ELYSSA FORD
Gender & Sexuality Scholar * Local Historian * Public Historian
PUBLIC TALKS & RECOGNITIONS
Academic Awards
Elyssa's work has been recognized for its excellence with the:
-
John E. Miller Prize for the best Middle West Review article in 2023: "'For Women Only!': A Radical Message of the Black Middle Class in Kansas City" (Spring 2023).
-
James W. Goodrich and Lynn Wolf Gentzler Missouri Historical Review Article Award in 2022: "'Fine Herds of Cattle': Rural Nuns and Farmwork at a Missouri Convent, 1874-1963" (July 2022).
Invited Talks
As an engaging and organized speaker, Elyssa is a requested speaker. She has served on the Missouri Speakers' Bureau. Available Missouri and Midwest-focused talks include:
-
Soothing the 'Savage Hearts of Man': Women's Suffrage and Rural Missouri
-
Rural Nuns and a 'Fine Herd of Cattle' at a Missouri Convent
-
'For Women Only!': The Kansas City Call and A Radical Message for the Black Middle Class
She also has worked with students and faculty at various institutions on public history education and building university-community partnerships that will create opportunities for both parties.
Recognitions, Awards & Grants
Fulbright Award
Babes-Bolyai University
Department of American Studies
Cluj-Napoca, Romania
Hollybush Post-Doctoral Fellowship
Rowan University
Department of History
Glassboro, New Jersey
Grant Writing
Elyssa has received internal grants from Northwest Missouri State University (Northwest) four times between 2011 and 2022 to support research projects on women in rodeo, women and education in Cambodia, and gay rodeo. These grants totaled almost $10,000 and have led to book and article publication.
In her role as a public historian and public history educator, she has demonstrated success as a grant writer, receiving grants from the Missouri Humanities Council for projects ranging from a living history program to the collection of Vietnam and Korean War veteran oral histories. Elyssa also has brought the Museums on Main Street travelling exhibit from the Smithsonian Hometown Teams: How Sports Shape America to the Nodaway County Historical Society (NCHS) Museum in Missouri. These grants were used by students in public history classes to develop programs and projects for the NCHS Museum. Other grants, such as Academic Initiative grants and Innovation in Teaching & Learning grants from Northwest, provided additional opportunities for students, as did a Touring Artist Grant from the Missouri Arts Council. Collectively, these grants totaled $14,315.
Image from Northwest Missouri State University
Northwest Missouri State University
