Dr. Downey with Honors Students at the ARC Walkathon held at Lancaster Catholic High School on April 21, 2007.

Dennis B. Downey, Ph.D.

Director of the MU Honors College
Office: Pike House
Telephone: (717) 872-3571

I earned my PhD in United States History from Marquette University in 1981. Since that time I have taught at Millersville University, where I am now Professor of History and Director of the University Honors College. My research and teaching specialties cover the history of American violence, and American social and cultural history, especially 1870-1920. By temperament and training I am interested in the intersection of social thought, violence, and identity and historical memory. I have a developing scholarly interest in the history of disabilities and social thought. I am the author or editor of five books of history, including No Crooked Death (1991), A Season of Renewal (2002), and We Sing to Thee (2004). I have published more than three dozen scholarly articles and essays. I have received several awards for my writing, including the Philip S. Klein Prize and an Outstanding Book Citation from the Gustavus Myers Center for Human Rights. In December 2008 my book-length social history of Pennsylvania education, entitled The Surest Foundation of Happiness, will be published by the website http://www.ExplorePahistory.com. This e-book includes 400 pages of text and more than 150 illustrations. I am just beginning a book-length study of immigration entitled “The Peopling of Pennsylvania.” I have had a role in a variety of professional and community organizations. In 2005-6, I served as President of the Pennsylvania Historical Association.

Contact Information:
Dennis B. Downey, PhD
History Department
University Honors College
Millersville University
Millersville, PA 17551
(717) 872-3924 or 872-3672

Dennis.Downey@millersville.edu