through the encouragement of research, good teaching, publication, and the exchange of learning and ideas among historians. Phi Alpha Theta seeks to bring students, teachers and writers of history together for intellectual and social exchanges that promote and assist historical research and publication by its members in various ways.

To be a member in Phi Alpha Theta, undergraduates must have an overall 3.0 grade-point average (GPA) while graduates must have a 3.5 GPA. Students must have a 3.1 GPA in history courses along with 12 hours of history courses completed in their degree.

Initiates for 2016 Phi Alpha Theta include Wyatt Carter, junior unspecified major from Okarche; Jordan Evans, senior history major from Edmond; Connor McGee, junior history major from Cherokee; Stefan Simpson, senior political science major from Frederick; RaLyssa Taylor, senior political science major from Alva; and Rebekah Wagenbach, graduate student in American Studies from Kiowa, Kansas.

Pi Sigma Alpha is the National Honor Society for political science, founded in 1920. Membership recognizes outstanding academic achievement in political science and promotes excellence in political awareness and civic engagement.

To be a member in Pi Sigma Alpha students must have a 3.0 GPA in political science along with 12 hours of political sciences courses completed. Students must also be within the top third of their senior class.

Initiates for 2016 Pi Sigma Alpha include Jack Nicholson, senior political science major from Mooreland, Simpson and Taylor.
For more information on honor societies within Northwestern’s Social Sciences Department, contact Dr. Kay Decker, department chair and professor of sociology, at (580) 327-8521 or kldecker@nwosu.edu

Dr. Aaron Mason, (far left) associate professor of political science, and Dr. Eric Schmaltz, professor of history (far right) stand with new Phi Alpha Theta and Pi Sigma Alpha initiates: (second from left continuing to right) Rebekah Wagenbach, RaLyssa Taylor, Connor McGee, Stefan Simpson, Jordan Evans and Jack Nicholson.

Two Northwestern Oklahoma State University students will spend their summers interning at the state capitol starting May 9.

Riley Pearce, Garber sophomore and political science major, will be interning with Sen. Bryce Marlatt at the Oklahoma Senate. Stefan Simpson, Frederick senior and political science major, will be interning with Rep. Jeff Coody in the Oklahoma House.

Opportunities such as these internships are made possible through the Northwestern Social Sciences Department Legislative Internship Program.

“The Social Sciences Department began its Legislative Internship Program several years ago, as a means of rewarding worthwhile students, and as a means of helping our younger generation understand, first-hand, how laws are made,” Dr. Kay Decker, social sciences department chair and professor of sociology, said.

Students can spend anywhere from one week to three months working in the Oklahoma State Capitol or the United States Capitol learning about legislative- and budget-setting processes.

Both Pearce and Simpson plan to attend law school after they graduate from Northwestern.

A Northwestern Oklahoma State University graduating senior was one of a few students across the United States who earned the Newman Civic Fellows Award from Compact Connect.

Jordan Evans (right) received the 2016 Newman Civic Fellows Award from Compact Connect upon the recommendation of President Janet Cunningham (left).

Earning this prestigious award is Jordan Evans, a history major from Edmond who has served as the 2015-16 treasurer for Northwestern’s Student Government Association (SGA) and the Student Athletic Advisory Committee. He is captain of the men's cross country team and was named as Academic All-Conference for the Great American Conference. Evans served as an intern for State Senator Bryce Marlatt and was selected to Attorney General Scott Pruitt's Student Leadership Council.

The Newman Civic Fellows Award honors inspiring college student leaders who have demonstrated an investment in finding solutions for challenges facing communities throughout the country. Through service, research, and advocacy, Newman Civic Fellows are making the most of their college experiences to better understand themselves, the root causes of social issues, and effective mechanisms for creating lasting change.These students represent the next generation of public problem-solvers and civic leaders. They serve as national examples of the role that higher education can—and does—play in building a better world.

Newman Civic Fellows are recommended by college and university presidents to acknowledge motivation and ability in public leadership. The awards are made in memory of Dr. Frank Newman, who dedicated his life to creating systemic change through education reform. Frank Newman’s leadership was selfless, optimistic, and determined, spanning an incredible career of more than five decades. At the core Newman’s leadership was a belief in the power of individuals to make a difference and in the power of connection with others. Newman Civic Fellows form a unique network of leaders who will inspire and keep hope alive for one another during college and afterward, as the network expands exponentially each year. Frank Newman had a tremendous impact on American education and its role in the development of citizens who want to make a difference. The Newman Civic Fellows are reflections and affirmations of his life’s work.

