Catalog of Public History Projects


Public History alumna Donna Neary working as a corporate archivist for Kraft, Inc. in the advertising collection, 1987

Public Research

Cultural Resource Survey of the Cook County Forest Preserve District: Calumet and Palos 95 pp. report prepared by the Mid-American Research Center, Loyola University of Chicago, 1980.
Archaeological and Historical Resource Literature Search of the Chicago Area: Annotated Bibliography and Mapping of Known Sites. 16 pp. report prepared by the Mid-American Research Center, Loyola University of Chicago, 1980.
Historical Resource Reconnaissance for the Little Calumet River Flood Control Project. 24 pp. report prepared by the Mid-American Research Center for the United States Army Corps of Engineers, Chicago District, 1980.
Historical Use Study of White Deer Lake Camp, Marquette County, 60 pp. report prepared by the Mid-American Research Center for the United States Forest Service, Eastern Region Office, 1980.
Millwood Plantation Archaeological Excavation and Evaluation, Abbeville County, South Carolina, 1981-1983, National Park Service, Atlanta, Georgia.
Historical Records Study of Logging Industry and Pioneer-Homesteading Cultural Resources on the Hiawatha National Forest. 189 pp. report prepared by the Mid American Research Center for the United States Forest Service, Eastern Region Office (November 1983).
History and Cultural Resources: Mining and Pioneer Agriculture on the Ottawa National Forest. 204 pp. report prepared by the Mid-American Research Center for the United States Forest Service, Eastern Regional Office (July, 1984).
Inventory and Assessment of Archaeological Resources within the Illinois and Michigan Canal National Heritage Corridor. Report prepared in conjunction with American Resource Group for the National Park Service, Midwest Archaeological Research Center (August, 1985).
History of the Isle Royale National Park, 386 report prepared by the MidAmerican Research Center for the National Park Service, April, 1987.
Narrative History of the Shoshone National Forest, 232 pp. report prepared by the Mid-American Research Center for the Rocky Mountain Region, United States Forest Service, November, 1988.
Historic Lighthouses and Navigation Aids on the Illinois Shore of Lake Michigan, 89 pp. report by the Chicago Maritime Society for the Illinois Historic Preservation Agency, June, 1990.
Saving the Saint Croix: A History of the Saint Croix National Scenic 244 pp. report to the National Park Service, Midwest Regional Office, December, 1992.
"Guidebook to DoD-related World War II Sites and Museums." Legacy Resource Management Program, Department of Defense. 1992-1995.
The Pictured Rocks: An Administrative History of Pictured Rocks National Lakeshore, 151 report to the National Park Service, Midwest Regional office, July, 1995.
Nationalized Lakeshore: A History of the Creation and the Administration of Sleeping Bear Dunes National Lakeshore (Omaha: National Park Service, 1999).
Ethnohistorical Study of Ottawa and Chippewa the Inland Hunting and Fishing Treaty Report prepared for the United States District Court, Western District of Michigan, United States v. Michigan, 2000.
Beyond Kitty Hawk: Inventing Flight at Huffman Prairie Flying Field, Dayton Aviation Heritage National Historical Park, National Park Service, 2002.
Time and the River: A History of the St. Croix River Valley and Historic Resource Study (Omaha: National Park Service, 2002).
Landscape Report, Landscape Implementation Plan, Landscape Interpretation Plan, Dayton Aviation Heritage National Park, 2002.
Erie Street Neighborhood Settlement House History Project, 2003-2005.
History of Land Allotment on the Saginaw Chippewa Reservation, prepared for the Office of the Attorney General of Michigan, Saginaw Chippewa v. Governor Jennifer Granholm, United States District Court, Eastern District of Michigan, 2006.
Rebuttal Report concerning the work of R. David Edmunds, University of Texas; Gary Clayton Anderson, University of Oklahoma; Frederick Hoxie, University of Illinois; Saginaw Chippewa v. Governor Jennifer Granholm, United States District Court, Eastern District of Michigan, 2007.
Cook County Circuit Court Oral History Project, Chicago, IL, 2004 to 2009. N.O.L.A: An Oral History of the Hurricane Katrina Volunteers, 2009-2013. Chicago Community Trust Oral History Project, 2013-2017.
The Gaylord Building in Historical Context, Illinois and Michigan Canal National Heritage Corridor report prepared for the National Trust for Historic Preservation, 2014.
"Atomic Research in the Forest Preserves: Site A," Outdoor exhibit, Red Gate Woods Forest Preserve, Cook County Forest Preserve District, 2015.
Chrysler Village Neighborhood History Project, N.R. listing, exhibit, oral history, community history festival, 204-2017.
Historical Context Study of Great Lakes Navigation and Navigational Aids, (Omaha: National Park Service, Midwest Region, 2017).
Jesuit Libraries Project with the the Joan and Bill Hank Center for the Catholic Intellectual Heritage, 2017-2018.
Oral History of Chicago Night Clubs of the 1960s, partnership with Happy Medium Ventures, 2017-2019.
Historical Research for Interpretive Kiosks, Cook County Forest Preserve District, September 2017-July, 2018.
Development of Historical Themes for the Sand Ridge Nature Center Exhibit, Cook County Forest Preserve District, Development, March to August, 2019.


