Alumni Updates

Danielle Battisti, PhD ‘10, won the Immigration and Ethnic History Society's 2020 First Book Award for her book, Whom We Shall Welcome: Italian Americans and Immigration Reform (Fordham).

Mark Boonshoft, BA ‘10, published a new book, Aristocratic Education and the Making of the American Republic, with the University of North Carolina Press.

Rachel Eshenour, MA, gave a three-part interview on teaching during the COVID pandemic in the magazine Contingent. She is also on the board at Contingent, where she advises on issues of K-12 history education. Eshenour is currently a high school history teacher at West Seneca.

David Head, PhD ‘10, published a new book, A Crisis of Peace: George Washington, the Newburgh Conspiracy, and the Fate of the American Revolution (Pegasus Books). Head spoke about his new book and the Newburgh Conspiracy as part of the History Summit 2020 Speaker Series. Head also published an op-ed in USA Today, “Go out and shop the Presidents Day sales. It's what George Washington would have done!”

Bob Plumb, BA '64, published The Better Angels: Five Women Who Changed Civil War America with the University of Nebraska Press/Potomac Books. Plumb's book explores how five women from diverse backgrounds came to display courage, truth, and patriotism during the American Civil War era.

Marissa Rhodes, PhD ‘19, was awarded the ACLS 2020 Emerging Voices Fellowship. Rhodes will be a Visiting Assistant Professor at Arizona State University this academic year.

Carlos A. Santiago, BA ‘16, had a piece featured on Active History, “The Branded Puerto Rican Drink with Cuban Connections.” Santiago explored a material culture connection between Puerto Rico and Cuba. The story is told through the lens of Bacardi bottles, which displays how this brand became a renowned "Puerto Rican Rum."

Thank you for your support of the Department of History! With gifts from alumni and friends, we can access crucial resources to enhance our department and provide support for students, research projects and new programs.

In recent years, thanks to your generosity, we’ve been able to renovate our teaching spaces and support our students with scholarships. Can you help us make sure the Department of History remains vibrant and vital? Make a gift online today: