Jeffrey McClurken, associate professor of history and American studies, has been recognized with the J. Christopher (“Topher”) Bill Outstanding Faculty Service Award for his contributions to the university as well as involvement and leadership in the community.
“His work with administrators, alumni, community members, faculty and students alike constitutes a truly impressive record of service,” said Chris Foss, professor of English, who presented the award at an open faculty session Thursday, Aug. 23.
McClurken, who joined the UMW faculty in 2001, has been instrumental to the university’s digital history efforts and has been on the forefront of incorporating technology in the classroom. He also serves as chairperson of the history and American studies department.
He has presented numerous lectures and presentations across the country on teaching with social media, digital history and 19th-century American social and cultural history. His 2009 book “Take Care of the Living: Reconstructing Confederate Veteran Families in Virginia” examines the long-term consequences of the Civil War for veterans and their families in Southside Virginia. McClurken recently was named website review editor for the Journal of American History.
McClurken, named to the Princeton Review’s inaugural list of “300 Best Professors,” received the Mary Washington Young Alumnus Award in 2003.
In addition to his work in the history department, McClurken has served as chair of numerous university committees, including the Campus Academic Resources Committee, the Race and Gender Curriculum Advisory Committee and the Provost’s Ad Hoc University Committee on Digital Initiatives. He also has been active in countless university-wide initiatives, including the Teaching and Learning Technologies Roundtable, the Monroe Hall Renovation Planning Committee and the College of Arts and Sciences Strategic Planning Committee.
Outside of UMW, McClurken frequently lends his time to local public school systems, as well as to the Central Rappahannock Regional Library.
A 1994 graduate of Mary Washington, McClurken received a doctorate from Johns Hopkins University.
An endowment that funds the service award was established through the generosity of the former students, colleagues, friends and family of the late Christopher Bill, professor of psychology. The award recognizes Bill’s extraordinary service as a member of the UMW teaching faculty from 1972 to 2001. Bill died in December 2001.
The selection criteria for the award stipulates that the recipient must have served a minimum of seven years as a member of the Mary Washington teaching faculty and must have been heavily and consistently involved in a variety of service capacities, including departmental, university-wide and community service. Nominations may be submitted by any member of the teaching faculty, staff or student body of the university.