NEWS@USU
Leonard Rosenband: An official USU — and American Historical Association — life changer. Donna Barry, University photographer
And the Rest is History Leonard Rosenband, professor of history in Utah State University’s College of Humanities and Social Sciences, has strong feelings about teaching. “I care about the classroom,” he said. “And I’ve taught with all of my soul and all of my passion and all of my heart. I’ve never wanted to do it in a half-way fashion.” With such sincere dedication, it’s no wonder Rosenband recently was announced as the recipient of the 2014 Nancy Lyman Roelker Mentorship Award. The award honors “teachers of history who taught, guided and inspired their students “If I do have a teaching in a way that changed their lives.” The honor, a national award philosophy, it’s one sentence. I try presented by the American Historical Association, is bestowed on to help students to do better with a three-year cycle that rewards in turn, graduate mentors (including their minds; to think more clearly combined graduate and undergraduate teaching); secondary and more profoundly than they ever school teachers; and undergraduate mentors (both two-and fourimagined they were capable of.” year colleges), for which Rosenband won. Of course, many educators have lofty teaching aspirations, but for Rosenband they are a given. Former students speak of a passion for history brought into the classroom each and every day … unfailingly. But Rosenband is humble about his ability to connect with students and make the long ago lives of historical figures become real and immediate to 21st century students. “The only physical apparatus I use in the classroom is a map,” he explained. “Otherwise I use my learning and the power of narrative. Narrative is the great strength that historians have at their disposal.” Rosenband’s narrative, however, does not consist of standing behind a lectern spouting historical timelines. “It’s common to see his six-and-a-half-foot frame, shoes removed, practically dancing across the front of the room as he explains a concept,” said Tammy Proctor, head of 2 UTAHSTATE I WINTER 2015
USU’s College of Humanities and Social Science’s Department of History. Rosenband explains simply that he is “passionate” about the things he teaches. “I try to teach what it was like to live for the vast majority of the population in the past,” he said. “Whether they were liquidated in the Holocaust, fought in the trenches in World War I, labored 12 hours a day, six days a week in early factories, or survived giving birth, that’s what I talk about.” And although modern teaching philosophies may be elaborate, steeped in intricate theoretical notions and dusted with psychological insights, Rosenband’s teaching philosophy — or lack of philosophy — is simple. “If I do have a teaching philosophy, it’s one sentence,” he said. “I try to help students to do better with their minds; to think more clearly and more profoundly than they ever imagined they were capable of.” Rosenband will retire from teaching this year to concentrate on writing. “Teaching is editing. Taking the vast amount of knowledge that every scholar has and fitting it into a very compressed amount of time,” Rosenband explained. “Writing is teasing out. And I can’t do the two mindsets together.” “Professor Rosenband is an excellent example of a high caliber scholar/teacher,” said John Allen, dean of USU’s College of Humanities and Social Sciences. “He represents our continual goal to hire high quality scholars who have excellent teaching skills. We are very fortunate that professor Rosenband chose USU to make his career.” — Kristin Middaugh ’06
