Editor’s Note

Back from sabbatical, I can think of no better way to get in the swing of things than to offer an issue with West Virginia University as its theme. Higher education impacts the state in many ways. This issue begins with former editor and West Virginia’s historian laureate Ronald L. Lewis’s wide-ranging summary of his new book on the University’s modern era, Aspiring to Greatness. Taken from his Festival of Ideas talk, we hope that it will encourage many to read further in his book and think about its conclusions. Next, we offer a piece from Rosemary Hathaway, a faculty member in WVU’s English Department, on the contested and changing nature of one of the enduring images of the University, the Mountaineer. Although the symbol predates the university and even the state, the stereotypes of West Virginians have evoked both defiance and defensiveness and continue to evolve in ways that tell us much about our culture.

On occasion, we get a paper from a student that excites us about the possibilities of undergraduate research projects. Our third article represents one of those occasions. Miriah Hamrick was a student in Elizabeth Fones-Wolf’s capstone class. Her paper, with some finishing touches from her professor, on the debate over evolution at WVU, which involved three-time presidential candidate William Jennings Bryan, is a fascinating look at the state’s involvement with a very controversial issue four years prior to the famous Scopes Trial. We also offer another interesting feature in this issue, a recent document written by WVU graduate Charles D. Dusch Jr., a History PhD (2009). In it he recalls his experiences as a civilian Air Force historian with the 332nd Air Expeditionary Wing (AEW) at Joint Base Balad, Iraq, in 2011, demonstrating that the university has impact far and wide. Finally, we include the annual bibliography—this time compiled by a new contributor, Stewart Plein, taking over for Harold Forbes—and our usual complement of reviews. Enjoy!