Apr 2, 2016 - Union’s Delta-Psi chapter of Phi Alpha Theta History Honor Society hosted the 2016 Tennessee Phi Alpha Theta Regional Conference on April 2. Eighty-eight people including faculty, students, administrators, and parents, attended the event, and they came from 15 colleges and universities in Tennessee (13 schools), Alabama, and Arkansas. Dr. Stephen Carls, the faculty advisor of Union’s chapter and chair of the society’s national advisory board, coordinated the conference, and Robert Briley was his chief assistant.
Thirty-five students delivered papers as parts of 12 panels that ranged from the ancient world to twentieth-century America. In addition, a group from Austin Peay State University presented a student engagement workshop on “What Women Wore: A Collection of Women’s Clothing and Accessories from the Nineteenth to the Early Twentieth Century.”
Four Union students were among the paper presenters. They, along with their paper titles, were: Jeremy Ebert, “Corruption on the Railroad;” Kathryn Mitchell, “Clarence Saunders and the Need for a New American Grocery;” Jordan Sellers, “The Irish in New York, 1820-1870;” and Olivia Winters, “A Trio of Death: Yellow Fever Epidemics in Memphis.”
Three Union University faculty members served as panel chairs/commentators. Dr. Henry Allen presided at a panel entitled “The United States from 1890 to 1920: Imperialism, Prostitution, and the Spanish Influenza Pandemic,” while Dr. Terry Lindley oversaw a panel on “American Foreign Policy in the 20th Century: From the Washington Naval Conference to the Vietnam War.” Dr. David Thomas chaired a panel called “Art, Music, and Memory in Modern Times.”
The conference luncheon was the last planned activity. Dr. John Netland, Union’s Dean of the College of Arts and Sciences, delivered the invocation. Dr. C. Ben Mitchell, Union’s Provost and Vice President for Academic Affairs, and Delta-Psi President Nicholas Hancock then gave warm welcomes to the attendees. Carls represented the society’s national office: he announced New Orleans as the site for the 2018 Phi Alpha Theta national convention and encouraged attendees to visit the society’s website. He also talked about the Delta-Psi chapter’s connection with Peeps candies, at which point Dr. Minoa Uffelman, the faculty advisor for Austin Peay State University’s chapter, presented him with a special “Austin Peeps” basket containing a plush Peeps bunny dressed up in the same garb as the “Governors,” the school’s mascot.
Dr. Michael Birdwell, Professor of History at Tennessee Technological University and Chair of the Tennessee Great War Commission, gave the luncheon keynote address. His topic was “Mud, Blood, and Slumgullion: Tennesseans’ Experiences in the Great War.”
Carls concluded the conference luncheon by awarding paper prizes in three categories. For the undergraduate papers in American history, the winners were: First Place, Jordan Heykoop of Belmont University; Second Place, Emily Rose Clayton of Martin Methodist College; and Third Place, Adrian Scaife of Rhodes College. The winners in the undergraduate world papers competition were: First Place, Zachary Hammons of Tennessee Technical University; Second Place, Will Van Wyhe of the University of Memphis; and Third Place, Priscilla Gutierrez of Austin Peay State University. The winner in the graduate student paper category was Alexandria Poppendorf of Austin Peay State University.
Faculty, staff, and students from Union University who provided special assistance before or during the conference were: faculty – Dr. Henry Allen, Dr. Keith Bates, Robert Briley, and Dr. James Patterson; staff – Sarah Belcher, Rebecca Edgren, and Cam Tracy; and students – Allen Bradley, Lauren Geary, Kathryn Mitchell, Priscilla Porter, and Olivia Winters. Drs. Marvin Downing and Margaret Lewis of the University of Tennessee at Martin also helped in important ways.
The 2017 Tennessee Phi Alpha Theta Regional Conference will be held at the University of Tennessee at Martin on April 1.
Olivia Winters (left) and Lauren Geary take care of the registration table at the 2016 Phi Alpha Theta Regional Conference at Union University on April 2.
Seth Harden (left to right) of the University of Memphis, David Gregory of Cumberland University, and Jordan Sellers of Union University wait for the start of their panel on "Early America: Puritans, Native Americans, and Irish Immigrants" at the Tennessee Phi Alpha Theta Regional Conference on April 2, 2016.
Union University's Jordan Sellers presents a paper on Irish immigration in nineteenth-century New York at the Phi Alpha Theta regional conference on April 2, 2016.
Union University history department faculty members listen to Delta-Psi chapter member Jordan Sellers present her paper on Irish immigration in nineteenth-century New York at the Phi Alpha Theta regional conference on April 2, 2016. They are (left to right) Dr. David Thomas, Dr. Henry Allen, Dr. Keith Bates, and Dr. Terry Lindley.