“[Evans] … is a very positive influence on campus,” Dr. Janet Cunningham, university president, said. “After he graduates, he plans to continue his education and public service work. Jordan is an individual who not only exhibits leadership, but seeks out opportunities to serve.”

Evans submitted a written statement for the award: “My passion for service stems from the City of Alva and the [Northwestern] campus. The people of this community have adopted me in and have provided so much to me and my education; giving back is the best way I can repay them. I have worked to become involved in many different aspects of the university and community.

“My service as the treasurer of the Student Government Association has allowed me to assist in organizing and executing events for student body at the university. Volunteering at the local elementary schools as a tutor and mentor allows me to leave a positive impression on the next generation of this community. Civic engagement has connected me with this small city. Seeing the impact that I make on those around me has been the greatest pleasure of my college experience. I continue to gain experience on how to better my community through the Leadership Northwestern class, taught by the university's senior administrators. I look forward to continuing my life of civic engagement into the Peace Corps and someday running for public office.”

“Evans has been an integral aspect of our department for the past three years,” Dr. Kay Decker, professor of sociology and social sciences department chair, said. “He has worked in our main office, participated in the Legislative Internship Program and currently serves as the treasurer for SGA. He is always engaged, always willing to take on extra jobs, and always gives of himself to others. I believe that the Newman Civic Fellows Award is a very fitting award for Jordan. We wish him all the best in his future endeavors.”

The Newman Civic Fellows Awards are made possible through the generous support of the KPMG Foundation and Newman’s Own Foundation.

 Social Sciences Department chair to accept prestigious award on behalf of Freedom West

The National Association of Social Workers (NASW) Oklahoma will be recognizing outstanding Oklahomans at its award ceremony March 5 at noon in Norman.

Under the leadership of Dr. Kay Decker, Social Sciences Department chair and professor of sociology at Northwestern Oklahoma State University, Freedom West Community Development Corporation (Freedom West CDC) in Alva will be recognized this year as Social Services Organization of the Year.

Decker is the executive director at Freedom West CDC where the organization’s mission is to “revitalize the rural communities of its five county service region in Northwest Oklahoma to increase community sustainability through pro-active social and economic change efforts.”

The annual NASW conference will be held March 3-5 at the Embassy Suites. Conference registration is still available at the Association’s web site. Continuing education credit is available for social workers and other professions.

NASW is the largest professional social work organization in the United States, with members employed in more than 50 different fields of practice—including mental and behavioral health, health care, aging, child and family safety, schools, homelessness, veterans support, research and public policy. There are 650,000 social workers in the United States who serve 10 million clients a day.

NASW and its 55 Chapters support members of the helping profession by ensuring they follow consistent practice standards, complete advanced professional training, participate in grassroots issues advocacy and develop organizational leadership skills.

“Freedom West CDC was founded over 16 years ago with the primary purpose of developing additional affordable housing options in the five county service region that it serves,” Decker said. “Since that time, Freedom West has built and preserved over 170 housing units, and has worked diligently to focus attention on the region’s arts and cultural heritage as economic drivers for communities.

“It is a multi-million dollar non-profit that maintains its focus of assisting communities with revitalization efforts, improvements in housing options, and increased sustainability. The Freedom West CDC staff and board are to be commended for their hard work and dedication by providing non-profit leadership and creative solutions to problems facing rural northwest Oklahoma. I would like to thank Dr. Kylene Rehder and the NASW Oklahoma Chapter for recognizing our efforts at this year’s annual awards ceremony.”

For more information about Freedom West CDC contact Decker at 580-327-2150 or kldecker@nwosu.edu.

In Rapid City, South Dakota, Dr. Eric J. Schmaltz will be discussing the topic “Reform, ‘Rebirth,’ and Regret:  A Brief History of the Former USSR’s Ethnic Germans Since 1988” at the Forty-Sixth International Convention of the Germans from Russia Heritage Society (GRHS) on 7-11 September 2016.

On 17-20 November 2016, Dr. Eric J. Schmaltz will be presenting “Letters to Pauline (Schlegel) Lehl:  Family Correspondences from Russia to Oklahoma, 1913-1937” as part of the special panel “Historical and Rhetorical Perspectives into Analysis of Letters from Early Soviet Russia” at the Annual Convention of the Association for Slavic, East European, and Eurasian Studies (ASEEES) held in Washington, D.C.

