Our Chair is Dr. Anthony Cheeseboro. We hope this website answers questions you might have about undergraduate and graduate offerings in History, our faculty, and news of the Department. If you have further questions, please contact the office at (618) 650-2414.
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On Saturday May 10, 2008 eleven graduate students earned MAs in History and 34 undergraduates earned Bachelor’s degrees during commencement ceremonies at SIUE. The History Department honored our new graduates and celebrated the career of Emeritus Professor Patrick Riddleberge (pictured here with History Professor and Dean of the Graduate School Steve Hansen). Professor Riddleberger and two other former members of the department were recently honored by an anonymous gift to the University in their names.
Dr. Riddleberger earned his MA (1949) and PhD (1953) in History from the University of California, Berkeley. He has had a distinguished career as a teacher and scholar at SIUE since he joined the faculty in 1960. In 1972, he was awarded the Teaching Excellence Award and in 1981 the Alumni Association’s Great Teacher Award. In 2000, he was given an Honorary Doctorate by the University. Dr. Riddleberger has published two important books in American Civil War history: George Washington Julian, Radical Republican: A Study in 19th Century Politics and Reform (1966) and 1866: The Critical Year Revisited (1979). He also published several scholarly articles. Though Dr. Riddleberger retired from teaching in 1984, he continues his research and writing on campus.
The two other honorees are Stanley Kimball who passed away in 2003 and Wilbur McAfee who passed away last summer. Prof. Kimball was a Western American historian and taught at SIUE for 41 years from 1959 to 2000. Wilbur C. McAfee was a member of the Dept. from 1969 to 1980.