DR. TODD PFANNESTIEL, DISTINGUISHED FACULTY

            A funny thing happened to 2007 Clarion University Alumni Association Distinguished Faculty Award recipient Dr. Todd Pfannestiel while trying to overcome a case of undergraduate shyness – he became a history major. Everything that followed is, of course, “history.”

            Since 1998, Pfannestiel has taught history at Clarion University, coming to campus directly from graduate school.

            “I have been very lucky,” said Pfannestiel about his time at Clarion. “I am very honored and humbled to be recognized by the Alumni Association. Being a historian, I have looked at the names of the past recipients – Clarion legends for whom buildings are named, such as Tippin, Moore, Still, and Hart; as well as many of my current colleagues, such as Dunn, Roth, Freed, and McElhattan. I see this award as not just being distinguished, but being a piece of university history. This validates that I am doing something right by the university and its students.”

            The Alumni Association Award is the second big recognition for Pfannestiel this year. In the spring the Clarion University Student Athlete Association honored him as its “Faculty Member of the Year.”

            “That was one of the top honors I’ve ever received because it came from the students,” said Pfannestiel. “That is hard to beat. The students validated my teaching and now the Alumni Association has recognized it as well. I am very proud that the history department has had multiple recipients of the Distinguished Faculty Award. It is reflective of the quality of the department and the quality of teaching throughout Clarion University.”

            Pfannestiel was raised in Oklahoma from the age of six on. He admits to having great history teachers in high school and being fascinated with the past, yet he entered the University of Arkansas as a journalism major. That interest lasted only a few weeks before he switched majors to economics. Another change was still ahead.

            “I had a good history teacher at Arkansas, but I was shy and didn’t know how to approach him and ask a question,” recalled Pfannestiel. “I finally approached him in the hallway and as an ice breaker asked him about becoming a history major. He scheduled me to come to his office and when I did he had all the paperwork completed for me to be a history major. Not knowing what else to do, I signed and it worked out very well.”

            He went on to earn his B.A. degree in history and economics from Arkansas, where he was also a Fulbright College Scholar. He enrolled in graduate school at Duke University, majoring in Soviet economics at the precise time the Soviet Union collapsed.

            “I had been advised to major in economics because there would be more job opportunities, but I really missed history,” said Pfannestiel. “I wound up at the College of William and Mary as a graduate student in history. I also got to teach at William and Mary and found out I had some ability for it. I knew I wanted to teach for a lifetime.”

            Pfannestiel earned his Ph.D. in history from William and Mary, but reports it was a, “heavy dose of fate,” along with, “sheer luck” that got him his job at Clarion. He had never been in Pennsylvania until the day he moved to Clarion in 1998.

            “Clarion was looking for a one year replacement for a professor on sabbatical,” recalled Pfannestiel. “One of my Clarion colleagues, Dr. Steve Piott had taken graduate courses from Dr. Jim Whittenburg when he was a graduate student at the University of Missouri. Whittenburg had moved on to William and Mary and was one of my professors. Steve called him and asked if he knew of anyone who could teach a course in the Great Depression and other subjects for a year. Whittenburg recommended me and I got the job.”

            Five one-year contracts later, Pfannestiel was placed on a permanent contract. He earned tenure in 2006.

            Pfannestiel is the advisor to Phi Alpha Theta Honor Society in History and the Clarion University History Club. He and his clubs have taken on several projects including the ongoing Clarion University History Project, where he and his students are attempting to gather as much of Clarion University’s 140-year history as possible; and for the last three years at Halloween have led the Clarion University Ghost Walk, which attracts 400 or more participants. He also organizes the annual Constitution Day events on campus.

            He is the author of “Rethinking the Red Scare: The Lusk Committee and New York’s Crusade Against Radicalism” and coauthor of “Creamed Onions for Supper: The Great Depression in Western Pennsylvania.” His current research interest is American popular culture.

            “I am so happy to be here, Clarion is the perfect fit for me,” he said. “I have great colleagues and great students. I am also a big Pittsburgh sports fan and I never thought I would be this close to Pittsburgh.”