Jana Brown, NWOSU instructor of history and social science coordinator, will be presenting a talk on Saturday, February 20, 2016, at 10:00 AM at the Sod Museum near Aline, OK.  The discussion entitled “Freedom’s Hope:  In Search of Life, Liberty and the Pursuit of Happiness” provides an overview of black history in Oklahoma and this community’s many struggles and aspirations.  For more information, contact Director Renee Trindle at 580-463-2441 or sodmuseum@okhistory.org.

Dr. Aaron Mason will be giving a presentation over the book by Joseph J. Ellis, American Sphinx: The Character of Thomas Jefferson, at the Cherokee Strip Heritage Museum in Enid, Oklahoma, on Wednesday, April 13, 2016, at noon.  It will take place in honor of the 273rd anniversary of Jefferson’s birth.  This monthly event is held in the little church in the Humphrey Heritage Village, and the one-hour event is open to the public.

NWOSU Institute Co-Executive Directors, Dr. Aaron Mason and Dr. Eric Schmaltz, are each presenting a paper at the Mid-America American Studies Association 2016 Conference on “Battleground Midwest:  Defining Who and What Matters in the U.S. and Beyond” held at the University of Kansas in Lawrence on March 4-5, 2016.  Dr. Mason will speak on “The Evolving Nature of Citizenship in the Cherokee Nation:  The Past and the Present Collide,” while Dr. Schmaltz will discuss “What’s in a Name?:  Russian Germans, German Russians, or Germans from Russia, and the Question of Hybrid Identities on the Great Plains.”

ANNOUNCEMENT:  NORTHWESTERN TO HOST SUMMER TEACHERS' WORKSHOP ON THE AMERICAN REVOLUTION AND EARLY REPUBLIC

Applications are now being accepted for the 2016 Teacher’s Workshop on the American Revolution and the Early American Republic scheduled on June 6-9 at Northwestern Oklahoma State University in Alva.

The workshop will cover the period from George III's accession to the British throne in 1760 to Thomas Jefferson's transformational presidential victory in 1801 and should provide relevant content to all interested teachers.

Due to budgetary constraints, the workshop will only be available to 20 attendees. Each attendee will receive a $50 stipend to defray travel expenses. Those interested should complete and return applications by email to Dr. Aaron Mason, associate professor of political science, at mason@nwosu.edu or through regular mail no later than Friday, April 15.

Applications for admission to the workshop can be found at www.nwosu.edu/nwics.

Those attendees who choose to lodge on campus will have all meals and lodging provided at no cost.

“Some of you might recall that in summer 2012 we held a similar Teachers’ Workshop on the American Civil War,” Mason said. “It was an unquestionable success, and we look forward to hosting a similar effort in summer 2016. Understanding that summer break is important to you, we would appreciate if you would consider continuing your education by joining us for this excellent learning opportunity.”

Any questions should be directed to Mason at (580) 327-8522 or Dr. Eric Schmaltz, professor of history, at (580) 327-8526.

This event is sponsored by a generous grant provided by the Oklahoma Humanities Council and in part by the Northwestern Social Sciences Department and the Northwestern Institute for Citizenship Studies.

On July 13-17, 2016, Dr. Eric Schmaltz will be presenting two talks, “The Ethnic German Dissident and Emigration Movement’s Impact on Soviet Domestic and Foreign Policy (1972-1987)” and “Reform, ‘Rebirth,’ and Regret:  A Brief History of the Former USSR’s Ethnic Germans Since 1988,” at the Forty-Seventh International Convention of the American Historical Society of Germans from Russia in Concord, California.

Dr. Eric Schmaltz will be making opening comments before showing the 2005 Prairie Public Broadcasting (Fargo) video documentary, “A Soulful Sound:  Music of the Germans from Russia,” at the Golden Spread Chapter of the American Historical Society of Germans from Russia on April 24, 2016, at the Senior Citizen Center in Shattuck, Oklahoma.

For a panel session, Dr. Eric Schmaltz will be discussing his paper, “Coming Full Circle:  Twenty-First-Century Reflections on the German from Russia Diaspora in North America,” at the Western Social Science Association Annual Conference (Rural & Agricultural Studies Section) on April 13-16, 2016, in Reno, Nevada.

 At noon on Wednesday, January 13, 2016, the Cherokee Strip Regional Center in Enid, Oklahoma, has invited Dr. Eric Schmaltz to speak on the “Germans from Russia in Oklahoma and Family History Research.”  The Power Point lecture will be held there in the little church in the Humphrey Heritage Village, and the one-hour event is open to the public.