Dr. Karamanski conducting a Historical Resources survey at White Deer Lake, Winter 1980

Museum Projects

"Tools of Empire: Maps and Models," Hermon Dunlap Smith Center for the History of Cartography and the Chicago Maritime Society, Newberry Library, 1987.
"Port to Port: Chicago in Great Lakes Maritime History," Chicago Maritime Museum, 1989.
"Chicago in the 1890s: A City Comes of Age," NEH Funded, Chicago Historical Society, 1990.
"Lighthouses of the Illinois Shore," Chicago Maritime Museum, 1990.
"Aircraft Carriers on Lake Michigan," Navy Pier and Chicago Maritime Museum, 1991.
"The Christmas Tree Ships: A Chicago Holiday Tradition," Chicago Maritime Museum, 1992.
"We Have a Job to Do! Chicago and World War 11," NEH Funded, Chicago Historical Society, 1992-93.
"Neighborhoods: Keepers of Culture." The Chicago Historical Society. 1993- 1998.
"Agents of Change: the Jesuits and Mid-America." Traveling Exhibit. Loyola University Chicago. 1992-1993.
"North Park Village Nature Center Exhibition Project". 1999-2001.
"Teen Age Chicago," Exhibit and Oral History Project, 2002-2004, Chicago Historical Society.
"Free to Vote," Chicago History Museum, 2004.
"Exploring Chicago Waterways at the Newberry," Hermon Dunlap Smith Center for the History of Cartography, Newberry Library Chicago, 2002.
"Lincoln's Blood Project," Ethical Guidelines for Biohistorical Research, in conjunction with Chicago Historical Society and the Institute for Law, Science, and Technology, 2002-2004.
"Evanston History Gallery," Evanston Historical Society, Evanston, Illinois, 2005.
"Catholic Chicago," Chicago History Museum, 2008.
“Crossings and Dwellings: Restored Jesuits, Women Religious, American Experience, 1814-2014,” Loyola Museum of Art, 2014.
"Maritime Chicago: From Canoes to the Modern Lakefront," Chicago Maritime Museum, 2017.
"RACE: Are We So Different? Visitor Evaluation Study and Assessment of Museums as Engagement Sites for Discussing Difficult Issues." Illinois Holocaust Museum and Education Center 2014-2015, South Carolina State Museum 2016, San Diego Museum of Man 2017, and Chicago History Museum, 2018.

Group photo of two rows taken inside a convention hall.

NCPH Sacramento 1994

Past NCPH Presidents at 1994 Sacramento Meeting. Front row (L to R): Patricia Mooney-Melvin, Noel Stowe, Theodore Karamanski, Jeffrey Brown, Wesley Johnson. Back row (L to R): Philip Scarpino, Brit Storey, Barbara Howe, Martin Melosi

Professional Engagement

National Council on Public History, Founding Board Member, 1980.
National Council on Public History, "Ethical Code for Public Historians," 1983-85.
National Council on Public History, Teaching Public History. A Summer Humanities Institute funded by the National Endowment for the Humanities at Arizona State University in 1984.
National Council on Public History, Board of Directors, 1980-1986. National Council on Public History, Treasurer, 1986-88.
National Council on Public History, President, 1989-1990. National Council on Public History, President, 1994-95.
National Council on Public History, Editorial Board, The Public Historian, 1996- 2002.
National Council on Public History, Chair, 1989 & 2008 Annual Conference, 2006- 2008 (created Working Group sessions).

Education and Pedagogy

8 faculty-produced articles in The Public Historian on pedagogy and practice.
Public History Program reviews: Temple University, Middle Tennessee State University, Cleveland State University, Northwestern State University, Duquesne University.
American Historical Association, Career Diversity Faculty Institute, 2017; Career Diversity Implementation Grant, 2018-2020.
"Integrating Public History Into the Curriculum," Organization of American History/Fund for the Improvement of Post-Secondary Education Workshops for the Revitalization of the Teaching of History, 1986-1989.
Great Lakes Public History Workshop, co-sponsored by Loyola University and the National Park Service, 1998-2008.
"Public History Faculty Training Program in China," Chongqing, Peoples Republic of China, 2015.
Public History Workshop, European University Institute, Florene, Italy, 2015.


