Trying to make sense of the country’s latest debate over immigration is Erika Lee, a professor in the Department of History and the Asian American Studies Program, a Regents Professor and director of the Immigration History Research Center (IHRC). A faculty member since 1998, Lee has been working to connect US immigration history to contemporary conflicts over immigration and race erupting across the country and worldwide.

History Professor William Jones is featured in NPR's special 4th of July episode of The Takeaway. The theme of the hour was American Identity in the past, present, and future. Tune in at 14:00 to hear Jones’ interview on the origins of the term “working class” and what it continues to mean today.

The University of Minnesota Board of Regents has given faculty member Erika Lee the distinction of Regents Professor of History and Asian American Studies. The designation, granted this month, is the highest level of recognition given to faculty by the University.

The Department of History, the College of Design, and the Minnesota Historical Society have teamed up to create an interdisciplinary, professional-oriented masters program in public history and heritage studies giving students the opportunity to gain hard experience in the field of public history.

Professor David Chang challenges persistent narratives about Hawaii’s past. “For too long, history has been written as if Hawaiians were passive observers of their own history, isolated from and uninterested in the outside world,” he says. In his new book, Chang aims to update our perspective on Hawaii’s past by presenting it through the eyes of the people who lived through it.

From small town Winona Historical Society to the Minnesota Historical Society, graduating senior Jane Sonneman is passionate about public history and archival work. She received the prestigious Chorn Family Scholarship for her commitment to being a societal storyteller.

The University's Heritage Studies and Public History graduate program was recently awarded $350,000 from the Andrew W. Mellon Foundation and will use the grant to support its students with paid internships and scholarships.

Associate Professor Saje Mathieu is featured in this WCCO story about the anniversary of Dr. Martin Luther King, Jr.'s “I’ve been to a mountaintop” speech.

Professor Elaine Tyler May from the Department of History was interviewed by NPR about how fear crept into American life.