2017 Events

Congratulations are in order for Sarah Owens Hardaway, NWOSU history graduate! Please check out the August 11, 2017 article by Kevin Hassler, Associate Editor of the Enid News & Eagle (Enid, Oklahoma) on her new position: http://www.enidnews.com/oklahoma/news/owens-named-heritage-center-curator/article_cfd0d1f4-9b76-5e34-af99-c41d7bc99d88.html

[Sarah Owens]

Sarah Owens Hardaway doing a reenactment during an event at Cherokee Strip Regional Heritage Center in May 2014. Photo by Bonnie Vculek of the Enid News and Eagle.

On Wednesday, December 6, 2017, Dr. Aaron Mason will be holding a talk for the “Let’s Talk about It, Oklahoma” event on the book The Last Picture Show by Larry McMurtry. The presentation will take place at the Crabtree Correctional Facility in Helena, Oklahoma.

On the evening of Thursday, November 2, 2017, Dr. Aaron Mason will be holding a talk for the “Let’s Talk about It, Oklahoma” event on the book Choctalking and Other Possibilities by LeAnne Howe. The presentation will take place at NWOSU Campus in Woodward, Oklahoma. It is free and open to the public. For more event details, please contact Dr. Mason at mason@nwosu.edu or 580-327-8522.

On Friday, October 27, 2017, Dr. Aaron Mason will be holding a talk for the “Let’s Talk about It, Oklahoma” event on the book Dracula by Bram Stoker. The presentation will take place at the North Fork Correctional Facility in Sayre, Oklahoma

Dr. Eric Schmaltz will make opening remarks before featuring the new 2017 Prairie Public Broadcasting (Fargo) video documentary, “Das Gute Essen: Good Eating in German-Russian Country,” at the Golden Spread Chapter of the American Historical Society of Germans from Russia (AHSGR) at 1:00 PM on Sunday, October 15, 2017, at the Senior Citizen Center in Shattuck, Oklahoma

On Wednesday, September, 27, 2017, Dr. Aaron Mason will be holding a talk for the “Let’s Talk about It, Oklahoma” event on the book The Catcher in the Rye by J. D. Salinger. The presentation will take place at the Crabtree Correctional Facility in Helena, Oklahoma.

On Thursday, August 31, 2017, Dr. Aaron Mason will be holding a talk for the “Let’s Talk about It, Oklahoma” event on the book In Cold Blood by Truman Capote. The presentation will take place at the Dick Conners Correctional Facility in Hominy, Oklahoma.

Chisholm Trail symposium to be held in September at Northwestern-Enid

[Chisholm Trail Symposium Flyer]

Northwestern Oklahoma State University’s Department of Social Sciences and the Northwestern Institute for Citizenship Studies announce the upcoming Chisholm Trail Symposium that will be held on Friday, Sept. 15, at the Northwestern-Enid campus.

Scholars, students and members of the general public are invited to participate. Professional development certificates will also be issued to teachers who attend the symposium. The deadline for participant registration is Friday, Sept. 1. A free lunch is provided for registered participants. Conference planners are still seeking submissions of scholarly papers and/or research posters from professional or student historians on the subject of the Chisholm Trail.

Events for Friday, Sept. 15, begin at 9:30 a.m. with sign-in, followed by a welcome from Dr. Kay Decker, chair of the Department of Social Sciences; Dr. Janet Cunningham, university president; and Dr. Wayne McMillin, dean of Northwestern-Enid. Throughout the day, participants may engage in discussion and listen to scholarly presentations. Lunch will be served, and Dr. Bob Blackburn, executive director of the Oklahoma Historical Society, will give the keynote address during lunch.

Participants and panelists will be treated to lectures from Dr. Brad Bays, associate professor of geography at Oklahoma State University; Historian Frank Norris from the National Park Service; and Jim Fulbright, author of numerous books, including “Trails to Old Pond Creek: The Early Days of Trade & Travel in Northwestern Oklahoma.”

There will be a special appearance by a Chisholm Trail Drover from the Oklahoma Historical Society, and lunch will be enlivened by the presence of the Northwestern’s University Singers under the direction of Dr. Karsten Longhurst, director of choral studies.

A particular highlight of the day will be a special presentation honoring Enid historian Robert Klemme. Thanks to Visit Enid, a two-disc DVD set discussing the Chisholm Trail and Bob Klemme will be available for purchase at the symposium.

 For more information about the symposium, registration, or paper/poster submissions, contact Prof. Jana Brown, instructor of history from Northwestern’s Department of Social Sciences, at (580) 327-8521 or jdbrown@nwosu.edu, or Prof. Ken Kelsey, instructor of history from Northwestern’s Department of Social Sciences and instructor of fine arts from Department of Fine Arts, at (580) 327-8523 or kdkelsey@nwosu.edu.

Stacy Berman, Ponca City senior and political science major, was chosen to be inducted into Pi Sigma Alpha political science honor society at Northwestern Oklahoma State University.

Pi Sigma Alpha is the National Honor Society for political science, founded in 1920. Membership recognizes outstanding academic achievement in political science and promotes excellence in political awareness and civic engagement.

“[Stacy] Bergman is a good student and has taken the majority of her coursework at the UC in Ponca City,” Dr. Kay Decker, Social Sciences department chair and professor of sociology, said. “She is a non-traditional student with children, and she has worked while attending college. Bergman is a bright and dedicated student with a bright future.”

To be a member in Pi Sigma Alpha students must have a 3.0 GPA in political science along with 12 hours of political sciences courses completed. Students must also be within the top third of their senior class.

 For more information on honor societies within Northwestern’s Social Sciences Department, contact Decker at (580) 327-8521 or kldecker@nwosu.edu.

Two Northwestern Oklahoma State University students have been inducted into the Phi Alpha Theta, Mu-Lambda chapter, honor society.

History majors inducted are Jeran Jones, Enid senior, and Brittany Westervelt, Ponca City junior.

The purpose of Phi Alpha Theta is to promote the study of history through the encouragement of research, good teaching, publication and the exchange of learning and ideas.

Dr. Roger Hardaway, professor of history, has been the adviser to Northwestern’s Phi Alpha Theta chapter since 2004.

Hardaway explained that membership is open to only a few students each year.

“Members do not have to be history majors, but they do have to take several courses in the discipline and also have excellent grades,” Hardaway said. “By being selective in its membership, Phi Alpha Theta ensures that being inducted into the organization is truly an honor.”

Phi Alpha Theta was organized in 1921 at the University of Arkansas and has more than 850 chapters throughout the United States. Currently, more than 900,000 people, including several Northwestern professors, are members.

“These two students are to be commended for maintaining good grades and for upholding the lofty goals of Phi Alpha Theta,” Hardaway said.

The Society’s membership requirements are that undergraduate students must have a 3.0 overall grade point average, at least a 3.1 average in their history courses and have completed 12 credits of history classes. Graduate students need to have a 3.5 grade point average in their graduate courses. Students enrolled at an online university are not eligible for membership. Students need not major in history, but must have taken at least four history courses at the university level. Specific universities may develop higher qualifications as well at their discretion.

All new members will: 1) receive a membership certificate and a one-year subscription to the Society’s quarterly historical journal, “The Historian”; and 2) have their names published in the publication approximately six months after becoming a member.

This journal has more than 12,500 individual subscribers and 1,000 library subscribers. The society's national headquarters and the journal's editorial offices are located at the University of South Florida. “The Historian” splits the space in its quarterly issues between articles and book reviews. The book review section of the journal has been based at Ohio Wesleyan University since 1994.

 For more information on the Phi Alpha Theta organization contact Hardaway at (580) 327-8520 or rdhardaway@nwosu.edu. To learn more about Northwestern’s Social Sciences programs contact Dr. Kay Decker, professor of sociology and chair of Northwestern’s Department of Social Sciences, at (580) 327-8521 or kldecker@nwosu.edu.

Some pictures taken at the annual Oklahoma Arts Day held at the Capitol Building in Oklahoma City.

Prof. Ken Kelsey (Social Sciences Department and Fine Arts), Julia Kirt, Rachel Davis, Prof. Kyle Larson

Group with Senator Roland Pederson - Enid

Group with Representative Carl Newton - Alva

During academic year 2016-2017, Dr. Eric Schmaltz, professor of history and co-executive director of the endowed NWOSU Institute for Citizenship Studies, has published a number of articles both here and abroad. Many of his publications in the field of ethnic and nationality studies relate to ethnic German communities in Russia and the former Soviet Union and their many descendants dispersed worldwide.