Public History alumna Donna Neary working as a corporate archivist for Kraft, Inc. in the advertising collection, 1987

Public Research

Cultural Resource Survey of the Cook County Forest Preserve District: Calumet and Palos 95 pp. report prepared by the Mid-American Research Center, Loyola University of Chicago, 1980.
Archaeological and Historical Resource Literature Search of the Chicago Area: Annotated Bibliography and Mapping of Known Sites. 16 pp. report prepared by the Mid-American Research Center, Loyola University of Chicago, 1980.
Historical Resource Reconnaissance for the Little Calumet River Flood Control Project. 24 pp. report prepared by the Mid-American Research Center for the United States Army Corps of Engineers, Chicago District, 1980.
Historical Use Study of White Deer Lake Camp, Marquette County, 60 pp. report prepared by the Mid-American Research Center for the United States Forest Service, Eastern Region Office, 1980.
Millwood Plantation Archaeological Excavation and Evaluation, Abbeville County, South Carolina, 1981-1983, National Park Service, Atlanta, Georgia.
Historical Records Study of Logging Industry and Pioneer-Homesteading Cultural Resources on the Hiawatha National Forest. 189 pp. report prepared by the Mid American Research Center for the United States Forest Service, Eastern Region Office (November 1983).
History and Cultural Resources: Mining and Pioneer Agriculture on the Ottawa National Forest. 204 pp. report prepared by the Mid-American Research Center for the United States Forest Service, Eastern Regional Office (July, 1984).
Inventory and Assessment of Archaeological Resources within the Illinois and Michigan Canal National Heritage Corridor. Report prepared in conjunction with American Resource Group for the National Park Service, Midwest Archaeological Research Center (August, 1985).
History of the Isle Royale National Park, 386 report prepared by the MidAmerican Research Center for the National Park Service, April, 1987.
Narrative History of the Shoshone National Forest, 232 pp. report prepared by the Mid-American Research Center for the Rocky Mountain Region, United States Forest Service, November, 1988.
Historic Lighthouses and Navigation Aids on the Illinois Shore of Lake Michigan, 89 pp. report by the Chicago Maritime Society for the Illinois Historic Preservation Agency, June, 1990.
Saving the Saint Croix: A History of the Saint Croix National Scenic 244 pp. report to the National Park Service, Midwest Regional Office, December, 1992.
"Guidebook to DoD-related World War II Sites and Museums." Legacy Resource Management Program, Department of Defense. 1992-1995.
The Pictured Rocks: An Administrative History of Pictured Rocks National Lakeshore, 151 report to the National Park Service, Midwest Regional office, July, 1995.
Nationalized Lakeshore: A History of the Creation and the Administration of Sleeping Bear Dunes National Lakeshore (Omaha: National Park Service, 1999).
Ethnohistorical Study of Ottawa and Chippewa the Inland Hunting and Fishing Treaty Report prepared for the United States District Court, Western District of Michigan, United States v. Michigan, 2000.
Beyond Kitty Hawk: Inventing Flight at Huffman Prairie Flying Field, Dayton Aviation Heritage National Historical Park, National Park Service, 2002.
Time and the River: A History of the St. Croix River Valley and Historic Resource Study (Omaha: National Park Service, 2002).
Landscape Report, Landscape Implementation Plan, Landscape Interpretation Plan, Dayton Aviation Heritage National Park, 2002.
Erie Street Neighborhood Settlement House History Project, 2003-2005.
History of Land Allotment on the Saginaw Chippewa Reservation, prepared for the Office of the Attorney General of Michigan, Saginaw Chippewa v. Governor Jennifer Granholm, United States District Court, Eastern District of Michigan, 2006.
Rebuttal Report concerning the work of R. David Edmunds, University of Texas; Gary Clayton Anderson, University of Oklahoma; Frederick Hoxie, University of Illinois; Saginaw Chippewa v. Governor Jennifer Granholm, United States District Court, Eastern District of Michigan, 2007.
Cook County Circuit Court Oral History Project, Chicago, IL, 2004 to 2009. N.O.L.A: An Oral History of the Hurricane Katrina Volunteers, 2009-2013. Chicago Community Trust Oral History Project, 2013-2017.
The Gaylord Building in Historical Context, Illinois and Michigan Canal National Heritage Corridor report prepared for the National Trust for Historic Preservation, 2014.
"Atomic Research in the Forest Preserves: Site A," Outdoor exhibit, Red Gate Woods Forest Preserve, Cook County Forest Preserve District, 2015.
Chrysler Village Neighborhood History Project, N.R. listing, exhibit, oral history, community history festival, 204-2017.
Historical Context Study of Great Lakes Navigation and Navigational Aids, (Omaha: National Park Service, Midwest Region, 2017).
Jesuit Libraries Project with the the Joan and Bill Hank Center for the Catholic Intellectual Heritage, 2017-2018.
Oral History of Chicago Night Clubs of the 1960s, partnership with Happy Medium Ventures, 2017-2019.
Historical Research for Interpretive Kiosks, Cook County Forest Preserve District, September 2017-July, 2018.
Development of Historical Themes for the Sand Ridge Nature Center Exhibit, Cook County Forest Preserve District, Development, March to August, 2019.


