Steven Ramold, Ph.D.

Steven Ramold

Steven Ramold, Ph.D.

Title

Professor, Department of History and Philosophy

Years at EMU

14

Why You Like Working Here

I enjoy the students. There isn’t a sense of entitlement—they come here with a work ethic. I really respect it. I don’t get a lot of excuses of why they missed an exam or why they weren’t ready or something wasn’t fair. The students are honest—they work hard and if they don’t do well, they own up to it and try to work harder.

Favorite EMU Moment

In 2013, I won the Collins Distinguished Faculty Award. It’s a teaching award given by the faculty itself, so it’s flattering to hear your colleagues themselves think you’re a good teacher and present you with an award.

Favorite Campus Spot

On the northwest corner of Pray Harrold there’s a white slab that most people probably think is the dedication plaque, but it’s actually a list of 31 people from what once was the Normal College who died in the Civil War. Most of them were Company E of the 17th Michigan. Many enlisted in the spring of 1863, went to the arm of the Potomac in the summer and literally six weeks after they arrived, were part of the Antietam campaign. Every year on Veteran’s Day and Memorial Day, I leave flowers. I’d like to try to get it removed from the side of the building and place it somewhere more special.

Surprising Fact

I’m the eighth child out of 11. In class, I talk about 19th century families becoming smaller as they moved from the country into the city. As an example, I ask the students who comes from a big family. I’ve been teaching professionally for 19 years and in that time there was only one student who came from a family bigger than mine. He came from a family of 15. My father was a rancher, so my first job was a cowboy in Nebraska.

Next Goal

I’m debating on what the next book will be because it will probably be a multi-volume project. It’s a history of the Provo-Marshall Corp during the Civil War. Basically they were the Army police, they ran the draft and suppressed civilian dissent. There’s literally thousands of linear feet of records so to write a proper history would probably be a three volume work. That is the big magnum opus I want to complete before I retire.


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