AU’s Excellence in Scholarship Award goes to Moser

ASHLAND, Ohio – John Moser, a professor of history within the College of Arts and Sciences at Ashland University, was recently selected as this year’s winner of the University’s Excellence in Scholarship Award.

Moser became an AU faculty member in 2001 and currently serves as chair of the Master of American History and Government program. He teaches courses on modern European, American and East Asian history. He has published numerous works, including seven books beginning with “Twisting the Lions Tail: American Anglophobia Between the World Wars,” which remains his most widely-reviewed book. More recently, he has written three books for the innovative Reacting to the Past consortium, in which immersive role-playing games are used in the classroom to engage students in their own learning. Moser is currently working on a narrative history on the period of the Great Depression and the New Deal.

A statement from a member of the award committee reads, “John has a strong record of scholarship spanning his career at Ashland University, having published several books and numerous book chapters and articles. Professor David Krugler of the University of Wisconsin-Platteville reported that John’s work has had broad impact on scholars of the Cold War. In addition, Krugler noted that (John’s) work on history lesson plans for high school students through a National Endowment of the Humanities project has impacted the education of thousands of students. The committee was also impressed by the work that (he) has done to develop the Reacting to the Past games in teaching history, and notes that this work involves significant creativity and also scholarly effort. In sum, (John’s) productivity and the breadth and quality of his scholarship is impressive, and AU is fortunate to have a scholar of this caliber on its faculty.”

The Excellence in Scholarship Award was established in 2011 with its goal to recognize Ashland University faculty who demonstrate outstanding scholarship. All full-time faculty members who have completed their third-year review may be nominated for this award by their peers, department chair or dean. To qualify, a faculty member’s scholarship must be demonstrated by outstanding scholarly contributions, including scholarly written work, creative work and other scholarly distinctions.

This year’s other finalist was Daniel Hawk, professor of Old Testament and Hebrew in the Ashland Theological Seminary.

Ashland University is a mid-sized, private university conveniently located a short distance from Akron, Cleveland and Columbus, Ohio. Ashland University (www.ashland.edu) values the individual student and offers a unique educational experience that combines the challenge of strong applied academic programs with a faculty and staff who build nurturing relationships with their students.