Dr. Michael Birdwell (standing) of Tennessee Technological University discusses student papers at a panel entitled "Tennessee History" at the Phi Alpha Theta regional conference on April 2, 2016.
Delta-Psi chapter member Kathryn Mitchell answers a question about Clarence Saunders during a panel on "Tennessee History" at the Tennessee Phi Alpha Theta Regional Conference on April 2, 2016.
Dr. Terry Lindley comments on papers for the panel entitled "American Foreign Policy in the 20th Century: From the Washington Naval Conference to the Vietnam War" at the Phi Alpha Theta regional conference on April 2, 2016.
Dr. Corey Markum of Freed-Hardeman University serves as the chair/commentator for the panel on "The American Civil War" at the 2016 Tennessee Phi Alpha Theta Regional Conference at Union University on April 2.
Union's Dr. David Thomas chairs the Phi Alpha Theta regional conference panel on "Art, Music, and Memory in Modern Times" on April 2, 2016.
Union's Dr. Keith Bates (left) and Dr. James Patterson (sitting in the row ahead of Bates) attend a panel on "The United States from 1860 to 1900: Economics, Railroad Corruption, and Epidemics" at the Phi Alpha Theta regional conference on April 2, 2016. Dr. Jerry Gaw of Lipscomb University is seated on the right in the front row.
Union University's Jeremy Ebert presents a paper on "Corruption on the Railroad" for a panel called "The United States from 1860 to 1900: Economics, Railroad Corruption, and Epidemics" at the Phi Alpha Theta regional conference on April 2, 2016.
Delta-Psi chapter member Olivia Winters delivers a paper on "A Trio of Death: Yellow Fever Epidemics in Memphis" for a panel entitled "The United States from 1860 to 1900: Economics, Railroad Corruption, and Epidemics" at the Phi Alpha Theta regional conference on April 2, 2016. Photo by MiKalla Cotton
Union's Dr. Henry Allen serves as the chair/commentator for a panel entitled "The United States from the 1890s to 1920: Imperialism, Prostitution, and the Spanish Influenza Pandemic" at the Tennessee Phi Alpha Theta Regional Conference on April 2, 2016.
Dr. Alice-Catherine Carls of the University of Tennessee at Martin provides commentary during the panel entitled "The Holocaust" at the Phi Alpha Theta regional conference on April 2, 2016.
Phi Alpha Theta regional conference attendees head toward the Grant Events Center at Union University for the conference luncheon on April 2, 2016. They are (left to right) Amy Hawkins and Mark Hawkins of the University of Tennessee at Martin, and Allen Bradley of Union University.
Tables are ready for guests at the Phi Alpha Theta regional conference luncheon at Union University on April 2, 2016.
Attendees at the Phi Alpha Theta regional conference on April 2, 2016, go through the food line at the conference luncheon. They are (foreground, left to right) Zachary Lane of Tusculum College, and Dr. Keith Bates, Jeremy Ebert, and Priscilla Porter of Union University.
Dr. Stephen Carls shows off a Peeps T-shirt during the Phi Alpha Theta regional conference luncheon on April 2, 2016. Photo by MiKalla Cotton
Union's Dr. Stephen Carls stands with Dr. Minoa Uffelman of Austin Peay State University after accepting a specially prepared Peeps basket presented by her on behalf of Austin Peay State's Theta-Delta chapter at the 2016 Tennessee Phi Alpha Theta Regional Conference on April 2.
Dr. Michael Birdwell of Tennessee Technological University talks about "Mud, Blood, and Slumgullion: Tennesseans' Experiences in the Great War" as the luncheon keynote speaker at the 2016 Tennessee Phi Alpha Theta Regional Conference on April 2. Photo by MiKalla Cotton
Union's Dr. Stephen Carls (left) congratulates Zachary Hammons of Tennessee Technological University on winning first place in the undergraduate paper competition for world history at the Phi Alpha Theta regional conference on April 2, 2016. Hammons' paper was entitled "The Jewish-Roman War of 66-73 CE: A New Analysis of Cause and Effect." Photo by MiKalla Cotton
Dr. Stephen Carls presents the first place award in the undergraduate paper competition for American history to Jordan Heykoop of Belmont University at the Phi Alpha Theta regional conference on April 2, 2016. Photo by MiKalla Cotton
Dr. Stephen Carls presents the winning award in the graduate student history paper competition to Alexandria Poppendorf of Austin Peay State University at the Phi Alpha Theta regional conference luncheon on April 2, 2016. Photo by MiKalla Cotton