The Illinois State Historical Society announced Distinguished Professor Emeritus of History Mark Wyman as the winner of the 2022 Lifetime Achievement Award.
Appears In“Dr. Wyman embodies Illinois and midwestern history in both substance and spirit,” said Dr. Ross A. Kennedy, Illinois State’s Department of History chair. “He engaged generations of students with his heartfelt, knowledgeable classes on the labor and ethnic history of the Midwest and the nation.”
Dr. Wyman served 35 years as a professor in the Department of History at Illinois State University. Wyman’s scholarly focus is on labor, cultural, and social history. He also assisted with research alongside the Bloomington-Normal Black Project regarding the history of de facto segregation in the area.
Wyman is the author of eight books and numerous essays and articles. Areas of Wyman’s writing range from his acclaimed transnational studies of return migration and displaced persons to more targeted work on the history of Illinois State and of the Parklands Foundation. The Mark Wyman Scholarship was established in 2004 in honor of Mark Wyman by family, friends, and colleagues. The scholarship is awarded to a student beginning his/her second semester majoring in history.
The Department of History and the McLean County Museum of History jointly nominated Wyman for the award. “I have known Mark—personally and professionally—for many years now, and he is an exemplary academic who situates his historical research, teaching, and advocacy within the local community,” said Greg Koos, Museum of History executive director emeritus.
The Illinois State Historical Society will present Wyman with the award Saturday, April 9, at the Hoogland Center for the Arts in Springfield. Find out more.
