Alumni

Editors note: This piece originally appeared on the Prairie Research Institute Website.Meet Alexander Rushing...

Russell Wigginton (PhD, '01, History) is the president of the National Civil Rights Museum in Memphis, Tennessee. A profile about his career was the cover story of the Summer 2024 issue of Illinois Alumni magazine....

This year Ernest Crim III (BA, '09, history) was our convocation speaker. Crim is the founder of Crim’s Cultural Consulting. Through his work, he speaks to companies, middle and high schools, educators, colleges, and community groups and uses Black historical narratives to empower and educate...

Charles J. Shields (BA, English, '75; MA, History, '79) is the author of 20 nonfiction books for young readers, and biographies of Harper Lee, John Williams, Kurt Vonnegut, and Lorraine Hansberry. He recently retired after a successful 25 year career as a writer where he combined his interest in...

How Black history changed Ernest Crim III's lifeWhen Ernest Crim III (BA, ’09, history) first started at the University of Illinois, he thought he wanted to be a psychology major. He was the friend that everyone confided in, so he thought “hey, maybe I want to be a psychologist, right?” Then, in...

An annual study of recent alumni reports 94% of history majors who graduated during the most recent 2022-2023 period secured their first destination within six months of commencement.  Of that figure, 56% of new graduates found employment, and 38% sought further education such as graduate...

Matthew DiCianni (BA, ’07, history and ...

Courtney Cain is a future three-time graduate of Illinois with a bachelor’s, master’s, and doctoral degree in history. After she officially graduates in August, she will be teaching at Lake Forest College as an assistant professor of history and...