Despite ongoing commitments to serving as editor of the Bismarck, North Dakota-based quarterly journal Heritage Review and the NWOSU Institute’s annual volume Civitas: Journal of Citizenship Studies, Schmaltz was able to produce original as well as reprint expanded versions of his own scholarly work. These publications included the article “Carrots and Sticks…and Demonstrations: Yuri Andropov’s Failed Autonomy Plan for Soviet Kazakhstan’s Germans, 1976-1980” in the Journal of the American Historical Society of Germans from Russia (Lincoln, Nebraska) as well as a brief article and German translation piece in the Germans from Russia Oregon and Washington (GROW) Quarterly Newsletter (Portland, Oregon). In 2017, a few more of his publications will be appearing in print, including two book reviews in the Yearbook of the Society for German American Studies (University of Kansas-Lawrence), the article “What’s in a Name?: Russian Germans, German Russians, or Germans from Russia, and the Challenges of Hybrid Identities” in Hans-Christian Petersen and Jannis Panagiotidis, eds., Schriften des Bundesinstituts für Kultur und Geschichte der Deutschen im östlichen Europa. Band 64, 2017 (De Gruyter Publishing, Oldenburg and Berlin, Germany), and two updated Holocaust biographical entries in the new and expanded online edition by Michael Fahlbusch, Ingo Haar, Alexander Pinwinkler, and David Hamann, eds., Handbuch der völkischen Wissenschaften: Personen—Institutionen—Forschungsprogramme—Stiftungen (De Gruyter Publishing, Berlin, Germany). Meanwhile, he also has been completing short book reviews for the journals Heritage Review and Civitas.

 After this spring, Schmaltz will be limiting the extent of public speaking and conference engagements to devote more attention to publishing projects. First, he is developing an article concerning extensive German from Russia family correspondences sent between 1913 and 1937 to northwestern Oklahoma for The Chronicles of Oklahoma, which is the quarterly journal of the Oklahoma Historical Society (OHS). Second, he is completing work on an article regarding ethnic Germans in Russia’s Kaliningrad exclave for the online journal The Eurasia Studies Society Journal of Great Britain and Europe. Third, he is seeking the completion of two major scholarly book projects. Both represent longer-term projects. One book is an original study on the cultural and political history of Soviet Germans after Stalin, while the other is an edited compilation of German from Russia letters directed to relatives in northwestern Oklahoma in the early decades of the twentieth century.

Dr. Roger Hardaway, professor of history at Northwestern Oklahoma State University, is featured in two new online articles about African American cowboys. Hardaway, a historian with an emphasis on the American West, has been researching and writing about black cowboys for years. In these recent articles, Hardaway serves as a resource person for the authors. His comments are quoted in each essay.

The first article titled “The Lesser Known History of African American Cowboys” was published in February in the online edition of “Smithsonian,” the official organ of the Smithsonian Museum in Washington, D.C. The author is Katie Nodjimbadem, a staff writer for the online version of the magazine. The second article is “How America’s Black Cowboy Population is Fighting Erasure,” written by free-lance writer Alissa Greenberg of California. This essay appeared in March in “Pacific Standard” magazine in both its hard copy and online versions. Each article is easily accessible by searching for “African American Cowboys” along with the author’s name.

Hardaway enjoyed the interview process and getting to know the authors.

“I was honored to be quoted in both of these significant publications,” Hardaway said. “I do not know either of the authors, and I had not heard of them before they reached out to me and asked to interview me. After I agreed, each of them called me and asked me several questions about working cowboys and rodeo stars. I am extremely happy that each of them found reference to my work on the internet and decided that I was knowledgeable enough about the topic to serve as someone who could speak authoritatively on it.”

Hardaway has published several articles and books on the African American experience in the American West. His article “Oklahoma’s African American Rodeo Performers” appeared in the summer 2011 edition of “Chronicles of Oklahoma,” the state’s primary history journal. It was recently reprinted in the book “Black Cowboys in the American West,” which was published by the University of Oklahoma Press. The book has just been chosen to receive an award as the best-edited collection of the past year by the Popular Culture Association/American Culture Association.

Hardaway has been a member of the Northwestern faculty since 1990 and has taught U.S. history to more than 4,000 students at the university.

 For more information on Hardaway’s work contact him at (580) 327-8520 or rdhardaway@nwosu.edu.

In association with the Leviathan Society of the Northwestern Oklahoma State University Department of Social Sciences and Institute for Citizenship Studies, Dr. Aaron Mason, professor of political science, and Dr. Eric Schmaltz, professor of history, accompanied two students one day during the recent spring break to the Harry S. Truman Presidential Library and Museum in Independence, Missouri.

Students included Jacque Ruhl, Alva sophomore, and Aly Gerloff, Freedom sophomore.

Mason said, “Harry Truman served as our country’s 33rd president from 1945 to 1953. Replacing Franklin D. Roosevelt, who died after twelve years in office, Truman led the country during a difficult political transition in the last months of the Second World War and the rising Cold War against Communist Russia.”

Besides a tour through the museum, they had the opportunity to meet with Dr. Sam Rushay, the Supervisory Archivist at this site. Rushay also has been a longstanding advisory board member of the NWOSU Institute.

Before departing Independence, the group paid a brief visit to the Truman family home located near the museum.

