Office: COPH 101B | Phone: (308) 865-8263 | Email: stoutamirewf@unk.edu
Dr. Stoutamire is an assistant professor of history at UNK and coordinator of the undergraduate public history minor and graduate concentration in public history. He is originally from Tallahassee, Florida, where he was exposed at a young and impressionable age to museums and historic sites through family road trips. He hasn’t turned back since. He went on to earn a BA in History from Florida State University before moving across the country to complete a PhD in History, with a public history concentration, at Arizona State University. During this time, he interned for a variety of museums, including the Museum of Florida History and the Smithsonian’s National Museum of American History.
While in Arizona, Dr. Stoutamire became an avid backpacker and worked on several contract projects for the National Park Service, which shifted his interest to a focus on heritage issues and public lands in the American West. He has carried this interest to his work at UNK, where he collaborates with local and statewide organizations, such as the Nebraska Game & Parks Commission, to develop engaging public interpretation of Nebraska’s dynamic history.
Dr. Stoutamire has published articles in academic journals such as The Public Historian and The Journal of Arizona History. He is currently working on a book manuscript, tentatively titled Imagining Antiquity: A New History of the American Antiquities Act. This book will expand upon his earlier research to explore the origins and early uses of the Antiquities Act within the context of settler colonialism, Progressive-era nationalism, and emerging regional identities throughout the American West.
Before joining the UNK History Department, Dr. Stoutamire served for five years as director of the G.W. Frank Museum of History and Culture. The Frank Museum is an on-campus historic house museum that he developed into a laboratory for students learning about museum administration, collections management, exhibit design, and historic site interpretation. He was recognized for this work with the University of Nebraska KUDOS Award and the New Professional Award from the National Council on Public History.
Undergraduate:
Dr. Stoutamire believes that the best history work is created collaboratively. He enjoys working closely with our community partners in public history, including the Buffalo County Historical Society and the G.W. Frank Museum of History and Culture. He has also developed a close relationship with the Nebraska Game & Parks Commission, which provides exciting opportunities for student projects and internships. When not working to promote public history in Nebraska, you’ll find him serving in his role as co-chair for the Long Range Planning Committee with the National Council on Public History or as a member of the editorial board for The Journal of Arizona History and the American Association of State and Local History’s series with Rowman & Littlefield Press.
Contact Dr. Stoutamire by sending him an email (stoutamirewf@unk.edu) or messaging him on Twitter @wstoutamire. Students interested in the UNK public history program should set up a time to meet with Dr. Stoutamire using his Calendly.
