Outreach

Welcome to the BGSU History Department Outreach Page! The History department offers a wide variety of programs for the public, BGSU staff, facutly and students as well as others across the community. Our regular events include Ohio History Day, teachers' workshops, guest lectures and panel discussions, grant programming and more!

For questions or inquiries about our programs, events, Outreach, or other partnerships, please contact our Outreach Coordinator, Kristin Schnerer

Threads of Democracy

The History Department recently received a grant from the National Endowment for the Arts Big Read, in partnership with Arts Midwest. As the only University receiving a grant in the state of Ohio, The Department will be planning programming in Fall 2026-Spring 2027 around our book selection, Betsy Ross and the Making of America, by Marla R. Miller. 

You can read more about the Big Read program and find more details about our programming plans with this recent press release. More details will be announced soon.

Gary R. Hess Lecture

The Gary R. Hess Lecture is an annual lecture hosted by the History department.

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The 2024 Gary R. Hess Lecture in Policy History will be held in Room 201 of the Bowen-Thompson Student Union on Thursday, October 24 at 1pm. Dr. Francis Gavin, Director of the Henry A. Kissinger Center for Global Affairs at Johns Hopkins University, will speak on "Reflections on Nuclear History."
Melvyn Leffler
Dr. Melvyn P. Leffler was the guest speaker for the 2023 Gary R. Hess Lecture. Dr. Leffler is Edward Stettinius Professor of History at the University of Virginia. His lecture title was: "Confronting Saddam Hussein: George W. Bush and the Invasion of Iraq". This lecture took place on October 4, 2023.
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BGSU Alum '95 and Georgia Southern University professor Dr. Bill Allison speaks at his "Contested Memories" lecture at the Annual Gary R. Hess Lecture in September 2022. (Left to right: Dr. Gary R. Hess, Dr. Bill Allison, Dr. Benjamin Greene), Photo courtesy of Dr. Amílcar Challú.

Ohio History Day  

The Department of History at Bowling Green State University is honored to host the annual Region 1 Competition of Ohio History Day, for students in grades 6-12 from Allen, Defiance, Fulton, Hancock, Hardin, Henry, Lucas, Paulding, Putnam, Van Wert, Williams, & Wood Counties. The 2027 Region 1 Contest will be held in late February/early March at the Bowen-Thompson Student Union. Teachers, students, and volunteers can find more details for the Region 1 Contest and register here starting in late November.

An affiliate of National History Day, the Region 1 Competition is the first step and prerequisite to competing in the state and national level contests. The Region 1 Contest is also a part of Ohio History Day, an affiliate of National History Day, which has been championed by Ohio History Connection since 1995.

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Recent Lecture Events

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Dr. Douglas Forsyth of the Department of History at BGSU presented on how teachers can use their own experiences with family history to inform their teaching.This lecture was November 17. Touching on the implications of expanded access to genealogy research tools like Ancestry and FamilySearch, Dr. Forsyth discussed how the personal experience of discovering difficult truths about ancestors can inform classroom practice.
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Dr. Shirley Greene discussed Toledo Female Police History for Women's History Month Lecture in March 2023.

Department of History

419-372-2030
419-372-7208
Bowling Green State University Bowling Green, OH 43403

Dr. Casey M. Stark, Chair

419-372-9323
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Updated: 07/07/2026 12:37PM