In early fall 2009 Mason and Schmaltz established the Leviathan Society at Northwestern. This informal group in the Department of Social Sciences encourages students interested in topics on government, politics, and history to participate in campus sponsored activities, events, and trips. It mostly consists of students majoring in political science and history, though membership is open to students of all majors.

For more information about the Leviathan Society or the Institute, contact Mason at mason@nwosu.edu or Schmaltz at ejschmaltz@nwosu.edu

[Truman Library]

Students with professors at the Harry S Truman Presidential Library and Museum in Independence, Missouri.  Pictured are (from left) Aly Gerloff, Jacque Ruhl, Dr. Aaron Mason, and Dr. Eric Schmaltz.

[Jack Nickelson] Northwestern Oklahoma State University’s Department of Social Sciences has selected the recipient for the Civic Education Fellow award for this academic year.

Jack Nickelson, Mooreland senior and political science major, will represent Northwestern at the Oklahoma State Capitol in May. Nickelson will work with Sen. Bryce Marlatt, R-Woodward, during the final weeks of the legislative session.

Nickelson is looking forward to meeting Marlatt and benefiting from the real-world application that will come through the internship.

“It’s exciting, but first of all it was an honor to even be considered for something like this,” he said. “It just made me really appreciate the hard work that I put into my studies and just makes me want to give back.”

Nickelson’s minor is in history with an emphasis in global studies.

“I appreciate the way that politics affects everyone’s lives,” he said. “I appreciate the positive difference that a politician, or someone who works in politics, can make for society as a whole…With the way the world is changing and getting smaller, you need an emphasis on global studies.”

Northwestern’s Department of Social Sciences provides many opportunities for its students to learn and develop skills for their field outside of the classroom with the Civic Education Fellowship Program being a prime example. The program was established six years ago to support departmental students who wish to pursue a career in public service. Each year, qualified applicants may submit a completed application with transcript to Dr. Kay Decker, professor of sociology and chair of the Department of Social Sciences. Applicants are reviewed by departmental faculty, and the selection is determined based on GPA, essay and applicant knowledge of public service.

Civic Education Fellows are provided with a stipend to intern at the Oklahoma State Capitol during the final weeks of the legislative session or may choose to pursue an internship in Congress with one of Oklahoma’s elected officials. Students can spend anywhere from one week to three months working in the Oklahoma State Capitol or the United States Capitol learning about legislative- and budget-setting processes.

After graduating in May, Nickelson plans to continue his education to receive his master’s degree and eventually pursue a doctorate to serve society by becoming a teacher.

For more information on this internship opportunity or the Department of Social Sciences, please contact Decker at (580) 327-8521 or kldecker@nwosu.edu.

The Northwestern Oklahoma State University Institute for Citizenship Studies and the Department of Social Sciences proudly announce their annual Presidential Lecture Series topic for 2017 – “John Quincy Adams.” The program is set for Tuesday, March 28, at 7:00 PM in the Joe J. Struckle Education Center, Room 109, at Northwestern-Alva. This event is free and open to the public.

Speaking on one of America’s best educated and well-traveled presidents who emerged victorious in 1824 after one of the most controversial and contested presidential elections in U.S. history, Mr. Robbie Schimp is a Ph.D. student at Boston University and works as a Park Ranger at the Adams National Historic Park (NPS) in Boston, Massachusetts.

For more information, call the Institute for Citizenship Studies office at (580) 327-8525 or email mason@nwosu.edu.

The Northwest Oklahoma Genealogical Society has invited Dr. Eric Schmaltz to present “Letters to Pauline (Schlegel) Lehl: Volga German Family Correspondences from Russia to Oklahoma, 1913-1937” at 10:30 AM on Saturday, March 11, 2017, at the Alva Public Library in Alva, OK.

Dr. Eric Schmaltz is invited to present “Germans from Russia in Oklahoma and Family History Research” at the monthly meeting of the Pioneer Genealogical Society held at 7:00 PM in the Ponca City Public Library on Monday, June 5, 2017, in Ponca City, Oklahoma.

This spring Dr. Aaron Mason will be hosting two public discussions for the “Let’s Talk about It, Oklahoma” event. The first gathering will be held on Monday, February 20, 2017, at 1:30 PM at the Bill Johnson Correctional Center (BJCC) in Alva, Oklahoma, featuring Truman Capote’s “non-fiction” novel In Cold Blood. The second talk will take place at BJCC on Monday, March 20, 2017, at 1:30 PM, focusing on Anthony Burgess’ novel A Clockwork Orange.

Institute member Dr. Justin Quinn Olmstead has just edited a new published book entitled Reconsidering Peace and Patriotism during the First World War.  Click here to see the flyer.

Continuing his speaking tour on the German-Russian letters topic, Dr. Eric Schmaltz is invited to present “Letters to Pauline (Schlegel) Lehl: Volga German Family Correspondences from Russia to Oklahoma, 1913-1937” at the Forty-Seventh International Convention of the Germans from Russia Heritage Society (GRHS) held on July 12-16, 2017, in Bismarck, North Dakota.

On April 26-28, 2017, Dr. Aaron Mason is speaking on “The Thirteenth Amendment and Its Impact on Sovereignty among the Five Civilized Tribes,” at sessions of the 2017 Annual Meeting of the Oklahoma Historical Society (OHS) held at the Hard Rock Hotel and Casino in Catoosa, Oklahoma, and hosted by the Cherokee Nation.

Mason’s paper explores how the Thirteenth Amendment affected the long term sovereignty of Oklahoma Indian tribes by affording the post-Civil War Congress authority to expand its reach over Indian Country. Next, a discussion is presented regarding the connection of the Thirteenth Amendment to Indian Country via the Five Civilized Tribes in northeastern Oklahoma. Finally, the article considers the effects of the Civil War upon the post-bellum Cherokee Nation and how post-Civil War constitutional realities such as the Thirteenth Amendment had an impact on the Cherokee Nation’s long-term political independence and sovereignty.

Dr. Eric Schmaltz will be presenting “Letters to Pauline (Schlegel) Lehl: Volga German Family Correspondences from Russia to Oklahoma, 1913-1937” to the Golden Spread Chapter of the American Historical Society of Germans from Russia (AHSGR) at 1:00 PM on Sunday, April 23, 2017, at the Senior Citizen Center in Shattuck, Oklahoma.

Dr. Aaron Mason and Dr. Eric Schmaltz, co-executive directors of the endowed NWOSU Institute for Citizenship Studies, are invited to give their post-mortem of the recent 2016 U.S. national election at the luncheon meeting of the Kiwanis Club of Alva, Oklahoma, at noon on Wednesday, March 1, 2017, at Champ’s Restaurant.

Dr. Eric Schmaltz is invited to be the featured speaker at the Central Oklahoma Chapter of the American Historical Society of Germans from Russia (AHSGR) held in Our Lord’s Lutheran Church (2900 W. Hefner Rd.) in Oklahoma City, OK, at 12:30 p.m. on Saturday, February 18, 2017. He will be discussing “Letters to Pauline (Schlegel) Lehl: Volga German Family Correspondences from Russia to Oklahoma, 1913-1937.”

 As part of his ongoing speaking tour on the German-Russian letters topic, Schmaltz’s presentation showcases the remarkable story of German-Russian immigrant Pauline (Schlegel) Lehl, who settled in Ingersoll and Alva, Oklahoma. From 1913 to 1937, Pauline received 180 letters, mostly in Russian, from relatives in tsarist Russia and the Soviet Union. This exchange preceded the First World War and ended with Soviet dictator Stalin’s Great Terror. Sometimes through subversive techniques and coded language to avoid censors, the letters related to outsiders what was happening inside the old country. Many such correspondences were kept safe until after the Cold War, when scholars and relatives began recovering this heritage and restoring transnational family networks.

The Cherokee Strip Regional Heritage Center in Enid, OK, will host Dr. Roger D. Hardaway’s presentation “African Americans in the West” as part of Black History Month at the monthly Brown Bag Lunch and Learn Program at noon on Wednesday, February 8, 2017, in St. Matthew’s Episcopal Church at the Humphrey Heritage Village. The one-hour event is free and open to the public. For more information please call 580-237-1907.

At noon on Wednesday, January 18, 2017, Dr. Eric J. Schmaltz’s presentation entitled “Letters to Pauline (Schlegel) Lehl: Volga German Family Correspondences from Russia to Oklahoma, 1913-1937” will be featured at the monthly Brown Bag Lunch and Learn Program at the Cherokee Strip Regional Heritage Center in Enid, OK. Free and open to the public, the hour-long event will be held onsite at St. Matthew’s Episcopal Church in the Humphrey Heritage Village.

Dr. Aaron Mason and Dr. Eric Schmaltz, co-executive directors of the endowed NWOSU Institute for Citizensip Studies, are invited to speak at the luncheon meeting of the Rotary Club of Alva, OK, at noon on Thursday, January 12, 2017, at Champ's Restaurant. They will be discussing the institute's mission and highlighting its various ongoing activities and events.