Dr. Karamanski conducting a Historical Resources survey at White Deer Lake, Winter 1980

Museum Projects

"Tools of Empire: Maps and Models," Hermon Dunlap Smith Center for the History of Cartography and the Chicago Maritime Society, Newberry Library, 1987.
"Port to Port: Chicago in Great Lakes Maritime History," Chicago Maritime Museum, 1989.
"Chicago in the 1890s: A City Comes of Age," NEH Funded, Chicago Historical Society, 1990.
"Lighthouses of the Illinois Shore," Chicago Maritime Museum, 1990.
"Aircraft Carriers on Lake Michigan," Navy Pier and Chicago Maritime Museum, 1991.
"The Christmas Tree Ships: A Chicago Holiday Tradition," Chicago Maritime Museum, 1992.
"We Have a Job to Do! Chicago and World War 11," NEH Funded, Chicago Historical Society, 1992-93.
"Neighborhoods: Keepers of Culture." The Chicago Historical Society. 1993- 1998.
"Agents of Change: the Jesuits and Mid-America." Traveling Exhibit. Loyola University Chicago. 1992-1993.
"North Park Village Nature Center Exhibition Project". 1999-2001.
"Teen Age Chicago," Exhibit and Oral History Project, 2002-2004, Chicago Historical Society.
"Free to Vote," Chicago History Museum, 2004.
"Exploring Chicago Waterways at the Newberry," Hermon Dunlap Smith Center for the History of Cartography, Newberry Library Chicago, 2002.
"Lincoln's Blood Project," Ethical Guidelines for Biohistorical Research, in conjunction with Chicago Historical Society and the Institute for Law, Science, and Technology, 2002-2004.
"Evanston History Gallery," Evanston Historical Society, Evanston, Illinois, 2005.
"Catholic Chicago," Chicago History Museum, 2008.
“Crossings and Dwellings: Restored Jesuits, Women Religious, American Experience, 1814-2014,” Loyola Museum of Art, 2014.
"Maritime Chicago: From Canoes to the Modern Lakefront," Chicago Maritime Museum, 2017.
"RACE: Are We So Different? Visitor Evaluation Study and Assessment of Museums as Engagement Sites for Discussing Difficult Issues." Illinois Holocaust Museum and Education Center 2014-2015, South Carolina State Museum 2016, San Diego Museum of Man 2017, and Chicago History Museum, 2018.

Professional Engagement

National Council on Public History, Founding Board Member, 1980.
National Council on Public History, "Ethical Code for Public Historians," 1983-85.
National Council on Public History, Teaching Public History. A Summer Humanities Institute funded by the National Endowment for the Humanities at Arizona State University in 1984.
National Council on Public History, Board of Directors, 1980-1986. National Council on Public History, Treasurer, 1986-88.
National Council on Public History, President, 1989-1990. National Council on Public History, President, 1994-95.
National Council on Public History, Editorial Board, The Public Historian, 1996- 2002.
National Council on Public History, Chair, 1989 & 2008 Annual Conference, 2006- 2008 (created Working Group sessions).

Education and Pedagogy

8 faculty-produced articles in The Public Historian on pedagogy and practice.
Public History Program reviews: Temple University, Middle Tennessee State University, Cleveland State University, Northwestern State University, Duquesne University.
American Historical Association, Career Diversity Faculty Institute, 2017; Career Diversity Implementation Grant, 2018-2020.
"Integrating Public History Into the Curriculum," Organization of American History/Fund for the Improvement of Post-Secondary Education Workshops for the Revitalization of the Teaching of History, 1986-1989.
Great Lakes Public History Workshop, co-sponsored by Loyola University and the National Park Service, 1998-2008.
"Public History Faculty Training Program in China," Chongqing, Peoples Republic of China, 2015.
Public History Workshop, European University Institute, Florene, Italy, 2015.

Ruby Oram, PhD in Public History and American History ('20)

"This program is ideal for prospective students who want a foot in both worlds. I left the program feeling confident that I could work with cultural institutions as a public historian or pursue an academic career as a US historian in a four-year university. I currently do both as a faculty member at Texas State...."

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Career Paths in Public History

Joint Task Force release on Career Paths in Public History

In the summer of 2020, the Joint Task Force on Public History Education and Employment released “Career Paths in Public History,” a report on its survey of alumni of Master’s-level programs in public history. View the full report by following the link below.

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